The HealthTech Club – Singapore Based HealthTech Startup mClinica – Disrupting traditional pharmacies in emerging markets using technology

The Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge in the healthcare industry. Private companies, Government infrastructure and global healthcare systems have all struggled against this pandemic. However, many healthcare companies and practices have adapted to the pandemic in their ways. mClinica is one of the firms that have risen to the occasion with their innovative practices. 

mClinica -About The Company

mClinica is a Singapore based Healthtech startup founded by Farouk Meralli in 2012. They are involved in disrupting traditional pharmacies in emerging markets by supporting and supplementing their practices using technology. They aim to revolutionize pharmaceutical practices by improving the supply chain, leveraging data to track medication and boost the workforce.

The Strategy

Like every other traditional industry, mClinica wants to introduce beneficial tech practices to pharmacies to improve their work rate as well as the quality of output. Their primary focus is on the pharmacy workforce supply chain and patient adherence to prescriptions. By leveraging data and digitizing the network, mClinica connects professionals and pharmacies into serving the patients as a much larger and coordinated network. 

The company operates in the emerging markets of Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and others. Their mobile platform connects patients, pharmaceutical outlets and professionals in these markets to provide services, collects and analyses data to track and improve pharmaceutical practices.

Awards And Acknowledgments

Their strategy of injecting tech to empower the current medical and pharmaceutical infrastructure has amassed plenty of support on the international stage. Some of their biggest awards include the Data-Driven Apps Award of the World Government Summit in 2019, USAID-FHI360 Data for Resilience Award, Pierre Fabre Foundation Prize for eHealth Innovation, and Hack Osaka. The growing support for the company is due to its innovative practices and futuristic outlook, helping the industry prepare for a digital future.

Impact And Investments

Data-driven healthcare is a futuristic approach that empowers the industry by automating many functions and practices and hosting them on a shared platform. This exchange of information provided by mClinica is specifically targeted at the drugs and pharmaceuticals enterprise, allowing professionals to monitor and analyze the usage patterns and adherence to drugs as well as bolster the supply chain. 

In addition to profits, the firm also weighs its impact on the userbase. They have connected over 150000 professionals and 40000 pharmacies, helping hundreds of millions of patients a month. They are also heavily supported by Global Innovation Fund (backed by USAID, UKAID, DFAT and others) and Patamar Capital (formerly Unitus Impact) as well as other investors from the US, Europe, and Asia. These are impact investors who target companies that largely change the industry practices of their sector. So far, the firm has amassed $6.3 million across two funding rounds. 

Conclusion 

Covid-19 has exposed many flaws in the current healthcare system and its inability to cope with a global pandemic effectively. With countries facing lockdowns and travel restrictions, traditional pharmacies have become less capable of serving needy patients. This shows a need for digitization and a virtual marketplace for the same, as well as streamlining the system to make it more efficient for both service providers and patients. In the largely populated emerging markets of Southeast Asia, mClinica has made strides in changing the status quo to a more data-driven, innovative and consequently, patient-friendly approach.

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