Medly Pharmacy acquiring Pharmaca
Digital pharmacy Medly Pharmacy is expanding its footprint and scope of offerings with an acquisition. The Brooklyn-based company is acquiring Pharmaca, which operates 28 brick-and-mortar stores, as well as an e-commerce site with an online educational presence.
The acquisition of Pharmaca will bring Medly into 30 new markets and expand the scope of products it is able to offer for same-day delivery. Once the acquisition closes, Medly will be delivering health-and-wellness products, including OTC products, vitamins and supplements and natural beauty products alongside prescriptions.
Medly, which launched in 2017 and bills itself as the country’s fastest-growing digital pharmacy, also operates 10 locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. It offers free same-day prescription delivery to patients within a 50- to 80-mile radius of its stores. Its dispensing includes all types of medication, including specialty, branded and generics, for which it automatically applies manufacturer coupons. Medly also accepts all insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Based in Boulder, Colo., Pharmaca has been around for almost 20 years, during which time it has emerged as a robust e-commerce player, with Newsweek naming the company one of America’s Best Trending Online Shops for drug store products.
"Health is more than prescription drugs, it encompasses the whole realm of healthcare products and services to provide holistic care,” said Pharmacy CEO Richard Willis. “With Medly's national digital presence, more people than ever before will have convenient access to the best in medicine, and will be able to get these products delivered to their door at no cost.”
The company said it planned to begin integrating its services into Pharmaca’s offering over the next 18 months, beginning in Q3 2021. In the interim, Medly said Pharmaca customers would still be able to get prescriptions filled, purchase products and access services.
"We're thrilled to welcome Pharmaca into the Medly family," said Marg Patel, CEO and co-founder of Medly. "We are excited to merge Medly's deep knowledge of the pharmacy space with Pharmaca's extraordinary wellness offerings, providing customers with a 360-degree pharmacy experience. This transformative offering will ensure customers can get the full range of their healthcare needs delivered directly to their door. In addition, we look forward to expanding Medly's presence in the west to become the first digital pharmacy to have truly national reach."
Medly’s growth has partially been enabled by its ability to bring in serious investor money. In July 2020, Medly raised $100 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Boston equity firm Volition Capital and venture capital firm Greycroft. At that time, the company said it worked with some 15,000 providers, 50,000 patients and had delivered more than half a million prescriptions since its launch. It also has added experienced pharmacy executives, hiring Raymond McCall as its chief strategy officer in February. McCall had previously served as a senior vice president at Ahold USA and vice president of pharmacy operations at Albertsons.
In addition to offering prescription delivery online, Medly’s locations accommodate walk-in patients, and its digital tools enable patients to schedule prescription delivery, consult with pharmacists and manage their prescriptions via desktop or a mobile app.