Getting Hold of Important Medicines is Still Hard in India, Especially if You Don’t Live in a Big City.
It’s getting easier to figure out if you have things like cancer, HIV, hepatitis, or a rare disease. But, getting the right meds can be a pain because they’re not always around, there are a lot of rules, and some need to be kept super cold. A startup in Chennai called MrMed is trying to fix this by creating a way for people all over India to get these special medicines sent straight to them.
Devashish Singh and Saurab Jain started MrMed in 2021. It’s like a store where you can order online and get connected to real sellers of those expensive, closely watched meds. They check your prescription, make sure everything follows the rules, and handle getting the medicine to you in the right condition. So, they’re becoming a big deal in the health and medicine scene in India.
The founders’ past experiences gave them the idea. Jain used to run a business that distributed special medicines and noticed things got messy once you left the big hospitals. Singh knows how to build big computer systems; he helped the Narayana Group grow using tech. Their skills really came in handy during COVID-19.
MrMed kicked off in May 2021, during the second wave of COVID in India. Hospitals were running out of important drugs like Remdesivir and Amphotericin B. People had to find the medicines themselves. The founders say that people actually started sending them money, asking for help getting what they needed. That’s when MrMed decided they wanted to create a dependable way for everyone in India to get these special drugs.
They have a mix of business styles. They keep some of the most common medicines in stock, but for the rarer stuff, they order it as needed. MrMed teams up with drug companies and sellers like Eli Lilly, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s, and Mankind. If a medicine isn’t available in India, they can import it through a government program, as long as they get the okay.
MrMed lets you order online, but a pharmacist checks everything, and they have a system to keep medicines cold while they ship them across India. You can order through their app or website, or even by using WhatsApp, and they have people on the phone to help those who aren’t great with computers. They say they’ve sent out over three lakh orders with fewer than 100 employees. Also, they claim to give discounts of about 38%, which they say helps people stick with their treatments if they’re long-term or pricey.
MrMed made almost ₹33 crore in FY25, which is up from about ₹20 crore the year before. They’re expecting to make ₹80–90 crore this year because they’re getting more orders and reaching more places.
Besides just sending medicines, MrMed is trying out home-based cancer care, like having nurses come to your house to give infusions and chemo support. They’re starting with a few cities. This shows they want to do more than just get you your medicine; they want to offer full-on specialty care.
As the market for special and critical drugs in India keeps growing, companies like MrMed are becoming an important part of the health system. By using tech, following the rules, and handling logistics well, they want to make sure people can get the medicines they need, no matter where they live.
