Toronto-based Mednow.ca, an online pharmacy tech startup has raised CAD $6.5M in a seed funding round in July 2020. Gravitas Securities led the funding round with other investors who are a part of Gravitas’ network also joining in (their identities were not disclosed). This is Mednow.ca’s first round of external fundraising.
The contribution in the seed round was a lot more than expected, surpassing Mednow.ca’s original goal of CAD 3M. The funding will be used to enhance and expand the startup’s platform across Canada.
About the Canadian startup
Karim Nassar and Ali Reyhany launched the startup at the beginning of 2020 to fulfill the new demand of Canadians for virtual access to pharmacy suppliers. Mednow.ca connects patrons with pharmacies and provides free home delivery of medicines and all pharmacy products. Its PillSmart system arranges medications by date and time. Tia Health, its telemedicine partner enables free of cost virtual care visits.
Nassar, the CEO of Mednow.ca, was quoted to have said that, “By leveraging existing relationships within our established network of over 60 independent pharmacies across Canada, we have been able to scale quickly and offer comprehensive patient-centered services, including virtual pharmacy and medical care, medication [and] prescription management, and robust delivery.” The platform is presently only available in Ontario. With the fresh funds, it plans to magnify to British Columbia and Nova Scotia in six to eight weeks. Mednow.ca is aiming to be available across the whole region of Canada, by the end of 2020.
About the founders
Ali Reyhany is a pharmacist who founded the Care Group of Pharmacies, the largest pharmacist controlled autonomous pharmacy chain in Canada that is present in over 60 locations.
The startup’s other co-founder, Karim Nassar, is a computer engineer and former executive of McKesson Canada, Air Liquide, and lately, the Care Group of Pharmacies.
Comments by investors
Kia Besharat, senior managing director and head of capital markets origination at Gravitas said in a comment about the startup, “Mednow.ca’s deep industry knowledge coupled with a growing demand for virtual care and pharmacy delivery makes it a very attractive opportunity in the Canadian investment landscape. The soft launch has proved market demand and Mednow.ca is ready to scale nationally.”