Ratan Tata Invests In This 18-Year Old’s Pharma Startup; They Remove Wholesalers From Sale Cycle!

As the pharmaceutical sector in the country is booming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus at Tata Sons, on May 7 invested an undisclosed amount in a pharmaceutical start-up Generic Aadhaar, in his personal capacity.

Read to find out more…

What Made Ratan Tata Invest in Generic Aadhar?

Arjun Deshpande, a Mumbai-based 18 year old started Generic Aadhar two years ago with an aim to bring affordable medicines to the masses.

The startup claims to have an annual revenue of ?6 crore and is looking at a revenue of ?150-200 crore in the next 3 years.  The company has about 55 employees, which include pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals.

Deshpande, the founder and CEO of Generic Aadhar said, “When Sir Ratan Tata came to know about the business plan, he was impressed and decided to be a part of this mission in a personal capacity and help Generic Aadhaar to reach every Indian.”

The startup sources general drugs directly from the manufacturer and sells it to retail pharmacies. Thus eliminating 16-20% wholesaler margin. These retail pharmacies are single medical stores which otherwise face competition from big brands and online pharmacies. 

Generic Aadhar has already tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Odisha following a profit-sharing model. 

Ratan Tata has invested in many startups including Ola, Paytm, Snapdeal, CureFit and Urban Ladder.

The Future Plans!

In the coming months, Deshpande plans to partner with 1,000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model. The future plans also include expansion to cities like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi. 

Generic Aadhaar will provide all the support to the unorganized sector by bringing the right technology, IT infrastructure and branding to the forefront.

In addition he said, “Our unique business model gives us an edge over any other players in the market currently as we aim to bring affordable healthcare to millions of households. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pension holders the care they deserve with our idea of delivering inexpensive medicines which are required on a daily basis.”

Currently, Generic Aadhaarsupplies diabetes and hypertension drugs. However the company plans to supply cancer drugs at rates lower than the market price. The start-up also has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur.