Last updated on October 16th, 2024 at 03:33 pm
In India, the pharmaceutical market turnover reached US$19.14 billion in FY19, with the top 5 pharma companies in India claiming the majority of the share. This means there are pharma giants who rule the market and command the prices which leads to medicinal poverty. Some people cannot afford costly medicines, and they don’t know that there are cheaper alternatives available. And here’s where awareness plays a crucial role.
Medkart promotes the AAA philosophy<link to AAA philosophy blog> wherein the first A in the acronym is for the awareness. Why awareness? Let’s dig in further.
Majority of the medicine buying is transactional in India, meaning buyers buy what the doctors prescribe. Unfortunately, most buyers are not aware of what doctors prescribe them and they are handed the expensive branded medicines in the prescription. It is their utter ignorance that leads them to not even question about the alternatives to doctors or pharma storekeepers. That’s when the exploitation starts, taking the buyers’ ignorance for granted and leveraging their lack of knowledge.
At Medkart, we drive sales through awareness by educating people. Our sole goal is to create awareness amongst the buyer, even if they are not looking to buy generic. By doing so, we negate the transactional nature of medicine buying and make it more interesting for buyers similar to purchasing a pair of shoes or jeans. We promote healthy discussions on medicines on any of our stores and welcome them to gain knowledge. Being in the industry of over half a decade, we have all the information on pharmaceutical networks and how the doctors/hospitals lobby works at a higher level. In the end, customers end up paying more for the share that goes to doctors and hospitals. Remember, branded or generic, all these medicines are WHO-GMP standard ones, with most of them manufactured in the same facility. Still, the branded ones would cost you 10X of the generic. Meaning, you pay for the brand name, doctors, and pharma stores, and the manufacturers.
As a solution to the medicine buying exploitation by the lobbies, we welcome people to come to Medkart with their prescriptions. No, we won’t sell you the medicines. We will show you the range of generic options boasting the same contents as your branded ones at much cheaper rates. We have helped over 3Lakhs of patients to save more than Rs.1100Cr. It is fascinating for us to have a conversation with the core buyers, understand their issues, and find better ways to address them. What is best is that we are also expanding our business line intending to spread our vision far and wide. This will enable us to tap into the right patients who are looking to save more on medicines.
There is a section of society that puts a significant part of their hard-earned money into buying medicines. The least they want is the prescription from doctors suggesting them to buy branded ones. These people are also scared of trying anything else than doctors recommend, mainly out of fear of not experiencing its right effect or side effects. We are here to cater to that fear by providing them with the correct information without misguiding them.
We are here, acknowledging the fact that a lot has gone wrong in the pharmaceutical ecosystem. With all-out might, we are just trying to correct whatever possible from our end. Everything begins with curiosity and awareness, and that’s when the greater transformation is possible. And we have just started.
