NowRX is a digital pharmacy platform that provides same-day delivery on your prescriptions and telehealth services. The company uses proprietary software and robotics technology.
NowRX is currently raising funds through SeedInvest that it plans to use for research and development (R&D), marketing and sales, and the expansion of its pharmacy operations.
Here’s what you need to know…
The goal of NowRX is simple. The company wants to make filling prescriptions accessible, convenient, and affordable. With its same-day prescription delivery as well as telehealth services, the company says it provides an end-to-end solution.
NowRX’s Technology
The company uses robotic technology to dispense prescriptions, has an user-friendly app, and operates its own pharmacy management and logistics system, known as “QuickFill.”
Between your doctor visit and finally picking up the prescription, there are a lot of steps that have to be taken. Your doctor has to provide the script; you have to provide your insurance, which then has to be checked; and then the script is off to the pharmacist. The pharmacist counts out your pills (or measures a liquid medication), packages the drugs, and prints the label and disclaimers.
Needless to say, this all takes time. On average, it takes 20 to 25 minutes at the pharmacy, and that’s if you are first in line. It’s no wonder sometimes you’re left wandering the pharmacy’s storefront waiting for your prescription to be ready.
NowRX says its QuickFill software makes the process a lot more efficient. The software does this by streamlining the number of processes, including insurance processing and error management, purchasing and inventory management, discount applications, and refill processing.
NowRX says its Parata Robot then automates the counting, labeling, bottling, and capping of each order… in under 30 seconds.
The “Amazon of Pharmacy”
Unlike many of the big pharmacy chains like Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) or CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS), NowRX doesn’t have a storefront. Instead, the company leases low-cost spaces near main roads that operate as fulfillment and distribution centers. Right now they have eight Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-licensed pharmacies across the West Coast, including in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.
Like most pharmacies, NowRX makes its money through reimbursement from insurance companies, patient copays, or cash pay.
InverstorPlace hypergrowth technology analyst Luke Lango said this about NowRX:
[NowRX has] leveraged technology and same-day shipping to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar retail market — is leveraging technology and a same-day prescription delivery service to disrupt the several hundred billion dollar U.S. legacy pharmacy industry.
In this sense, I like to think of NowRx as the “Amazon of Pharmacy.”
CVS is the largest pharmacy in the United States, with 24% of the market share. But you won’t get guranteed same-day delivery with CVS. The time greatly varies by the area you live in. And not only that… it’s not free.
Through the NowRX plaform you can receive free same-day delivery of your medication or pay $5 for one-hour delivery.
A recent study valued the global online pharmacy market at $68.2 billion in 2020. It’s expected to reach $202.3 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8% from 2021 to 2027.
If NowRX can grab even a small share of that growth, it could provide great returns for early investors…
NowRX’s Current Funding Round
NowRX is raising money on SeedInvest with a pre-money valuation of $275 million. The company requires a minimum investment of $998.
(Pre-money valuation is the value of a company before it goes public or receives investments like funding or financing.)
While year-over-year revenue growth from 2020 to 2021 was 90%, the company is still not profitable. As mentioned, NowRX is raising money to fund R&D, marketing, and sales, and to expand its U.S. footprint. Recently, the company announced expansion in Houston.
On the SeedInvest deal page, NowRX spells out the risk of making an investment with the company today, including the fact that the company is up against “big, well capitalized market leaders.” (You can check out the full list of risks and disclosures here.)
On Feb. 8, the company announced it hired its first chief financial officer (CFO), Mark Marlow, who previously oversaw two company initial public offerings (IPOs).
Mark holds nearly a decade of experience in venture capital as a Managing Partner of Omphalos Venture Partners, a Minneapolis based early-stage VC fund specializing in investments into medtech, medical SaaS, ransomware as a service, and healthcare B2B SaaS.
This leads us to believe the most likely “exit” for this privately held startup could be an IPO.
Like with any type of investment, investing in private companies carries risk. You shouldn’t invest more money than you can afford to lose. Before acting, I recommend looking into the company yourself to see if it meets your personal investment criteria.
You can find the details of the deal, including how to invest, here.
On this date of publication, Jessica Zeller did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Investing in startups through equity and real estate crowdfunding or asset tokenization requires a high degree of risk tolerance. Despite what individual companies may promise, there’s always the chance of losing a portion, or the entirety, of your investment. These risks include:
1) Greater chance of failure
2) Risk of fraudulent activity
3) Lack of liquidity
4) Economic downturns
5) Dearth of investor education
Read more: Private Investing Risks
Jessica Zeller has spent over a decade following the financial markets and bridging the gap between retail investors and complex investment strategies. Her focus has been in technology and high-growth investment strategies.
