It is estimated that around 2 billion people, especially those in low- and middle-income countries, do not have access to high-quality, affordable essential medicines. The situation is made worse by low-quality or even deadly counterfeit drugs that fill the gap. This shortage means that treatable and preventable diseases end up causing suffering and even death.
This is the problem B2B marketplace Axmed is trying to solve by addressing supply chain fragmentation, and the startup recently raised $2 million in seed funding from Founderful Ventures to further its plans. did.
Focused on low- and middle-income countries, Axmed is building a marketplace that connects manufacturers and healthcare providers to solve inefficiencies that lead to shortages, high costs, and the proliferation of counterfeit medicines. Masu. The startup does this by aggregating demand, allowing buyers to source drugs directly from manufacturers at low cost, breaking away from the traditional pharmaceutical supply chain with multiple levels of dealers and distributors. I'm thinking of doing it. To transact on a marketplace, both sellers and buyers must meet multiple regulatory and legal standards.
The startup's initial target markets include Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda, with plans to reach through faith-based institutions, non-governmental organizations, government-led care providers and procurement agencies.
Swiss-based Axmed is currently working with partners to fully vet early versions of the product ahead of a full-scale launch later this year. This new funding follows a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase access to maternal and child health care in high-priority countries.
Emmanuel Akpakwu, CEO and co-founder of the startup with Felix Ohnmacht and Sofia Radley-Searle, told TechCrunch that aggregation models can be leveraged to empower buyers and create attractive market opportunities for manufacturers. He said he is aiming to do so. He said such models have been used in the past during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are concerns that such procurement efforts will not grow beyond their initial limitations. It added that it would either be scaled back once the emergency subsides.
“We are a long-term company that is sustainable and actually sustainable, focused on empowering buyers and patients and making them more attractive to and for quality manufacturers. I wanted to build something that would be operational. [makers] It will enable us to reach these markets in a more effective and seamless manner,” he said.
Additionally, the platform is designed to help visualize the size and actual potential of these markets. Akpakwu says most local, regional or global manufacturers need to understand the market size and how to effectively engage those regions.
Mr. Akpaku previously served as Novartis' Chief Commercial Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa. During this role, he encountered challenges and obstacles that prevented or discouraged manufacturers from expanding into new markets. He then devised Axmed to aggregate orders and create an attractive market for manufacturers.
Axmed joins a growing list of platforms such as African Medicines Supply Platform and Xs2Meds, as well as health tech companies such as Drugstoc and Remedial Health that are digitizing the pharmaceutical supply chain and solving procurement and distribution challenges for institutions such as pharmacies and hospitals. I will also join the company.