The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) has allocated RUR 100 mio ($1.5 mio) for the development of Novosibirsk-based startup Pharmznanie. The money will go for mapping out educational online courses for pharmacy employees and developing the marketplace, where pharmaceutical companies can find their partners, pharmacy chains.
The startup operates in the digital health market. Its marketplace is unique in the Russian market and allows pharmacies to make marketing contracts with manufacturers. The investments will be transferred in two tranches, the IIDF’s press service said. The first one will amount to RUR 65 mio ($945,500), while the second tranche will account for another RUR 35 mio. This is not the first time the Novosibirsk-based venture has attracted investments; in the summer of 2017, Pharmznanie received RUR 19.8 mio from the IIDF.
In 2018, the startup proceeds grew fourfold. The number of pharmacies that joined the marketplace increased fivefold; the number of contracts with pharmacy chain outlets for training employees grew as well, from 2,500 to 9,700. There has also been a threefold increase in the number of pharmaceutical companies that have joined the platform.