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Pharmaceutical startup Generic Aadhaar has secured an undisclosed investment in its ongoing Pre-Series A funding round from Japanese VC company Beyond Next Ventures. Following this round, the startup’s post-money valuation stands at INR 500 Cr. 

Generic Aadhaar will use the fresh capital to grow its franchisee store count to 3000 across India. The startup will also invest in its digitisation strategy and grow product offerings. 

As per the startup, it has diluted nearly 10% stake in the current fundraising round. 

“This fund, which we look to complete deployment within the next eight months, will help us grow faster and create a wider impact by aiming to solve the scarcity of medicines in urban, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. Having received an astounding response from our customers, we aim to do a Series A round in the next 8-12 months,” said Arjun Deshpande, founder & CEO of Generic Aadhaar.

The latest development comes after Generic Aadhaar raised an undisclosed angel investment from Ratan Tata in 2020. 

Founded in 2018 by Deshpande, the Mumbai-based startup sells generic medicines via its chain of franchisees. It also offers billing and inventory management software to franchise owners. 

At the age of sixteen years, Deshpande started Generic Aadhaar to sell generic medicines that are up to 80% cheaper than branded medicines in the market. Besides, generic medicines do not require research or intermediaries to sell them in the market. The startup directly sells its products to consumers via its franchise-owned stores thus, offering up to 40% margin to store owners.

Generic Aadhaar was also a part of Inc42’s 30 startups May edition. During that time frame, it claimed to be managing more than 1.5K franchise retail stores in over 150 Indian cities. It further aimed at an additional 1K franchisee stores in India in the present financial year (FY 22-23).

In the pharmaceutical industry, it faces competition from the likes of Truemeds and Dava India.

At present, India is one of the largest suppliers of generic medications and accounts for 20% of the global pharmaceutical market. 

According to an IBEF report, the country’s pharmaceutical market was pegged at $42 Bn in 2021. The market is likely to touch the $65 Bn mark by 2024 and further, grow to nearly $130 Bn by 2030.