Medlife Expands Its Offline Footprint, Launches First Diagnostic Lab in Bangalore

Medlife, a healthcare company and an omni-channel pharmacy, has launched its first diagnostic lab in Bangalore, as part of an aggressive plan to expand its offline footprint in India. The company has started off with Bangalore and will gradually ramp up to other metro cities in the country.

The company which is covering over 80% of the country’s pin-code, offers customers both medicines, diagnostics and other healthcare facilities through its online portal, mobile application and customer care centres.

The company expects revenue of Rs 200 million by the end of this financial year from the diagnostic vertical. Medlife has already invested Rs 6 million and is planning to invest another Rs 43 million within the next year, to set up 6 satellite labs in addition to the centralized lab launched in Bangalore. The lab is undergoing ISO certification and will receive it’s NABH and NABL certification by FY 19-20. The diagnostic lab will operate under the name ‘Medlife Labs’. Medlife Labs also promises same day report delivery and free home sample collection to all their customers.

Speaking about the company’s long-term plans, Tushar Kumar, CEO, Medlife said, “Around 70 per cent of treatment decisions in India are based on lab results. Needless to say then, diagnostic services constitute one of the most critical components of medical care in India. It also helps in building a preventive care ecosystem and better diagnosis of health problems. Thus, creating substantial impact on the continuum of care.” 

The diagnostic laboratories industry in India is poised for strong growth because of rising demand for healthcare but lack of regulation remains a major concern, considering the risks it poses to patients. The diagnostic laboratories sector in India is highly fragmented with standalone centres accounting for ~ 70% of the market and organized ones having ~ 30% shares. India has around 100,000 diagnostic laboratories, which include pathology laboratories and radiology centres.

Since its inception as an e-pharmacy company in 2014, Medlife has diversified into 24X7 e-consultation, laboratory services, and app-based healthcare-related services. In a short span of just over two years post-launch, Medlife went on to create a customer base of one million unique customers. The company recently launched its own line of generic drugs in line with the Government of India’s recent efforts to encourage the use of affordable generic drugs in India. Apart from diagnostic labs, Medlife will also be launching offline stores across 50 cities this financial year.

With a planned internal investment of $30 million to scale up operations, the company expects to earn a revenue of Rs 900-1000 crores by financial year 2019.

Medlife, which competes with multiple epharmacies such as 1mg, Netmeds, PharmEasy and others, has a customer base of over 500K in India. It was founded in 2014 by Tushar Kumar, son of Prabhat Narain Singh, one of the founders of Alkem Laboratories and Prashant Singh.