MedAdvisor to invest £1 million in UK pharmacy app Charac

The Australian company will secure a 7.4 per cent shareholding in Charac

MedAdvisor will be investing $1.9 million (£1 million) into UK-based pharmacy dispensary app Charac, while securing a 7.4 per cent shareholding in the later company.

Under this new agreement, MedAdvisor CEO Rick Ratliff will become a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the board of Charac.

Both MedAdvisor and Charac provide digital medication adherence solutions that allow customers to file prescription orders to their local pharmacy through mobile apps.

The investment is seen as part of MedAdvisor’s cost saving strategy, as the Australian company has decided to discontinue its UK operations, and transfer its existing pharmacy relationships to Charac.

Announcing the move today (28 November), Ratliff said their strategy reinforces their commitment to the UK market “of creating a global impact in pharmacy-enabled patient engagement.”

He is confident that their collaboration with Charac will not only benefit their UK customers but will also “open up exciting possibilities for growth in Australia/New Zealand and the US.”

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the trade association for 80 per cent of independent pharmacies across the UK, collaborated with MedAdvisor and Charac in 2020, helping its members benefit from their patient apps.

The platforms allow pharmacies to digitise their processes by providing repeat prescription and consultations via phone, video, desktop, or mobile.

In September, Charac was able to raise over £1 million in debt and equity, bringing total funding for the London-based startup to £2.5m.

Pharmacy Business learned that while the majority of the new finance, worth about £1.2 million, comes from the NPA coffer, the remainder is put forward by a number of individual pharmacy businesses.

As of September 2023, Charac app had garnered over 400 participating pharmacies, with the company expecting the number to reach 2,000 by 2024.

Approximately 25,000 patients were using Charac’s platform in September, and this figure is anticipated to surge to 100,000 by the end of the financial year in March 2024.