NowRx Raises $7M Series A Funding

NowRx, an on-demand pharmacy that provides same-day and same-hour delivery of prescription medications, today announced it has completed a $7 million Series A funding round, the largest healthcare crowdfunding round ever at SeedInvest.com, the leading Regulation A+ crowdfunding platform. NowRx will use the funding to accelerate technology development and expand its last mile delivery of medications to new service areas in California.

NowRx's innovative business model provides superior speed, convenience and cost savings compared to traditional retail and mail delivery pharmacies that either charge fees for same-day or next-day delivery or take several days to process and ship prescriptions to customers' homes. NowRx is the only solution on the market today offering not only same-day delivery, but also a one-hour delivery option. Since launching in 2016, the company has filled over 50,000 prescriptions, served more than 8,600 customers, and has received prescriptions from more than 1,900 prescribing physicians.

"In pharmacy, and healthcare generally, same-day/same hour delivery is about much more than just customer convenience – it can often be absolutely vital. NowRx is solving this critical last-mile delivery challenge while setting a new bar for customer convenience," said Cary Breese, CEO, NowRx. "That's why we saw the record-breaking response to our latest crowdfunding round. We have reconceived the pharmacy model, taking the best of the offline, brick-and-mortar world and combining it with the best of the online world in order to create something truly unique, disruptive – and highly desired by consumers."

"We have been very impressed with Cary and the NowRx team's ability to consistently grow revenues," said Ryan Feit, CEO and Co-Founder, SeedInvest. "We were thrilled to have NowRx return to SeedInvest and raise the largest round to date for a HealthTech company."

Solving the last mile challenge

In e-commerce, the ability to effectively deliver products directly to a consumer's doorstep is called the last mile. It's often the most inefficient and costly part of doing business, due to complex logistics and geographically-dispersed fulfillment warehouses. Unlike other online pharmacies, NowRx operates locally-based facilities with high automation and low fixed-overhead so prescription medications can be rapidly filled and delivered to customers the same day free of charge, or within one hour for a $5 expedited fee.

Solving the last mile challenge is particularly valuable for pharmacies because some medication needs are urgent. For example, if a child is sick and requires antibiotics, or if a patient requires pain medication, waiting several days or even hours for delivery is not an option. With NowRx those urgent medications, along with longer-term prescriptions, can be delivered conveniently and safely right to the customer's home. Customers do not have to leave their homes, travel to a pharmacy or stand in line to receive them.

Improving outcomes and lowering costs

NowRx recently received SureScripts certification for its QuickFill V3 pharmacy management software. It also offers the industry's first HIPAA-compliant healthcare app for a virtual home assistant on the Google Home marketplace. This enables Google Home users to receive prescription medications in as little as an hour with a simple voice command. All HIPAA-protected patient information is kept secure and confidential through encryption technology.

Using analytics, robotics, chatbots and other software automation, NowRx also aims to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by increasing medication adherence. It's estimated that 10 percent of hospitalizations are avoidable due to patients failing to take medications according to doctors' orders (non-adherence), causing $260 billion in avoidable costs to the U.S. healthcare system annually1. An estimated 35 percent of primary non-adherence is due to customers not having time to travel to a pharmacy, not having access to transportation or simply forgetting to pick up their prescriptions.2 All of these causes of primary non-compliance are largely solved by NowRx. In addition, the NowRx app provides daily reminders so patients are less likely to forget a dose and NowRx also has plans to develop a data-driven, patient analytics approach to further improve medication adherence.

With this funding round NowRx is expanding beyond its first warehouse operation in Mountain View, CA, by opening additional pharmacy facilities to serve the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay and the Los Angeles/Orange County markets. The company has future plans to expand the NowRx service nationwide.

About NowRx

NowRx is a technology-driven, on-demand pharmacy built for today's busy consumer. With a few taps using the NowRx app, or with a simple phone call, customers can submit prescriptions, consult with a pharmacist, and schedule free, same-day delivery of prescription medications. One-hour delivery is also available for a small fee. Supported by powerful logistics, predictive delivery, robotics and patient analytics, NowRx is the quickest and most convenient way to receive prescription medications. Learn more at www.nowrx.com.