Reliance Industries Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in online drug market place Netmeds for about Rs 620 crore, few days after e-commerce giant Amazon announced the launch of its ‘Amazon Pharmacy’ in southern Bengaluru city.

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate said that the investment represents around 60 per cent holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100 per cent direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries –Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Limited.

Incorporated in 2015, Netmeds represents the Vitalic Health and all its subsidiaries. Netmeds is a fully licensed e-pharma portal which offers authenticated prescription and Over the Counter (OTC) medicine along with other health products. It offers a pan-India solution for the online purchase of prescription medications to over 20,000 pin codes.

Speaking on the latest strategic investment, Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL, said, “This investment is aligned with our commitment to provide digital access for everyone in India. The addition of Netmeds enhances Reliance Retail’s ability to provide good quality and affordable health care products and services, and also broadens its digital commerce proposition to include most daily essential needs of the consumers. We are impressed by Netmeds’ journey to build a nationwide digital franchise in such a short time and are confident of accelerating it with our investment and partnership.”

The pandemic-infused lockdown and social distancing norm pushed majority of the consumers to online platforms, resulting in a boom in the online businesses. The same has also led to a spike in competition between Amazon, Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance Industries’ grocery service, JioMart. All companies, including the small players, are competing to grab the best or the larger piece of the growing sector of the developing economy.

E-pharmacies in India need to register with the Central Licencing Authority for selling prescription drugs online. Amazon India is expected to partner with licence holders for offering the pharmacy service. Healthtech start-ups like 1mg, PharmEasy and Medlife have seen strong growth in the past few months as people turned to online platforms to order their medicines while maintaining social distancing amid the pandemic.

This increased business in online pharma sector has threatened the traditional drug stores. In fact, many chemist bodies are against the online pharma platforms as they claim that these platforms would lead to sale of medicines without proper verification.