Ratan Tata invests in 18 year-old Arjun Deshpande's pharma startup; aims to bring affordable medicines to masses

Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in 18 year old’s pharmaceutical venture Generic Aadhaar today. Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO, Generic Aadhaar, began his venture at the age of 16 with the sole aim of bringing affordable medicines to the masses, The pharma startup boasts of an annual revenue of 6 crore and is looking at a revenue of Rs 150-Rs 200 crore in the next three years. A survey states that 60 percent of Indians cannot afford medication due to the high market prices and hence are unable to deliver basic healthcare needs to people. Generic Aadhaar aims to partner with 1000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model in the coming months and expand their reach to markets in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat.

It a proud moment to announce Great association with Honourable Mr Ratan Tata Sir to provide affordable medicines to Indian people pic.twitter.com/uIlf6dIzwv

— Arjun Deshpande (@arjundeshpande9) May 7, 2020

The startup follows a unique business model–a pharmacy-aggregator business model sources generic drugs directly from the manufacturer and provides it to the retailers, thereby cutting out the middlemen completely and delivering medicines to the masses at a much lesser cost. It is a B2B2C model that aims at providing Indians with affordable medication by supporting single medical stores across the country which otherwise face competition from big brands and online pharmacies. Under Generic Aadhaar, the company provides quality and affordable medication directly from WHO-GMP facility. It has tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Odisha following a profit-sharing model. [caption id=“attachment_8343801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Arjun Deshpande (left) with Ratan Tata. [/caption] Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO, said, “Our unique business model gives us an edge over any other player in the market currently as we aim to bring affordable healthcare. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pension holders the care they deserve with the delivery of inexpensive medicines which are required on a daily basis. Generic Aadhaar currently supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price, it claims. It has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur. “When Ratan Tata came to know about the business plan, he was impressed and decided to be a part of this mission in a personal capacity and help Generic Aadhaar reach every Indian,” Deshpande said. The company has about 55 employees, which include pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals.