Ratan Tata invests in 18-year-old’s Generic Aadhaar to bring affordable medicines to masses

Arjun Deshpande started Generic Aadhaar in 2018 with an initial funding of Rs 15 lakhs from his parents, Ratan Tata has now made an undisclosed investment in a personal capacity

Ratan Tata in his personal capacity has invested an undisclosed amount in an 18-year-old’s innovative pharmaceutical venture Generic Aadhaar. The company is run by Arjun Deshpande, Founder and CEO, who began his venture at the age of 16 years with the sole aim of bringing affordable medicines to the masses. The start-up boasts of an annual revenue of Rs 6 crores, and is looking at a revenue of Rs 150- 200 crores in the next three years.

Generic Aadhaar follows a unique business model; viz a pharmacy-aggregator business model sourcing generic drugs directly from the manufacturer and providing it to the retailers, thereby cutting out the middlemen completely and delivering medicines to 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 nation 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 and has tied up with 30 retailers from Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Odisha following a profit-sharing model.

On this occasion, Deshpande said, “With Generic Aadhaar, we are all set to bring a new revolution in the pharmaceutical industry. Our unique business model gives us an edge over any other players in the market currently as we aim to bring affordable healthcare to millions of households. Our mission is to provide senior citizens and pension holders the care they deserve with our idea of delivering inexpensive medicines which are required on a daily basis.”

He further added, “When Sir 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 to reach every Indian.”

A survey states that 60 per cent of Indians cannot afford proper medication due to their high market price and hence fall behind to deliver basic healthcare needs to people. Generic Aadhaar steps in to solve this problem as it aims to partner with 1,000 pharmacies on a franchisee-based model in the coming months and expand their reach to markets like to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Generic Aadhaar will provide all the support to the unorganised sector by bringing the right technology, IT infrastructure and branding to the forefront. The company has about 55 employees, which include pharmacists, IT engineers and marketing professionals. In association with Tata, this revolutionary startup aims to spread its wings in every city in India.

Generic Aadhaar supplies diabetes and hypertension drugs but will soon start offering cancer drugs at rates much lower than the market price. It has a tie up with four WHO-GMP certified manufacturers in Palghar, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry and Nagpur.