India’s pharmatech sector is pivotal in
building a Viksit Bharat, leading innovation in healthcare delivery, digital
therapeutics, and modernized supply chains as the nation progresses toward its
ambitious Vision 2047 goals for inclusive and tech-driven healthcare.
The “Crafting Bharat – Season 2”, powered by AWS Startups, an initiative by
NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, and production partner – HT Smartcast,
explores how startups are harnessing the power of the cloud to accelerate
growth, optimize operations, and build solutions that will define
the India of Tomorrow. This series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan,
famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently
consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic
Times.
In this episode, we spotlight Amit Kaul, COO of Pharmarack, who is
transforming the fragmented value chain of chemists, distributors, and brands-
and in the process taking India's $58 billion pharmaceuticals industry to new
horizons. He shares insights about the pharmaceutical industry, building the
largest B2B e-commerce platform and how AI-enabled efforts on AWS are helping
them scale.
In this series, explore inspiring startup
stories that are shifting gears and sparking innovation across sectors, all
contributing to India’s transformation into a developed nation by 2047 in this
captivating series.
Watch Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t7Ha3x7Rs0
Edited Excerpts:
Segment 1: Ignite
Considering the sheer number of issues at play, what was the MVP idea
for Pharmarack to start things off in its mission to digitise the trade
channel?
India’s pharma sector is highly fragmented,
with over 500 ERP systems creating supply chain and visibility challenges. To
solve this, we built a lightweight ordering app that integrates with 200+
distributor ERPs, enabling real-time inventory access and direct ordering,
reducing dependency on traditional ways of ordering, manual ordering via
phone/chat, and driving early, impactful adoption.
Give us a behind the scenes look at how Pharmarack built
this momentum play in terms of organic growth for its product stack by
resolving relevant customer pain points?
The real breakthrough came from empowering
retailers—the essential link in pharmaceutical sales—who previously relied on
calls and handwritten notes and couldn’t invest in technology. By giving them
an intuitive ordering platform, we generated strong adoption pull, which in
turn convinced distributors and manufacturers of its value in bridging their
gap with retailers. Positioned at that critical point in the value chain, we
now offer a comprehensive suite—Pharm Retail, PharmConnect 2.0, Trusales, and
PharmScan that addresses challenges across the entire pharmaceutical
distribution network.
Segment 2: Launch
Was your pure B2B play a blessing since it’s easier to gauge market
expansion possibilities in a B2B framework versus a B2C model? What makes
Pharmarack a resilient business?
Being a B2B provider in pharma distribution
isn’t easy—our customers are institutionalized businesses laser-focused on
sales and ROI, and they won’t hesitate to voice their needs. They only adopt
tools that deliver tangible business value.
At Pharmarack, we’ve deliberately built deep
relationships with small retailers and distributors to truly understand their
pain points and design solutions that address real-world challenges. With over
a million retailers in the market, the opportunity is vast—but so are the
demands on service, resilience, and industry expertise. Today, we boast one of
the largest pharma catalogues—nearly 450,000 SKUs across 15,000 distributor
catalogues, each mapped to unique product codes—and handle phenomenal order
volumes. Our end-to-end integrations span retailers, distributors, and
manufacturers, giving us a unique competitive edge in delivering seamless,
high-value solutions.
Sub-segment: Boost
How have your AI-enabled efforts on AWS brought about consistency of
the data catalogue throughout your pharma value chain?
India’s pharmaceutical landscape is highly
fragmented, with distributors and retailers using diverse systems and
inconsistent product names. Pharmarack brings structure to this complexity by
combining advanced AI/ML capabilities with the power of AWS and Snowflake. At
the core of this solution is our extensive product catalogue, housing over
450,000 medicines, each uniquely tagged for precise identification. This
enables our system to instantly match user inputs to the correct SKU within
milliseconds, ensuring a smooth, e-commerce-like experience for all users.
Segment 3: Orbit
What needs to be the top priority for India to reach those targets and
increase its influence in the global pharma value chain?
To reach India’s goal of becoming the world’s
third-largest economy, the pharmaceutical sector must tackle several critical
challenges. First, we need to overhaul supply chains for reliability and
cost-efficiency. Second, we must enhance transparency and implement robust
track-and-trace systems. Third, embracing GenAI and other cutting-edge
technologies will drive innovation in this industry. Fourth, ramping up R&D
investment and developing our patented drugs is essential. Addressing these
five key areas will be vital for pharma—and for India’s broader economic
ambitions.
PharmaTech is emerging as a powerful catalyst
in transforming India’s healthcare and pharmaceutical landscape. By integrating
advanced technologies into drug discovery, manufacturing, and delivery,
PharmaTech is driving greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility
across the sector. This innovation-led growth is not only strengthening India's
position in the global pharmaceutical arena but also playing a vital role in
the country’s broader mission to become a developed economy.
Stay tuned to Crafting Bharat – Season 2 as we
bring you these inspiring entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions
with Gautam Srinivasan.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftingbharatofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftingbharat/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/craftingbharat/
X: https://x.com/CraftingBharat/