Floor to our merchants: Pharmercure

Thomas Pullin, Co-founder & CFO at Pharmercure

Pharmercure is a Made-in-Italy success story: an innovative digital platform connecting customers and pharmacies through home delivery of medications. Can you tell us how your company was founded and who the key players are?

Pharmercure was born in 2017 within the “Startup Creation Lab” at the University of Turin, where I collaborated with Maurizio Campia (CEO), Gianluca Abate (CTO & COO), and Federico Mecca. Our idea was to bring medications—including prescription drugs—directly to people’s homes by connecting local pharmacies with their customers through an advanced digital platform and high-quality logistics, ensuring that the work of couriers was properly valued. For us at Pharmercure, introducing delivery to the pharmaceutical world was just the first step toward an omnichannel pharmacy and healthcare assistance model, of which we are proud to be a part.

What results and milestones since Pharmercure’s launch are you most proud of?

We are no longer just a young startup but a steadily growing company, thanks in part to the invaluable support of investors like Reale Mutua Assicurazioni and Azimut Capital. Their backing helps us continuously seek more effective solutions to innovate and become the go-to reference—both physical and digital—for every pharmacy.

In a market where selling prescription drugs online is illegal, Pharmercure has distinguished itself from competitors through a thorough understanding of regulations, the application of proprietary technologies, and the development of robust operations. This enables us to manage online orders for any pharmacy-available product, including prescription medications, along with reliable home delivery.

Our service is currently active in 45 cities across Italy, covering over 12 million citizens and partnering with more than 250 pharmacies. During the recent pandemic, both our revenue and deliveries quintupled, allowing us to enhance our core business by refining our proprietary technologies and developing services focused on therapeutic adherence.

How does Pharmercure work and what benefits does it offer to the end customer?

Pharmercure is an order and home delivery platform that allows customers to purchase any products available at pharmacies. Customers can place orders and request delivery either through our web app at www.pharmercure.com or directly via our partner pharmacies. When ordering online, users can enter their address and independently select the nearest partner pharmacy. The pharmacist then contacts the customer by phone to confirm product availability and pricing.

All orders are collected by our couriers directly from the pharmacy and delivered to the specified address within the chosen time slot. Pharmercure enables customers to conveniently order and receive the products they need at home, including prescription medications, by simply entering the NRE code or uploading the prescription as a PDF.

Additionally, customers can opt to have their paper prescriptions picked up from their home or their doctor’s office. This ensures that, regardless of the reason preventing someone from visiting a pharmacy—whether lack of time, mobility or health issues, or product unavailability—everyone can receive the medications and products they need directly at home or at their workplace.

What is the pharmacy experience like, and what benefits does the pharmacist gain from using Pharmercure?

We offer pharmacies the opportunity to generate additional revenue by building loyalty among both regular and walk-in customers through our home delivery service. This also helps nearly eliminate so-called “pending receipts” caused by the unavailability of products at the time of purchase. Additionally, through our web app, we capture a portion of the digital demand that might otherwise be lost or directed to potentially fraudulent sites.

Pharmacies manage everything through a simple, dedicated digital platform—our Pharma BackOffice—which allows them to quickly and easily handle home delivery requests and manage orders coming from pharmercure.com, all supported by a structured and high-quality logistics system. Pharmercure overcomes the typical impersonality of digital services by always placing the pharmacist’s professionalism at the heart of the customer experience.

When is the payment for the order made?

Generally, the customer makes the payment at the time of product delivery. Our logistics team is equipped with mobile POS devices and cash change pouches, allowing customers to choose their preferred payment method up until the last moment. At the same time, customers also have the option to pay via pay by link, where Pharmercure automatically sends a payment request that must be completed before the products are delivered.

MyBank is one of your payment methods, used via sending a payment link to the customer. How does this service work, and how does this solution facilitate your operations?

We integrated this solution at the beginning of 2020, and it has been highly appreciated by all Pharmercure stakeholders—from pharmacists to end users, including our logistics. During the health emergency caused by the pandemic, and more broadly in any situation requiring safe or contactless deliveries, the ability to make or receive payments while minimizing or even eliminating physical contact created a strong sense of trust in the service we offer.

With MyBank’s pay by link service, the need for a physical POS device is completely eliminated. After placing an order on the platform and receiving confirmation from the pharmacist, the customer receives a payment request with a link via SMS, email, or WhatsApp. The customer is asked to complete the payment before the scheduled delivery time; otherwise, the order and service are canceled.

The customer simply clicks the link, selects their bank, and is redirected directly to their online banking platform, where they log in with their usual credentials. They immediately see a fully pre-filled bank transfer and can approve the transaction with a single click—no data entry required. Confirmation is immediate for both the customer and us. The payment is guaranteed because the transaction is irrevocable, allowing us to efficiently manage the order and deliver products very quickly.

Why is it important for Pharmercure’s customers to have access to an alternative payment method that is not card-based, such as MyBank?

At Pharmercure, our guiding principle is customer satisfaction, which includes offering a wide variety of payment options to meet diverse needs. Payment preferences can vary greatly—from small cash payments to electronic payments via innovative apps, contactless technologies, pay by link solutions, and MyBank. MyBank allows customers to pay directly through their online banking without needing cash or payment cards (debit or credit), and without having to create new accounts or download additional apps.

Every situation is unique, and we believe that enabling customers to access essential services like medication procurement in any circumstance is one of the most important values we uphold. Offering an alternative solution like MyBank supports us in achieving this goal.

Pharmercure also promotes the circular economy. Can you tell us about your commendable BiciclAbile project in Turin?

Pharmercure’s business model has always prioritized sustainable delivery services, particularly through the use of electric vehicles and bicycles. This commitment led us to collaborate with BiciclAbile, a project run by the Turin-based social enterprise Stranaidea, which refurbishes abandoned bicycles with the help of people facing disabilities and homelessness. We strongly identify with the values promoted by this initiative, which combines support and assistance for vulnerable individuals with environmental respect. We look forward to using our new bicycles and participating in more initiatives that embody the same social and sustainable spirit.