Short solution summary:
Data-driven, transparent and end-to-end supply chain for essential medicines in emerging Economies
In what city, town, or region is your solution team based?
Lagos, NigeriaWho is the Team Lead for your solution?
Chibuzo Opara
Which Challenge Area does your solution most closely address?
Respond (Decrease transmission & spread), such as: Optimal preventive interventions & uptake maximization, Cutting through “infodemic” & enabling better response, Data-driven learnings for increased efficacy of interventionsWhat specific problem are you solving?
In 2016, I lost my Dad who was a professor of Surgery to poor access to his essential medicines. This is not an isolated case, today, less than 10% of 100,000+ health care providers in Nigeria have access to transparent, free flow, and visibility of essential medicines and genuine medical products when they need it the most. According to WHO, this is one of the biggest challenges in the pharmaceutical supply chain in emerging economies.
In Africa for instance, an inefficient and bureaucratic supply system is often plagued by poor procurement practices that make drugs very costly or unavailable to the patients that need them the most.
Likewise, healthcare providers like pharmacies, Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs), doctors, maternity and nursing homes struggle with procuring or accessing real-time, transparent and counterfeit-proof medical products.
Added to these are the poor transportation system, a lack of storage facilities for pharmaceutical products and insufficiently regulated leading to a massive influx of fake and substandard medicines to the supply chain, making it difficult for the hard reach, voiceless poor to access quality safe medications.
Who does your solution serve, and what needs of theirs does it address?
Our target audience is Licensed community pharmacies, chain pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, patent and proprietary medicine vendors (PPMVs), Maternity and nursing homes. Through our partners we seek to transform the lives of the lower socio-economic groups across 16 cities and 90 million people in the next 2 years.
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An initiative, venture, or organisation with an established product, service, or business/policy model rolled out in one or, ideally, several contexts or communities, which is poised for further growthPlease select all the technologies currently used in your solution:
What “public good” does your solution provide?
DrugStoc social impact revolves around;
Expanding access to cost-effective, transparent, quality and genuine essential medicines for low socio-economic groups of patients and individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa
Empowering the healthcare providers with the improved financial wellbeing from doing business with DrugStoc leading to a positive ripple effect on the surrounding community’s healthcare and prosperity
Data transparency in the Pharma industry
How will your solution create tangible impact, and for whom?
Community Pharmacies (CP) - Every product CP’s are buying from DrugStoc reduces the chances of them buying counterfeit or substandard versions of the same product.
Private Practice - Offer unhindered access to doctors, Traditional Birth Attendants, and Nurse-led organisations. Reduces cost to patient significantly by ensuring all medications are accessible to them at wholesale prices (No Minimum order quantity)
Small-mid sized hospitals - Access to quality generics. Enhance quality and cost of healthcare for insurance companies.
Unregulated Medicine vendors - Access to OTC medication and trade alternatives at prices inaccessible to them that in turn reduce their need to sell antibiotics or other controlled medication.
Industry-wide impact - A true alternative to Open Drug Market for health providers and data transparency
How will you scale your impact over the next one year and the next three years?
Post-Series A which we just completed, Our timeline for the next 3 years include
BY END OF YEAR 1 - Onsite presence in 3 cities, delivering 15 million prescriptions (through our end to end tech-enabled supply chain ) to 7,000 health care providers annually
BY END OF YEAR 2 - Onsite presence in 7 cities delivering 30 million prescriptions (through our end to end tech-enabled supply chain ) to 10,000 health care providers annually
BY END OF YEAR 3- Onsite presence in 15 cities delivering 90 million prescriptions to 16000 health care providers annually
How are you measuring success against your impact goals?
15% in data visibility and transparency in the medical products supply chain industry in sub-Saharan Africa by year 3.
In which countries do you currently operate?
In which countries do you plan to deploy your solution within the next 3 years?
What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year and the next 3 years? How do you plan to overcome these barriers?
Even though we are united by food, languages, culture and common social issues in sub-Saharan Africa, Every country has varying Pharma policy and regulatory frameworks.
Like we've demonstrated in Nigeria by obtaining a license from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria(PCN), our plans will be to work and obtain a license with regulatory bodies in every country we expand to. We expect varying levels of barriers as regards policy and political stability in every city we expand to in sub-Saharan Africa.
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What type of organisation is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar modelsList any organisations that you are formally affiliated with or working for
- Pharmacists Council of Nigeria
- Bill & Melinda gate foundation
- Association of general and private medical practitioners of Nigeria
-International Organization for Standardization
- Jack Ma Foundation
- Ministry of Health
- Rippleworks Foundation
- Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies
- Chain Pharmacies, Community Pharmacies, HMOs, Hospitals, Clinics, Public hospitals, Maternity and Nursing Clinics
Why are you applying to The Trinity Challenge?
Mentorship
What organisations would you like to partner with, why, and how would you like to partner with them?
Amazon -Tech Advisory
CVS - Advisory
MIT LAB - Research, Technology
Mckesson - Expertise, mentorship and Advisory
UnitedHealthcare - Expertise, mentorship and Advisory
Solution Team
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Dr Chibuzo Opara Co founder, DrugStoc
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Adham Yehia Co-founder, DrugStoc
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Solution name:
DrugStoc