Echo, a British startup that allows users to order repeat prescriptions from the NHS via their smartphone, has raised £7m in venture capital funding.
Sai Lakshmi, Echo’s co-founder and chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph it would use the money to expand its operations team and hire more engineers to build new products.
"The NHS is massively over-stretched with the budget that it has, so what we're trying to do is give patients a tool so they can better manage their health themselves," the former Apple executive said.
The app, which has been downloaded more than 50,000 times, is linked to the NHS’s Electronic Prescription Service.
It reminds patients to take their medication and prompts them to order more when they are running low. The prescription is then posted through their letterbox within five working days.
Echo is offered free to users, except the standard £8.60 prescription charge, as it makes its money by taking a cut of the profits generated by its pharmacy partners.
Mr Lakshmi started the business with Stephen Bourke, its chief experience officer, who previously launched Lloyds Pharmacy’s online prescription service. Echo also faces online competition from the likes of Boots and Pharmacy2u.
As well as making the process easier, Echo says it can improve patients’ health. Around 40pc of medications are wasted or not taken as prescribed by the doctor, Mr Lakshmi said. Among Echo’s users, that falls to around 14pc.
"People on our platform are taking their medication in line with what their doctor is telling them to do," Mr Lakshmi said. "That makes them healthier because they’re better managing their condition, and it eases the burden on the NHS."
The deal’s valuation was undisclosed. Based in west London, Echo employs 26 people.
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