Blinkit pilots 10-minute delivery for prescription medicines in Bengaluru
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Eternal-owned quick commerce platform Blinkit has started delivery of prescription medicines in select localities in Bengaluru . This will be in addition to the over-the-counter (OTC) medicine already available on the app.Blinkit is delivering antibiotics, eye and ear drops, antihistamines and diabetes monitoring devices and drugs under its newly launched drug delivery service. It is also offering dermatological, oral care and neuro care medicines.The delivery times vary between 10–30 minutes depending on the pincodes. There is no clarity on where Blinkit will source the medicines from or the underlying supply chain for the delivery.ET has emailed queries on the development to Blinkit, but is yet to get a response.Yourstory was the first to report the development.A Crisil report on the online pharmacy market estimated that epharmacies currently make up 3–5% of India's pharmaceutical retail market, compared to 22–25% in some developed countries. The analytics firm valued the overall retail pharmacy market in the neighbourhood of Rs 2.4 lakh crore, with the unorganised sector representing an 85% share.Doorstep drug delivery apps have grown in recent months. PhonePe's Pincode introduced 10-minute medicine deliveries in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai in April. Eternal 's rival, Swiggy , reportedly partnered with Pharmeasy last year for quick delivery of medicines. Larger epharmacy platforms, including Tata 1mg and Netmeds, are also vying for rapid expansion.Meanwhile, private pharmacy chain Davaindia has started 60-minute deliveries in Pune. Zeelab Pharmacy, which raised $2.4 million from OTP Ventures earlier this year, has started 60-minute deliveries in Delhi-NCR.But this enthusiasm is beset by the prospect of tighter regulations. Currently, there are no specific rules that exclusively govern online pharmacies. To remedy this, the government is preparing a new law to replace the existing drug regulations, which are not clearly defined, ET reported on June 16.Blinkit is already running a 10-minute ambulance service in Gurugram, scaling the number of vehicles from 5 in January to 12. These ambulances have responded to 594 calls so far, half of which were critical emergencies, Eternal 's chief executive Deepinder Goyal said in a social media post on July 24. They were able to reach patients in 10 minutes 83% of the time, Goyal added.The company is now building an in-house paramedic training programme to expand its emergency care offerings.The online medicine pilot comes as Eternal leans more on Blinkit in the backdrop of sluggishness in the food delivery business. The quick commerce player became the leading vertical for its parent in the April-June quarter, surpassing the net order value of the more mature food delivery arm, Zomato, and driving the 70% jump in revenue.Blinkit is moving to an inventory-led model from September 1, which is likely to drive margin expansion , according to analysts.
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