Canadian digital pharmacy Mednow has wrapped up its acquisition of Infusicare Canada Inc., a specialty pharmacy focused on biologic drugs, for C$1.85 million in cash.

The news comes months after the company launched its own telehealth service that complements its virtual pharmacy offerings. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Mednow is positioning this latest acquisition as a way to boost its presence in the biologic drug market and expand its capacity for same-day delivery.  

Biologics, a type of medicine made from living organisms or their cells, are a growing class of drugs, but they can be expensive.

"Mednow continues to achieve its vision of connecting all people of Canada with access to amazing care, through the acquisition of Infusicare," Karim Nassar, CEO of Mednow, said in a statement.

"Adding Infusicare, a specialty pharmacy offering biologic drugs, complements our approach to accelerating our strategy of full-service offerings through both organic development and mergers and acquisitions. [The] specialty pharmacy will integrate well into our digital pharmacy, which offers unique medication adherence solutions in addition to mental health support, epigenetic testing and men's wellness."

THE LARGER TREND

Mednow went public earlier this year and began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in March. 

Outside Mednow's most recent acquisition, initially announced last month, the company also scooped up home care provider Medvisit and another online pharmacy in British Columbia this year. It's also invested in virtual care company Doko Medical, which operates in the U.S. and Canada.

A variety of companies offer virtual pharmacy services on the market, and several of them have expanded into telehealth.

Earlier this month, Truepill announced plans to add a COVID-19 virtual care platform, just months after the company scored $142 million in Series D financing. 

Sesame, a direct-payment healthcare marketplace, launched its own digital pharmacy services in late August through a partnership with Truepill. 

Others in the space include Amazon, which rolled out its Amazon Pharmacy shop about a year ago; Alto, which last year partnered with Hims & Hers and scored $250 million in Series D financing; and Medly, which closed a $100 million Series B round in 2020.