Meet the Swiss start-up bringing medicines to low-income countries

The provision of affordable medicines to low- and middle-income countries is pitiful, leaving billions of people vulnerable to diseases that could be treated and often cured if they lived in a wealthier country. Swiss start-up Axmed is determined to help; after having already obtained initial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it is today announcing a new fundraising of 2 million dollars.

“I have witnessed a lot of problems,” says Axmed CEO Emmanuel Akpakwu, who grew up in Nigeria and still has family there. “People simply can’t get the medications they need, simply because they live in the wrong place. »

The statistics tell a powerful story. Low- and middle-income countries account for more than 80% of the world’s population and more than 90% of the disease burden – yet global pharmaceutical companies derive only 6% of their revenue from these countries. For various structural and commercial reasons, they carry out the vast majority of their activities with developed economies.

Axmed hopes to begin to change this narrative. Its platform allows governments and other organizations in developing countries to place orders for the medicines they need. All orders for each drug are then consolidated into one large order that meets demand in the volumes pharmaceutical companies seek. This allows manufacturers to supply the drugs at prices that less wealthy countries can afford to pay.

“The principle is that it doesn’t matter if you are a small or a big country: you should pay the same price for essential medicines,” explains Akpakwu. “We believe our approach is a win-win: it reduces barriers to accessing high-cost medicines for patients and providers, while allowing manufacturers to expand their presence in underserved markets. »

Axmed’s founders certainly have the experience to make the platform work. Akpakwu himself is the former commercial director of pharmaceutical giant Novartis’ operations in sub-Saharan Africa. Co-founders Felix Ohnmacht and Sofia Radley-Searle have also held senior roles in the industry, at Novartis and GSK respectively.

The inventiveness of Axmed’s solution and the track record of its founders were key to gaining support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose $5 million investment helped get the company off the ground. The US foundation is particularly keen for Axmed to improve access to healthcare for pregnant women and newborns, but Akpakwu points out that the platform will allow developing countries to purchase hundreds of different medicines for a wide range of diseases and illnesses.

The platform is expected to launch commercially on a large scale later this year, but Axmed has already developed a prototype version of the technology in tandem with pharmaceutical and government partners. The platform’s initial focus will be on serving customers in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Nigeria, although Axmed is already in discussions with other countries.

The additional investment is intended to support more recruitment and support the development of its technology infrastructure in key markets in Africa and the Caribbean. Today’s $2 million funding round is led by Founderful Ventures, whose managing partner Lukas Weder says the investor was attracted by both Axmed’s social mission and the scale of the commercial opportunity.

“The team’s commitment and enthusiasm to take on this important challenge is inspiring,” says Weder. “We have every confidence in their ability to reshape the $140 billion pharmaceutical market in low- and middle-income countries by improving access to medicines worth more than $6 billion. people.”

“Axmed’s approach could fundamentally change the way patients obtain their treatments,” adds Roselyne Opel, head of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States’ Pooled Procurement Initiative. “We look forward to seeing its platform reshape access, empowering buyers and strengthening the delivery of life-saving therapies to a broader patient base.” »

James Nyamongo, CEO of Nairobi Hospital in Kenya, is also a supporter of the initiative. “Axmed’s approach not only allows us to access life-saving medicines at an affordable price, but also fosters real competition that raises the bar for quality, bringing local and global manufacturers of the highest quality to our door. quality.