Glasgow-based online pharmacy innovator doubles headcount to almost 100

An online pharmacy specialist headquartered in Glasgow has seen its headcount almost double to just under 100 following rapid global expansion.

Rebecca Moore and Addy Mohammed of Simple Online Healthcare.

Simple Online Healthcare, which trades as Simple Online Pharmacy in the UK, has also increased revenue by 56 per cent to £24.3 million in the year to the end of February 2023 as its staff numbers grew to 99 people. During the year, the company expanded operations across the UK, Germany and Australia, and is now set to expand further into Europe.

Founded by Addy Mohammed and Karim Nassar in Glasgow in 2015, Simple Online Healthcare offers a free online NHS England prescription delivery service, an online pharmacy store and online doctor services in the UK, Australia and Germany. The firm has invested £1m in next generation AI-powered robotics, one of the first in the UK to do so. This will boost capacity and reduce unit costs for NHS dispensing.

Co-founder Mohammed said: “Last year saw us significantly scale and invest across the business, in terms of geography, supply chain, technology and our team. Overall, we are one step closer to realising our ambition to be a truly global provider of patient-centric care.”

Former Skyscanner and TravelNest senior executive Rebecca Moore joined the business as chief operating officer last year, and the company is said to have a number of further senior hires in the pipeline. During 2022, the firm acquired the Kapsel and Dr Felix brands from Stark Healthcare. Now integrated into the group, Kapsel provides primary care services to patients across Germany, while Dr Felix is an online doctor clinic service serving patients UK-wide.

Moore said: “The acquisitions have proven to be a great success, they have enabled us to extend our reach in the UK and Europe, and we’re adding strong triple-digit revenue growth in these units.”

To date, Simple Online Healthcare has served more than 700,000 patients across all regions and brands. Mohammed added: “Our mission is to build the most patient-centric online healthcare service in the world, simplifying healthcare for patients everywhere. We want to make treatments more accessible and affordable, whilst giving the highest standard of care and we continue to see considerable growth prospects going forward.”

Glasgow-based online pharmacy specialist pushes into Germany with latest deal