Prescription for growth involves buying technology firm

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This article was published 09/03/2022 (1303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FGC Health, a Winnipeg company that is acquiring independent pharmacies and organizations offering other types of health-care services, has acquired a Toronto-based technology company that will be integrated into FGC’s offerings.

The technology company, called Pharmacy Access Solutions Inc, (PASI) does a lot of things FGC was in the process of building itself, like automation and integration of inventory management as well as point of sale and electronic medical records.

PASI will continue to operate as a standalone operation and will continue to market its technology to other pharmacies.

The $5-million deal is part of an aggressive acquisition strategy for the two-year-old company founded by Dalbir Bains and Hamza Musaphir.

In addition to this new company, FGC also owns five pharmacies, two medical clinics, a home care agency and an ambulatory care company.

FGC has an ambitious goal of providing technology and efficiency solutions for independent pharmacies and other health care organizations freeing up time so that pharmacists and other health care professional can spend more time counselling patients.

“Our goal has always been to provide a complete suite of industry-specific business tools for businesses of all kinds within the Canadian health-care system,” Bains said.

The PASI acquisition will mean FGC locations will be able to start offering things like automated refills of prescriptions and more seamless integration of business management tools that PASI has been doing for 20 years, something that is hard to test with new technology.

“It really does help the pharmacists become less about dispensing medication and more about providing counselling and advice,” said Bains.

The 4,000 independent pharmacies in Canada have struggled during the pandemic for many of the same reasons every other in-person retailer has. But they also struggle with increasing costs whereas large chains enjoy bulk purchase discounts.

Dan Curl, the former owner of two pharmacies in Calgary that were acquired by FGC in 2020, said independent pharmacies are susceptible to changes in service that bigger chains are not.

“As well, independents fall behind on the technology front both on the management side and on the customer-facing side,” said Curl.

For instance, he said many do not allow patients to order refills from the pharmacy website or texting refills.

“A big part of FGC’s platform is making technology available that can be implemented in the stores,” he said.

Curl, who is now head of business development for FGC said, “Our acquisition of PASI really pushes us forward in that direction.”

Only two years after launching the company, Bains said it is close to $50 million in annual revenue.

He said operating profitability has been better than anticipated allowing the company to be self-funded but the company is in discussions with institutional investors to further capitalize the company.

“That will drive the next stage of growth for us which is an accelerated acquisition strategy,” Bains said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca