Bangladeshi startup PulseTech raises $3m in a bid to tackle counterfeit medicines

PulseTech, a Dhaka-based B2B health-tech platform working to eliminate counterfeit medicines from the market, has raised USD 3 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Vietnam-based venture capital firm AVV and Singapore-headquartered accelerator fund Iterative.

The investment, announced on 2 December, marks AVV's first deal in Bangladesh, according to DealStreetAsia. PulseTech said the fresh capital will be used to scale its operations across the country, launch a new "One Pharmacy" franchise model targeting small, non-compliant chemists, and prepare for expansion into South and South-east Asian markets facing similar counterfeit medicine challenges.

Founded in 2021 by Kazi Ashikur Rasul and Arefeen Raafi Ahmed, PulseTech runs Medbox, a data-driven ordering and logistics platform that lets pharmacies source medicines directly from verified manufacturers. The company handles last-mile delivery and says it has grown more than fifteen-fold over the past year, now serving more than 12,000 pharmacies and reaching about 3.5 million people in Dhaka.

New capital to unify fragmented pharmacies

PulseTech's "One Pharmacy" franchise model aims to bring thousands of small, often informal pharmacies into a standardised, compliant framework. Many of these outlets operate with limited oversight and rely on wholesale markets to secure lower prices, a practice that can introduce counterfeit or substandard medicines into the supply chain.

By aggregating demand and enforcing sourcing from verified manufacturers via Medbox, PulseTech says it can give regulators and lenders greater visibility over pharmacy operations, while improving medicine traceability and quality.

The platform also offers digital tools such as MediPOS and other software for inventory management, ordering and day-to-day operations. By capturing inventory and sales data, PulseTech works with financial institutions to extend inventory-backed credit to pharmacies, positioning this as a way to increase financial inclusion in a largely cash-based segment.

Investor confidence despite political uncertainty

Eddie Thai, co-founder of AVV, said the firm had been looking for a team capable of helping to "transform Bangladesh", adding that PulseTech's growth had been "extraordinary" given the country's ongoing political transition. AVV, based in Vietnam, has backed several South-east Asian unicorns and is now seeking opportunities in neighbouring emerging markets.

Iterative co-founder and managing partner Hsu Ken said the accelerator first invested in PulseTech in February 2025. According to his statement, the company grew revenues from USD 1million to USD13 million during its three-month stint in the programme, driven by demand from pharmacies for a more efficient alternative to traditional sales representatives visiting stores one by one.

He described co-founders Rasul and Ahmed as "like family to each other", arguing that their combination of pharmaceutical domain knowledge and rapid product execution had been key to the firm's performance.

Counterfeit medicines remain a systemic risk

Bangladesh has long struggled with counterfeit and substandard drugs entering its medicine supply chain. Government estimates reported in 2014 suggested at least 10% of medicines sold in the country were fake, while the World Health Organization has found that around one in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified.

PulseTech cites an internal estimate that at least one in every 10 pharmaceutical products reaching patients in Bangladesh may be counterfeit, a level it describes as "simply unacceptable" and a direct threat to patient safety. The company argues that pharmacies, as the point of contact for most patients, need reliable access to authentic medicines without having to navigate fragmented wholesale markets.

In a statement, managing director Ahmed said the company was founded "to ensure pharmacies get products from verified sources" so that patients "never worry about the authenticity of the medicine they take".

Growing pharmaceutical market

Bangladesh's pharmaceutical industry has expanded rapidly in recent years and now supplies the vast majority of the country's domestic demand for medicines. Official estimates suggest the domestic pharmaceuticals market is on track to exceed about $6 bn in value by the end of 2025, with local manufacturers providing roughly 97–98% of the country's medicinal needs.

Analysts have said that while this growth has improved access to treatment, it has also increased the complexity of the supply chain, making regulatory oversight and quality assurance more challenging, particularly at the retail level.

PulseTech's chief executive, Rasul, said the company's ambitions extend beyond improving individual pharmacies. "Our goal goes beyond improving individual pharmacies. We want to reshape how healthcare reaches communities across Bangladesh," he said. By combining technology, direct sourcing and access to finance, the company aims to create a more transparent and trusted network for medicine distribution, with a long-term ambition of becoming a regional pharmaceutical infrastructure platform.

PulseTech has indicated that, if it can establish itself as a backbone for medicine distribution across Bangladesh and South Asia, it would consider a future public listing on a major global exchange.