UK start-up Echo raises £7m to grow apps business

UK startup Echo, which recently launched an app enabling patients to order repeat NHS prescriptions from their smartphone, has raised £7 million in venture capital funding to help grow its offering.

White Star Capital led the round with participation from MMC Ventures, LocalGlobe, Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet and Public.io. The investment follows a £1.8 million seed round from LocalGlobe, Global Founders Capital and Rocket Internet last year.

Sai Lakshmi, the group’s co-founder and chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that the cash will be used to increase its operations team and bring on board more engineers to design new products.

Echo’s app works with existing GP NHS England practice workflows and technology, requiring zero technological or process changes for surgeries using the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

It simply alerts users when it is time to re-order medicines, which are then delivered to the door once the order is approved by the GP, and also reminds patients to take medicines as directed.

"The NHS is massively over-stretched with the budget that it has, so what we're trying to do is give patients a tool so they can better manage their health themselves," Lakshmi told the paper.