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For some medical problems, going to the pharmacy may be uncomfortable. For example with erection problems. Or going to the doctor for the prescription medication and then going to the pharmacy simply takes too long. Whether sildenafil for erection problems, finasteride for male baldness or the contraceptive pill – such preparations are not freely available. It only comes with a recipe. This is intended to protect patients, for example from complications and side effects. So say the law.
That means: If you want a corresponding remedy, you first have to go to the doctor, get a prescription – and then go to the pharmacy. But Manuel Nothelfer and Nico Hribernik with their health startup, the Wellster HealthTech Group, promise: This is easier, uncomplicated, without visiting a doctor or pharmacy.
The Munich startup sells prescription medications online. In recent years it has raised 53 million euros in capital from well-known investors such as the venture arms of Holtzbrinck Verlag and the ProSiebenSat.1 Group. The trick at Wellster: Patients can fill out a questionnaire online to receive a prescription from a doctor. The company then delivers the corresponding medication. The company generated sales of over 30 million euros with this system last year – and, according to its own information, has already treated over two million patients.
But how exactly does the Wellster system work? Who are the doctors who write the prescriptions? And where do the medications ultimately come from? We did some research for you and came across an international network of companies that Wellster uses to sell prescription medications in Germany – and that raises a few questions.