Walgreens buys Medly assets amid shutdown

Digital pharmacy startup Medly is closing its doors at the end of February, two employees have confirmed.

A Delaware bankruptcy court judge on Monday approved the sale of Medly’s pharmacy assets, including patient data, pharmacy records and prescription drug inventory, to Walgreens for $19.35 million. The sale did not include its retail assets, such as over-the-counter drugs sold through the app and at physical locations.

Medly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2022 listing $11.4 million in assets and $105.6 million in liabilities.

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Business Insider on Tuesday reported that Medly sent out an email to employees on Tuesday. announcing that it will cease operations and close the remaining 22 stores, which will close by the end of the month. Two employees contacted by the company on Thursday said the company would close by the end of February.

In August, Medly laid off 1,110 workers, more than half of the state. The company cut another 173 jobs in December when it filed for bankruptcy protection. In September, former employees filed a class-action status lawsuit alleging that Medly failed to provide proper written notice of terminations in violation of the Workers Adaptation and Retraining Act. The lawsuit was put on hold due to Medly’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The bankruptcy is a downfall for Medly, which received $100 million in July 2020 from venture capital firms Greycroft and Volition Capital to grow its digital same-day delivery business. In June 2021, the company bought pharmaceutical health and wellness company Pharmaca. In August, CEO and co-founder Dr. Marg Patel left the company.

Medly’s decline comes as digital health companies struggle to adjust to broader economic challenges. Dozens of startups have laid off employees since June 2022.

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