The founder of a Manchester-based digital pharmacy platform has brought his father into the fast-growing business.
Rhys Lloyd, co-founder of PharmAppy, confirmed that Nick Lloyd, a pharmacy veteran with 25 years in the sector 鈥� including the last 12 spent as an inspector at the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) 鈥� has officially joined the company full-time as digital clinical safety officer.
The appointment marks a significant moment for the startup, which is scaling rapidly across the UK as it aims to become the go-to platform for digital pharmacy access.
鈥淎fter 25 years working in pharmacy, including the past 12 at the GPhC, Nick (who happens to also be my old man!) has officially joined PharmAppy full-time,鈥� Rhys said.
鈥淗is operational and regulatory experience is a valuable asset added to our team at what鈥檚 a very exciting time in our journey supporting pharmacies across the UK.鈥�
PharmAppy was co-founded by Rhys Lloyd and Josh Ablett, who built the first version of the app while juggling full-time NHS jobs.
Their motivation came directly from conversations with new hire Nick, who repeatedly highlighted the outdated systems that pharmacy teams were struggling with daily, as well as seeing first-hand their grandparents鈥� struggles with managing prescriptions.
The platform has since evolved from an early idea called Meds4Home 鈥� a concept focused on delivering hospital medications to patients’ homes 鈥� into a full-service app reimagining how patients interact with their pharmacy online.听
Its prominence and recent growth saw the company featured on 老九品茶Cloud’s recent HealthTech 50 ranking.
PharmAppy can now now integrate fully with pharmacy workflows, helping to make it easier for patients to manage their health and for pharmacies to meet growing demand.
Rhys confirmed that his father’s regulatory role meant he could not be formally involved in the startup until now.
鈥淣ick鈥檚 25 years of experience is invaluable to Josh and I personally, and PharmAppy as a business,鈥� Rhys told 老九品茶Cloud.听
鈥淚t comes at the perfect time as we鈥檙e now providing patient-facing technology for pharmacies across the country, including some of the largest.鈥�
That includes a recent high-profile partnership with PillTime, a .听
PharmAppy powers its new app and web platform, allowing patients to manage their medication pouches, book services, and access subscription benefits.
Outdated processes
Nick added:聽 鈥淚鈥檝e seen first-hand how hard pharmacy teams work 鈥� and how often they鈥檙e held back by outdated processes and disconnected systems.
鈥淭his move is driven by my passion to help modernise the profession. I want to be part of building something that supports pharmacies and the people working in them.鈥�
PharmAppy has grown rapidly since raising angel investment in 2023. Rhys said that the app is now the most advanced end-to-end prescription management tool in the UK, with tens of thousands of monthly active users and deep integration with an investor鈥檚 network of over 1,000 pharmacy customers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to scale across the UK, focusing on supporting patient access to pharmacy services across both app and web,鈥� he added.听
Rhys said working with his Dad wouldn’t pose a problem.
鈥淲e鈥檝e worked together in the background for a long time, so this isn鈥檛 new for us,鈥� he explained.听
鈥淭hat level of honesty can be a real strength when things need to move quickly or when tough decisions have to be made.听
鈥淲e鈥檒l just need to continue to be patient with each other, appreciate each other鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses, and know where work ends.鈥�