An AI-hyperspectral IoT Platform for Authenticating Medicines
The counterfeit drug crisis is a significant public health challenge. Defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a medicine that “deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to its identity and/or source,” it is an issue that causes one million deaths globally each year. According to the WHO, 10% of the drugs on the global market are counterfeit and over 50% of the drugs sold on illegal websites are fake. Counterfeit medicine give rise to multiple risks because depending on the ingredient used, consuming a counterfeit drug could lead to disastrous results. Not surprisingly, countries with poor health infrastructure are at the highest risk. To tackle this issue, stakeholders such as government, healthcare authorities, police organizations, government officials, and the general public must mobilize together to find answers. Streamlined solutions must be developed to ensure drugs and medicines serve their actual purpose of making people better instead of endangering patients. To put an end to such malpractices, numerous players have developed novel solutions; One of them is RxAll. The artificial intelligence company is motivated to improve lives and ensure that people receive high-quality drugs and medicines.
RxAll began with a vision to improve lives and ensure that every individual has access to quality, authentic medicine. An AI-hyperspectral platform for authenticating medicines, its platform uses a proprietary molecular sensor device with a cloud-based IP-protected AI algorithm and database of spectral signatures of medicines to carry out non-destructive pill authentication. The company currently works with pharma manufacturers and partners to reduce branded drug counterfeiting. Because of their work, counterfeit medicine that has infiltrated the supply chain have been detected, pharma manufacturers have increased their sales, and patients have better access to high-quality medicines worldwide.
A Step Towards A Sustainable Future
RxAll was first incorporated as a logistics company, formerly known as RxDelivered and exclusively focused on the African market. The company slowly transformed into an AI and data company when co-founders Amy Kao, Adebayo Alonge, and Wei Liu met each other as students at Yale University and chose to engage in an innovative approach towards solving problems. Since meeting at the Yale Healthcare hackathon, the co-founders have worked relentlessly towards building a robust solution around the problem.
Each co-founder is passionately committed to ensuring every person in the world has access to quality and authentic medicines. Through grit and determination, the company endured challenges and tough situations and now, is pushing through and succeeding on the global front. Today, the company has expanded its global footprint and employs numerous people across four continents.
Building the Company: An Insignia of Genuineness
At the core of the company, there is an attitude of resilience and tenacity which is the driving force behind RxAll’s unparalleled success. The company’s mission serves as a guiding light to its team and alliances to work towards a better future, inspiring each and every member. While the team is small, every member is fiercely passionate about the company’s vision and mission and is committed to excel in serving the global community. As a result, every individual working at RxAll contributes to the working culture of the company and reflects the founding team’s passion and personalities.
“Working together, RxAll’s culture reflects our core value of improving lives, and those values are clearly woven into and expressed through every aspect of the company…from hiring and promotion, financial expenditures, prioritizing efforts, and decisions about where our team members’ time and energy are focused. In a way, our company’s culture is defined by our vision and serves as a key driver of our performance,” says Amy Kao – Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer of RxAll.
RxAll has identified that every individual’s contribution is at the heart of its performance. The success is derived from the passion of the teams which in turn translates into working hard to implement a flexible organization structure with vibrant roles and responsibilities. The company offers autonomy to the employees so that they can focus on solving issues and making an impact, as opposed to dealing with the bureaucracies of a larger organization. Since RxAll is a small company, the team members are geared towards action versus over-analysis of an issue. Hence, the company is always striving to evolve its organization’s structure.
Stellar Leadership: A Heart Committed to Serve
Amy Kao is a deep tech entrepreneur who is on a mission to eliminate counterfeit drugs and ensure that every person has access to safe, quality medicines. Though born in the US, she witnessed counterfeit drugs emerging in the market when she was living in Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong. She now spends her time working both as a strategy management consultant and entrepreneur.
A classically trained pianist and violist, Amy is also the Founder of the International Music & Arts Society (a global music non-profit), an ex-Googler, TEDx Speaker, New York Fashion Week runway model, and former Miss Connecticut US International. She proudly advocates for diversity and inclusion and was recently named a ‘30 Under 30 Trendsetter’ by SNJ Millennials. Amy is also passionate about serving special needs community and, in the past, created music education and inclusion programs for the developmentally disabled in Taipei, Taiwan. She currently volunteers for Camp PALS in San Francisco, a one-week camp dedicated to creating immersive experiences for young adults with Down syndrome and their peers to have fun, grow as individuals, and build transformative friendships.
“There are many key values that have helped me to overcome roadblocks and challenges as an entrepreneur. The two that come immediately to mind are grit and passion. My passion for RxAll stems from my personal experience as a victim of counterfeit medicine and wanting to ensure that no other patient would have to suffer through the same experience I did. Every morning when I wake up, this passion arises from deep within to become a driving force of my life and because it is truly present, my efforts with RxAll rarely feel like work even in my most tiresome of days. Having grit and the determination to never give up despite major challenges is a key characteristic of being an entrepreneur. There have been so many times when I’ve been rejected by investors or other stakeholders or was told ‘No, you can’t do this’ or ‘No, you can’t do that.’ However, if you stay true to yourself and vision and keep pushing through…if you continue to fight and learn, eventually you will make it to where you’re meant to be. Success is more than just raw talent or having a vision. It is realized staying through the highs and lows of the journey and constantly driving for results while being resilient when things don’t go as planned,” states Amy.
Writing a New Chapter: The Rise of Female Entrepreneurs
“The recent years have been pivotal in bringing important issues to light. Specifically, I am excited to see more female leaders rising on the global scale. From different movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, to the unprecedented number of women running for public office, we are starting to see a revolutionary trend that touches every industry and group. The best part? This shift is happening globally. As women, we are standing up together to assert greater control of our rights, our safety, our health, and ultimately…our success. We are no longer seeking opportunities via traditional corporate paths to address our needs. Instead, we are pioneering our paths to find new avenues to flex our skills,” asserts Amy. Nevertheless, she points out that women face a number of challenges as entrepreneurs – such as limited financing options, the stigma of being a working mother, and lack of respect as an authority in their field from peers or clients. “Despite these challenges, last year, we saw more female entrepreneurs in the spotlight as they continued to make huge strides to overcome gender-related biases to advance their businesses. It is no surprise that the success of women venture positively impacts the labor force and the growth of the economy. As we look ahead to the next decade, it’s imperative that we create these optimal entrepreneurial conditions for female entrepreneurs globally to become key drivers of economic growth. Together, we are better…and I know we won’t give up. We will continue to wear different hats and juggle multiple side hustles. We will continue to lead organizations at record levels and empower each other. We will continue to close the VC gap and refuse to take ‘No’ as an answer. We will continue to demand respect and equality. We will thrive despite challenges. That’s the only way we know.”
Holistic Offering
RxAll is a deep learning-hyperspectral IoT Platform for Authenticating Drugs. The platform uses a proprietary molecular sensor device with a cloud-based IP-protected deep learning algorithm and database of spectral signatures of drugs- both prescription and recreational- to carry out non-destructive drug authentication. RxAll works with drug regulators and other stakeholders to reduce branded drug counterfeiting and ensures that patients receive high quality authenticated drugs.
Currently, the company is operational in the USA, Canada, China, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria, but is looking to expand its business into Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Users of the company products have found RxAll’s technology unique as it aims to assure the quality and chemical composition of drugs delivered to patients across the world.
The company also has a drug delivery platform – RxDelivered that enables hospitals, pharmacies, and patients to order high quality and authenticated drugs for home/office delivery from the RxAll wholesale network within an hour. Especially in Africa, RxDelivered offers the widest selection of authenticated medicines that is always available for delivery within a short amount of time. Pharmacies and patients save money and time commuting to open markets and receive high quality, authentic products without leaving the comfort of their homes - all at wholesale prices. To learn more about RxAll, please visit: https://www.rxall.net/