By Graham Smith
PharmacyNews
Pharmacy's Independent News Magazine

Brett Clark, the founder and owner of the online ePharmacy, has been named Ernst & Young's Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Queensland and the Northern Territory. He received the award on August 7, and will now move into the national finals to be held in December in Melbourne. Mr Clark established ePharmacy in March 2000, on the cusp of the tech wreck that turned thousands of paper millionaires into overnight paper paupers. The ePharmacy model, however, has flourished since its launch. The operation, which started off with Mr Clark and a part-time colleague, now operates out of three warehouses and has a staff of 70, making it one of Australia's fastest growing ecommerce businesses.

Brett Clark has built his ePharmacy business by filling a need in rural and remote communities.

Mr Clark told Pharmacy News that rural and remote areas were the company's main market.

"In a lot of cases pharmacies are shutting down and leaving town, and that's where the ePharmacy model is useful," he said.

The ePharmacy company recently moved into supplying doctors with samples, in alliance with a company called SamplesPlus.

GPs and medical reps (once registered) request samples online, the order is checked by a pharmacist and ePharmacy looks after the fulfilment.

Mr Clark said one of the advantages for medical reps was that by reducing the need to carry around large amounts of sample stock, medicines could be stored in ideal conditions and dispatched to GPs appropriately.