Generika Drugstore came about when its founders, Mr. Teodoro L. Ferrer, then a newly retired Ayala executive, and Mr. Julien B. Belo saw a common struggle among many Filipinos to keep up with the rising costs of medicines. In many cases, the high cost of medicines even endangered public health as they noted people tend to take a shortcut in their medication without realizing the health risks involved, noting with particular alarm a common practice not to take the full course of the antibiotics they are prescribed with. With his background in social work, Mr. Belo noted that this public health problem can actually be addressed by giving people access to affordable generic medicines, which can be just as effective as their branded counterparts when sourced properly. Thus, Mr. Ferrer and Mr. Belo founded Generika Drugstore in 2003. Generika Drugstore was founded with the vision of empowering Filipinos by providing them access to quality, affordable generic medicines. When Generika opened its first drugstore at Montillano, Muntilupa City in 2004, it became the pioneer champion for quality generic medicines in the pharma retail space. Since then it has made a positive impact on the lives of many Filipinos, and has received numerous awards, recognizing its positive contribution to the promotion of the health and well-being of Filipinos. With 16 company-owned stores in 2008, Generika Drugstore took the next big step and made its business model available for franchising in Luzon. In 2011, Generika Drugstore set its footprint in Visayas and Mindanao. Since then, Generika continued to expand by putting up more branches not only in key cities and municipalities, but also in small towns and barangays. Franchising became the main engine of growth for Generika as it continued to realize its vision of empowering more Filipinos by establishing its presence in communities throughout the country. True to its pioneering spirit, Generika Drugstore in 2014 launched MEDPadala- an electronic gift certificate that can be used to purchase medicines across Generika’s store network nationwide. This was in response to the growing need of OFWs abroad to earmark money sent to their families in the Philippines for their health needs. MEDPadala ensures that the money sent is exclusively used to purchase the required medicines. Another major milestone took place in 2015 when Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, acquired a stake in Generika Drugstore. As a member of the AC Health Group, Generika Drugstore becomes part of a bigger ecosystem that strives to provide every Filipino access to affordable healthcare. Click here to know more about AC Health.