Best 5 Drone Companies Serving the Medical Industry

Medical drones have emerged as an innovative delivery solution with in the healthcare industry, offering faster and efficient delivery of critical medical supplies and emergency services. We analyzed over 95 drone companies that offer medical drones for various healthcare applications. In this article, discover 5 medical drone companies and their capabilities in this industry.

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Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are aircrafts that operate without a human pilot on board. They can be remotely controlled by an operator on the ground or fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans. Drones have become increasingly prevalent in the modern society; they have transcended their military origins and are now finding relevance in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, e-commerce, agriculture, surveillance, emergency response, entertainment and humanitarian aid. The agility of drones allows them to navigate through obstacles, such as buildings and bridges and reach areas that would otherwise be inaccessible by other modes of transport, making them a vital tool in combating the pandemic. Despite the widespread impact of drones in commercial, recreational, and industrial sectors, their adoption in healthcare has been slower due to regularly evolving legal landscape, lack of necessary infrastructure and expertise to support the use of drones and safety concerns among patients and healthcare providers. However, the increasing involvement of drones in the healthcare sector is a clear indication that medical drones are expected to experience high demand in the near future.

It is worth highlighting that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, medical drones have played a critical role in delivering medical supplies, including blood, vaccines, and medications, to remote areas that lack traditional healthcare facilities. Even though telehealth services were able to ensure doctor’s consultation in remote areas, the medical supplies were challenging. It is interesting to note that large players are making an impact by entering the medical drone delivery space these days. Pfizer and BioNTech deployed Zipline’s medical delivery drone for delivery of authorized mRNA COVID vaccines in Ghana in 2021. Recently, Johnson & Johnson has entered into a supporting program to deliver HIV treatments across five islands in Uganda. Further, Israel has conducted a pilot project in collaboration with multiple medical organizations and governmental bodies to examine the viability of utilizing drones for the delivery of blood products and essential medical supplies to hospitals. The project involved testing the delivery of these crucial items through drone technology, marking a significant advancement in the field of medical logistics. 

Roots Analysis has conducted an exhaustive study on Medical Drones Market featuring the current market landscape and future opportunity for the manufacturers involved in offering medical drones, over a span of 12 years.

Since medical drones have emerged as an innovative delivery solution in the healthcare industry, offering faster and efficient delivery of critical medical supplies and services. These UAVs present opportunities to optimize accessibility, accelerate response times, and streamline operational efficiency, particularly in geographically isolated or underserved regions.

Table of Contents

Below, we have listed (in alphabetical order), the top 5 medical drone companies transforming healthcare delivery. 
1. Skyports 
2. SwoopAero 
3. Wingcopter 
4. Volocopter 
5. Zipline

Interested in exploring all 95+ Medical Drone Companies and their recent initiatives?

Discover Below the Details on Top 5 Medical Drone Companies

For enhancing the visibility and optimizing sales in the medical drones industry, companies are adopting several strategies. Notably, some players have predominantly encompassed collaborative efforts as well as secured funding, all aimed at augmenting market presence and brand recognition. Let us deep dive to understand the initiatives being taken by top 5 drone companies (shortlisted on the basis of number of partnerships entered or amount of funding received) in the medical drone market. 

Skyports, Collaborating with eVTOL Manufacturers to Strengthen its Position in the Drone Delivery Services Market

1. Skyports

Skyports is a drone delivery service provider which collaborates with drone manufacturers. They are primarily active in rural deliveries, surveys, surveillance as well as maritime verticals. The company is playing a crucial role in the development of Urban Air Mobility ecosystem with its current announcement regarding development of a vertiport at Groupe ADP's Pontoise-Cormeilles Airfield in Paris, which will serve the electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) companies. 

Skyports: Company Details

Particulars	Specifications
Company Logo
Year of Establishment of Skyports	2018
Number of Employees of Skyports	51-200
Headquarters of Skyports

 

Funding Received by Skyports: ~$41 Million 

1. In August 2022, Skyports closed its Series B financing by receiving $3.13 million by key investor ST Engineering Venture to scale up their business operations.
2. In March 2022, Skyports raised $23 million from key investors, namely Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, Groupe ADP, Solar Ventus, Irelandia and Levitate Capital to gain attraction in the market of advanced air mobility infrastructure and drone operations.

Partnerships for Applications of Drones in Medical / Healthcare Industry: 

Skyports has signed various local as well as international collaborations with partners across different countries namely Belgium, Japan, Kenya, Scotland, UK and US. Some examples of partnerships signed by Skyports:

1. In March 2023, Skyports has undergone a service alliance with Kaga City and Kanematsu Corporation to transport medical supplies between clinics and hospitals in Kaga City, Japan.
2. In February 2023, Skyports signed a local agreement with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, to explore the use of UAVs for the delivery of blood samples as well as chemotherapy drugs.
3. In January 2023, Skyports has undergone an agreement with Pyka, US for the collaborative services offered for medical organizations.

Further details on key features of Skyports drones, details on funding and partnerships have been provided in detail in the report.

Swoop Aero is Diligently Planning its Geographical Expansion, Eyeing the Opportunity in the United States

2. Swoop Aero

Swoop Aero is an Australian drone manufacturer which also delivers essential services and supplies by establishing a string network of drones. Swoop Aero has incorporated cloud platforms and created digital twins to its aircraft in order to assure safety. Moreover, using advanced technologies, Swoop Aero has made its drones operationally as well as technically worthy of air operations. As of 2023, the company has served over 4.3 million people using its active drone network and transported approximately 1.4 million medical items via drone.¹ The drones are manufactured by their partner Quickstep Holdings Ltd., with manufacturing facility in Melbourne. Swoop Aero signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Quickstep USA to enter the US market. 

Swoop Aero: Company Details

Particulars	Specifications
Company Logo
Year of Establishment	2017
Number of Employees	51-200
Headquarters
Product Name	Kite™
Aircraft Type	electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL)

 

Funding Received by Swoop Aero: ~$30 Million 

1. Swoop Aero received grant from USAID Development Innovation Ventures worth $1.5 million to scale up its business operations.
2. In another round of grants, Swoop Aero received $1.8 million from Federal government’s Emerging Aviation Technology Partnerships (EATP) program to expand its capabilities.
3. The company raised $16 million in a Series B round led by venture capital fund Main Sequence.
4. In addition to grants, Swoop Aero has received an additional $10 million to join its Series B round of financing, where the key investor was Levitate Capital.

Partnerships for Applications of Drones in Medical / Healthcare Industry: 

1. In February 2023, Swoop Aero signed a supply agreement with New Zealand Healthcare Department to transport blood and pathology samples across different labs and care centers in New Zealand.
2. In October 2022, Swoop Aero signed a collaboration with Mater Hospital, Brisbane to shuttle the samples of patients from Moreton Bay to the hospital's testing labs at Springfield in Ipswich.

Further details on key features of Swoop Aero drones, details on funding and partnerships have been provided in detail in the report.

Volocopter Has Raised $680 Million via Various Ventures Series Rounds, Which Will Solidify its Position in the Market of Medical Drones

3. Volocopter

Volocopter, an emerging branch of fully electric vision has a vision to improve the transportation of people as well as goods in cities. There are three aircrafts of eVTOL, which are offered by the Volocopter, namely VoloCity and VoloRegion for passengers, and VoloDrone for the delivery of goods.

Volocopter: Company Details

Particulars	Specifications
Company Logo
Year of Establishment	2011
Number of Employees	501-1,000
Headquarters
Product Name	VoloDrone
Aircraft Type	electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL)

 

Funding Received by Volocopter: ~$680 Million 

1. In November 2022, Volocopter raised $182 million in the Venture Series E round from key investors NEOM and GLy Capital Management for the purpose of certifications and commercial launch of their products.
2. In March 2022, Volocopter raised $170 million from Korean WP Investment, Atlantia and Honeywell.
3. In March 2021, Volocopter raised €200 Million in Series D Funding Round to lay its solid market leadership via its drones.

Further details on key features of Volocopter drones and details on funding have been provided in detail in the report.

Wingcopter Seeking Alliances to Expand in the Medical Drone Delivery Service Market; also Evaluating Expansion in Consumer Delivery

4. Wingcopter

Wingcopter was founded by Tom Plümmer, Jonathan Hesselbarth and Ansgar Kadura. They envisioned to serve the people who need adequate access to healthcare. With the aim to reduce the delivery time of medical related supplies from days to minutes, Wingcopter has developed aviation-grade drone technology as well as acting as service provider for medical drone delivery. 

Beyond the medical applications, Wingcopter will also start a pilot program in Germany for delivery of consumer goods to rural communities.²  

Wingcopter: Company Details

Particulars	Specifications
Company Logo
Year of Establishment	2017
Number of Employees	51-200
Headquarters
Product Name	Wingcopter 198
Aircraft Type	electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL)

 

Funding Received by Wingcopter: ~$200 Million 

1. In May 2023, Wingcopter received €40 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to scale up its delivery services and increase the production of Wingcopter 198.
2. In June 2022, Wingcopter raised $42 million from key investors, namely REWE Group, Salvia and XAI technologies to invest in their R&D efforts as well as rise the production. In addition, Wingcopter would expand their business by hiring more employees.

Partnerships for Applications of Drones in Medical / Healthcare Industry:
Wingcopter has signed various international collaborations with partners across several geographies with an aim to expand its drone delivery service. These partnerships have primarily been formed with a strong emphasis on the service-based alliances as well as supply agreements to expand their reach, geographically. Some examples of partnerships signed by Wingcopter:

1. In June 2023, Siemens Healthineers, a diagnostic laboratory entered into a collaboration with Wingcopter to make use of their cold chain enabled drones for two way delivery of blood samples and medicines across Africa.³
2. In May 2022, Wingcopter and Continental Drones entered into an agreement to deploy 12,000 drones in Africa, starting 2023, for medical deliveries.
3. In February 2022, Wingcopter entered into a service alliance with UAV Latam to improve access of medical products in hard-to-reach regions, starting with Peru.
4. In January 2022, Wingcopter signed a commercial agreement with Spright worth $16 million. Within this agreement, Spright acquired the large fleet of Wingcopter’s new flagship delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198 aimed at medical deliveries.

Further details on key features of Wingcopter drones, details on funding and partnerships have been provided in detail in the report.

Zipline, a Pioneer in the Medical Drones Market, Making its Way in Consumer Delivery 

Zipline

Zipline is aiming to build world’s fastest logistic systems by transforming the accessibility to healthcare, food as well as consumer products. It started its operations in 2016 in Rwanda by delivering the medical products and blood via its drone. It is saving lives in remote regions and till date has claimed to finish the 45 million commercial autonomous miles.

The company has collaborated with GNC, a nutritional supplement company, and Associated Couriers, a healthcare logistics company for use of drones to delivery prescriptions, medications and supplements in urban areas, replacing the courier delivery services.⁴ 

Zipline: Company Details

Particulars	Specifications
Company Logo
Year of Establishment	2014
Number of Employees	501-1,000
Headquarters
Product Name	Zipline Drone
Aircraft Type	Fixed Wing Drone

 

Funding Received by Zipline: ~$1 Billion 

1. In April 2023, Zipline closed series F funding worth $330 million, which was used for scaling up its business operations in order to lunch a new home delivery service. 
2. Additionally, in the year 2021, Zipline raised an amount of $250 million in series E for logistics purposes and scaling up the delivery operations in the US and Africa.

Partnerships for Application of Drones in Medical / Healthcare Industry:
Zipline has signed multiple partnerships across six countries, including the United States, Ghana, Rwanda, Brazil, Nigeria, and India. Notably, the majority of these partnerships were formed with government organizations rather than industry-specific entities. The focus of these collaborations primarily revolves around supply agreements and distribution agreements to facilitate efficient delivery operations. Some examples of partnerships signed by Zipline:

1. In December 2022, Zipline signed a supply agreement with Government of Rwanda to deliver blood using its autonomous electric drone in Rwanda.
2. In July 2022, Zipline undergone supply agreement with MultiCare Health System for the delivery of various medical supplies including medications, tests kits and samples.
3. In June 2022, Zipline signed another collaboration with Kaduna State Government, Nigeria with an expectation to deliver medical supplies to hundreds of health facilities. 
4. Zipline signed supply agreement with Toyota Tsusho, Brazil in April 2022 for the distribution of medical supplies across the Got? Islands of Japan. 

Further details on key features of Zipline drones, details on funding and partnerships have been provided in detail in the report.

What About the Other Medical Drone Companies around the world?

The above presentation features five medical drones companies selected from a pool of over 95 players that we have compiled. If you're interested, you can download the Sample Report on this topic by Roots Analysis. For personalized assistance in identifying the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at sales@rootsanalysis.com. 

About Author

Nancy_Kapila

I am Nancy Kapila, an accomplished pharmaceutical consultant with a rich and diverse experience spanning more than 5 years. My educational background includes a Master's degree in Pharmaceutics (M.Pharm) from Panjab University, which has provided me with a solid foundation in understanding the intricate mechanisms of drugs and their interactions within the human body. Throughout my professional journey, I have had the privilege of working with various pharmaceutical companies, leveraging my expertise to provide valuable insights and strategic guidance. 

What sets me apart is my unwavering commitment to staying at the forefront of the ever-evolving pharmaceutical landscape. In an industry characterized by rapid advancements and dynamic changes, I make it a priority to remain well-informed about the latest developments, regulatory updates, and emerging trends. This continuous learning not only keeps me well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the field but also enables me to offer innovative solutions that drive client success. I am deeply fascinated by the potential of data analytics and its transformative impact on decision-making. By delving into data, I can identify patterns, trends, and opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden. This enables me to provide clients with evidence-based recommendations that optimize processes, enhance product development, and drive operational efficiency.

My journey has been marked by a continuous quest for knowledge, an unrelenting passion for data-driven insights, and an unwavering commitment to guiding pharmaceutical companies towards success in an ever-changing world.

Nancy.Kapila@rootsanalysis.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-kapila-4336b4129/

Source1: https://www.aviationtoday.com/2023/05/23/swoop-aero-beyond-consumer-delivery/
Source2: https://wingcopter.com/drone-express
Source3: https://wingcopter.com/siemens-healthineers
Source4: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/10/drone-maker-zipline-adds-vitamins-pizzas-and-prescriptions-to-cargo.html