The funding momentum in healthtech space is rising as start-ups offer affordable, scalable solutions for several unmet niche needs
Healthtech start-ups are undergoing a growth spurt. Riding on the back of providing patients with access and affordability, the sector has garnered a great degree of investor attention.
Last year, 80 healthtech start-ups cumulatively received over $510 million through multiple funding rounds, with ventures like online medical store PharmEasy raising $115 million and fitness start-up Curefit bagging $100 million, shows data by Tracxn. In contrast, just about $343 million was injected into this space in 2017.
And this year, too, is seeing the same frenzied pace. Vantage Health, which seeks to automate and standardise healthcare, raised $50 million from Iqgen Holdings LCC, a Cayman Islands-based fund. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based healthtech start-up Niramai received $6 million in a round led by Japanese venture capital firm Dream Incubator and others. While radio diagnostic network 5C Network raised an undisclosed amount from Unitus Ventures, Axilor and others.
Experts believe healthcare has several unmet niche needs and the leveraging of technology to meet these requirements is crucial. Diagnostics, telemedicine, radiology, cancer-detection, management of chronic ailments, access to medicines and primary care, corporate wellness, etc, are areas that call for robust, innovative technology-driven solutions. Snehal Patel, CEO and Co-founder, MyDoc, says, “Technology enables effective engagement between healthcare professionals and patients. This allows us to steer patients onto personal pathways that improve their health in more targeted and efficient ways. Technology also reduces operational overheads and enables new ways of bundling care services.”
What is truly needed are solutions that can be scaled, are sustainable, and optimise costs and time. “If start-ups expect to really thrive in the market, having 'me-too' solutions will not help. Start-ups should leverage technology to address areas of concern with solutions that are distinct and can produce long-lasting impact,” said an expert.
Healthtech platform Cardiotrack is a heart health diagnostic device that utilises the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI to diagnose patients. Its co-founder and CEO Ashim Roy says patient information captured by their device is sent to the cloud where AI-based interpretation of patient data takes place and the results are shared with the primary care physician. “IoT and AI allow us to deploy the device in remote locations, enhancing the accessibility of diagnosis of the heart. We have so far performed 1,00,000 patient scans through the deployment of Cardiotrack and over 2,000 patients were identified in the acute care category and referred to specialised cardiac care centres.”
Bengaluru-based Niramai has a portable, automated, non-touch, non-invasive, painless and radiation-free breast cancer detection tool called Thermalytix. The solution uses an AI-led diagnostic platform which relies on a patented thermal image processing and machine learning algorithms for breast cancer screening and the tool can be deployed in any location.
Start-ups like Chandigarh-based Jiyyo Innovations adopt an AI-specific approach to identify patients and connect them to hospitals. Jahid Ali, chief technology officer and co-founder of Jiyyo says at present, healthcare facilities work independent of each other, causing a rush at tertiary centres, with primary care and secondary care centres remaining underutilised. “We have a software that allows doctors to be in touch with hospitals anywhere, refer patients and communicate on a per patient basis regarding treatment. This can make doctor referrals hassle-free and reduces hospital visits for patients as follow-ups can be done from nearby healthcare facilities.''
With corporate wellness on the rise, ventures like OurHealthMate operate on a “3P model” that through technology, link the healthcare provider with the patient and payer, who could be a corporate entity.
India's healthcare market is expected to gallop to $372 billion by 2022, growing at a compounded annual rate of 22%, says a report by Assocham and RNCOS. Entrepreneurs are looking to scale up their start-ups. Roy says they are expanding their presence in the public healthcare domain. “We have seen significant demand from Africa and have already deployed 20 Cardiotrack units in Nigeria during this quarter. We expect the device to perform one million patient evaluations during the next fiscal.”
According to Siddharth Upadhyaya, founding partner and chief strategy officer, OurHealthMate, they currently take care of 7.5 lakh employees. “We aim to touch over 15 lakh people in the next one year. We also plan to expand to the Philippines which has a similar healthcare ecosystem like India.”
SHOT IN THE ARM
- $510 mn – Healthtech start-ups raised in 2018
- $343 mn – Funding they received in 2017
- $372 bn – India’s healthcare market by 2022
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