7 Healthtech startups to watch out for in 2018

Healthtech startups in India have been associated with the ones that provide enterprise, diagnostic and medicine delivery services. However, there is a new breed of startups which have emerged in the country and they offer services like solving issues on causes such as consumer lifestyle and mental stress. These startups strive to bridge the gap between the doctors and the patients and are also creating an ecosystem which will facilitate a better healthcare environment.

India is one of the top ten growth markets for nutritional food and beverages and the Indian healthcare market is valued at $100 billion which is likely to grow at 23% to reach $280 billion by 2020. Due to an increased dependency on technology to facilitate healthcare, there is a growth of the industry in the country and it is expected that the industry will attain a double digit growth.  

A huge contribution in the industry is made by online pharmacy startups. Additionally, there are other startups which are already leading in the healthtech ecosystem. Here are some of the startups which show a promise to grow in 2018.

1. Consure Medical – The medical device company is focused on the development of medical devices for the management of critical care and long term care patients. The company is catering to fecal incontinence market and aims to innovate a technology platform which would augment the way infection control and wound care is being taken care of in hospitals. They raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding in May 2016 and is now paving the way ahead into international markets like the US and Japan. The company gives low cost products which have gained an edge in the local and global markets.

2. Grow Fit – India loses a number of lives every year due to lifestyle diseases. Grow Fit is trying to address this gap with a health tech platform and aims to help more than 300 million Indians who are at a risk of contracting lifestyle diseases. The platform consists of food technologists, nutritionists and counselors who want to use the power of technology to make health a daily habit. It has also entered the functional beverages field in order to expand the offerings to areas including expert health advice. Its mobile app has been downloaded more than a million times and delivers about 10,000 healthy meals a day in Bengaluru. It has the ability to address both the national and international markets in the coming period.

3. Doc Talk – This mobile application allows the users to save their medical files and history on the cloud. It is an AI based model with an on demand virtual assistant application to simplify Indian healthcare. Patients can chat with their doctors using the app and also get prescriptions on the go. The messaging platform has been availed by 500 doctors and more than 30,000 patients. It raised $5 million in a funding round which was led by Matrix Partners India and Khosla Ventures.

4. IGenetics – The startup offers differential diagnosis panels in addition to an accurate range of individual laboratory tests in the area of infertility, gynecology, critical care and oncology. It has a central processing laboratory in Mumbai which is spread over 10,000 sq feet with satellite labs across the country. IGenetics offers 1,400 tests including a number of advanced tests for infectious diseases, cancer, infertility and routine laboratory tests.

5. NeuroSynaptic – NeuroSynaptic offers proven solutions that bring together products, partners and processes in the healthcare ecosystem. It aims to enable access to affordable healthcare across rural and semi urban areas through the platform called Remote Medical Diagnostics.

6. OncoStem Diagnostics – India has a number of cancer related deaths in the world. This startup is trying to fill the gap by providing personalized cancer treatment planning through the development of tests which predict the chance of recurrence in patients. Their lead product is ‘CanAssist-Breast’ which can predict the risk of recurrence for breast cancer patients from Stage 1 to Stage 3A. It is currently available in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Patients can update their details and seek a test report. They will also be launching another test for patients suffering from Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

7. PharmEasy – The startup helps connect patients with local medicine shops and offers free sample collection for diagnostic tests. It ensures that medicines are delivered within six hours of prescription validation. Further, if the patients do not have a prescription, the team will connect with them and provide a valid prescription. They have tied up with nearly 700 doctors across the country. The startup has presence in more than 700 cities and 2000 pincodes.