A Cambridge-based healthtech start-up on a mission to bring brick-and-mortar pharmacies into the digital age has received £3 million to scale its solution across the country.
Healthera connects patients to a network of hundreds of pharmacies and NHS GPs, allowing them to order and track their prescriptions, access clinical services and monitor their medication intake in one digital end-to-end solution.
The company was founded in 2015 by three University of Cambridge alumni Quintus Liu, Martin Hao and Jin Dai.
The vision for the business is to build the first smart platform to digitise medicine for 98 per cent of patients, local community pharmacies and GPs, eliminating the need for paperwork and multiple physical visits.
The platform’s initial focus is on assisting patients to order their repeat prescriptions, but the start-up says there is potential for expanding into data-led primary care and “real-world pharmaceutical insight”.
“Over the past months, Healthera’s platform has won the confidence of the market as shown by the speed of adoption among patients, healthcare professionals and NHS organisations,” said CEO Quintus Liu.
The Series A round was led by “patient” venture investment engine ADV, with participation from Cambridge Enterprise.
Liu added: “With this investment led by keystone investors ADV, Cambridge Enterprise and Future Care Capital, we will be accelerating our expansion into every household, and soon, multiple healthcare verticals.”
Since commercially launching in late 2017, Healthera now connects over 500 pharmacies and GPs, tens of thousands of patients, and is partnering with NHS local authorities (CCG).
Its app is listed on the NHS Digital apps library, and has an ongoing NHS-funded patient benefit research with Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge.
Mike Dimelow, chief investment officer at ADV, said: “Repeat medical prescriptions are used by millions in the UK each year and many more across the world. Paperwork, physical appointments and lack of focus on patient’s needs make this an all too often inefficient process for all involved.
“Healthera is tackling this by bringing clinical services, prescription and medicine intake monitoring in one consumer platform which has seen rapid uptake from pharmacists and patients since launching in Q4 2017. We expect to see this user base grow even more rapidly as the team expands across the UK and beyond towards a time of effortless prescription for those in need.”