MedTech Startups Landscape in 2020

Modern medicine follows the so-called 4P principles (predictability, preventiveness, personalization, participatory). In short, these principles provide early diagnosis, disease recognition tools, an individual approach, and informing the public about treatment options.

The development of medical technology (MedTech) allows humanity to build a HIPAA compliant app and follow these principles and improve the quality of their lives.

MedTech is becoming a priority area of ​​medicine for states and a promising niche for private and venture capital.

According to forecasts, the volume of the MedTech market in the United States in 2018 will be $ 403 billion (the United States occupies 43% of the global MedTech market), and the share of VC in the MedTech market (in 2017 – $ 5.1 billion) is comparable to the investment in medicine of such giants. Like Siemens, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and even some state health budgets.

Medical technology is not only a promising vector for the development of healthcare but also a necessary one. Nevertheless, MedTech remains a risky niche for investments: when it comes to health, projects require a lengthy R&D. Also, many projects, at some point, encounter legislative restrictions and cannot continue to exist. In essence, this risk also significantly affects the desire to invest in medicine.

The authoritative medical publication Mobihealthnews surveyed stakeholders in the US pharmaceutical market. It highlighted the main MedTech trends that will be relevant from 2018:

The transfer of medicine management into the hands of the consumer. The data collected by specialized services will allow patients to manage their health: monitor diets, monitor the general condition, regulate medication, and monitor the dynamics of treatment. Data collection through surveys is essential for the development and innovation in structural medicine.

The growth in the amount of information that must always be available (big data analytics using AI).

An increase in the number of digital tools for monitoring patients outside the hospital.

The development of telemedicine – will become more accessible to the end-user.

The development of digital opportunities for the pharmaceutical market (the pharmaceutical market, despite its enormous volumes, is still very conservative).

What projects are there in the global MedTech market

Let’s see which MedTech startups are already solving the problems of modern medicine and are considered the flagships of their fields.

DreaMed (the USA, data aggregation)

The main product is DreaMed Advisor, a platform that collects patient status data and becomes a decision support tool for personalized medicine in real-time. Already in 2016, developers announced the start of a new investment round, which raised $ 3.4 million from Norma Investment Limited. An exclusive international development and the licensing agreement was signed in 2015 between DreaMed Diabetes and Medtronic. In essence, the latter invested $ 2 million in the enterprise.

Biotx.ai (Germany, data analysis)

The German company has developed a platform that analyzes clinical data on patient health, and then, using data science and machine learning carries out stratification of patients (division into groups) for various clinical studies. The technology allows you to determine which treatment is suitable for the patient accurately.

The target audience of the project is medical research companies, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and clinics. The startup entered the capital market in 2017, receiving investments of € 2 million. The leading investors were Merck Accelerator, Startupbootcamp, and Ruppiner Kliniken.

ForusHealth (India, diagnostics)

Since 2010, the company has been developing and manufacturing high-tech devices for diagnosing various vision problems. With the help of their tools, it became possible to diagnose cataracts, glaucoma, corneal problems, and other diseases at an early stage.

Target audience – private and public clinics, diagnostic centers. In 2012, the company received investments from the US venture fund Accel Partners in the amount of $ 5 million. Two years later, the Asian Healthcare Fund invested $ 8.4 million in the company.

TytoCare (Israel, diagnosis)

In 2011, an Israeli company was founded, which introduced a portable device to the market that helps to monitor all health indicators remotely. Examination with the Tyto device includes auscultation (listening), temperature measurement, the consideration of the oral cavity with the built-in camera, and examination of the ear canal with an otoscope.

Target audience – private consumers. In January 2018, the company closed its last round, receiving an investment of $ 25 million from the Ping An Global Voyager Fund.