ANDHealth has announced it is providing $3.7 million to four digital companies to support their development of new products.
The funding is via the federal government's Medical Research Future Fund. ANDHealth is Australia’s leading digital health commercialisation organisation.
The ANDHealth+ program provides promising digital health start-ups access to non-dilutive investment, alongside substantial industry mentoring and support, across a two-stage investment process.
The four companies - Cardihab, Perx Health, Sound Scouts, and VaxApp - have all successfully completed key de-risking activities in the first stage of the program, including assessments by leading investors and digital health executives.
They will now move into the next stage, benefiting from $3.7 million in total funding.
ANDHealth CEO and managing director Bronwyn Le Grice said, “These companies are perfect examples of how Australian businesses are using technology to solve real health problems faced by millions of people locally and around the world. This investment will support these companies to secure the clinical evidence and customers they need to create better health and patient outcomes on a global scale."
“The funding provided through ANDHealth+ and the ANDHealth Digital Health Accelerator Fund is one of the largest non-equity-taking investment programs available to Australian digital health SMEs,” said Ms Le Grice.
“With the median amount of capital raised by a digital health SME being just $355,000, the scale of funding and support available through ANDHealth+ can be game-changing for the companies which are selected each year.”
“Due to the limited funding pools for digital health companies in Australia, ANDHealth+ is a highly competitive program that selects world-class, evidence-based technologies, as assessed by an expert industry panel and international investment committee.”
Cardhab is developing a digital rehabilitation platform that aims to provide care to patients at a time and place that works for them.
Perx Health has a motivation and engagement platform changing the way people and companies create habits for managing medical conditions.
Sound Scouts provides an online screening service that is designed to make hearing checks readily available for children and families.
VaxApp is an immunisation management platform that enables healthcare providers to deliver and monitor vaccination and rapid antigen testing programs.
“These four companies have successfully navigated an exhaustive process designed to identify the teams and technology with the greatest chance of commercial growth and positive impact for patients in Australia and around the world,” continued Ms Le Grice.
“This next stage of investment will support these companies to undertake clinical trials and commercial pilots, expand their customer and revenue base, secure regulatory approvals, and access new, international markets.”