Calls for employees to return to the office have been a source of anxiety according to a recent survey of 1000 UK workers conducted by Slack. One of the reasons cited is concern about indoor transmission within the office space. Most commercial spaces do not have the proper ventilation required to fully mitigate COVID transmission and these spaces will require significant upgrades that are not only expensive but also require a significant amount of time before they can be deployed. Rensair has built a portable, hospital-grade air purifier for commercial settings that removes particles from the air including pollen, allergens, mold, viruses, and bacteria. The unit, which can be wheeled to wherever it’s needed most, uses a combination of UVC and industry-leading HEPA technology to destroy 99.97% of airborne bacteria and viruses. A single unit cleans 560 cubic metres in an hour. Rensair is being used in care homes, schools and universities, hospital and healthcare settings, and offices. The filters and UVC light need to be replaced only once a year, making the units practically maintenance-free. Rensairs are available for purchase or can be rented for as low £89/mo with delivery in less than a week. London TechWatch caught up with Rensair Cofounder and CEO Christian Hendriksen to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Healthcare
Lindus Health Raises $5M to Build the Operating System for Clinical Trials to Accelerate Time to Market
On average it takes at least 10 years to get a drug to market from pre-discovery to marketplace; the price of a successful drug exceeds $2.6B when accounting for the cost of failures. Clinical trials can take anywhere from six-to-seven years alone. Speeding up this process provides hope to the millions of patients suffering from various conditions as well as alleviates the burden on the healthcare system that has to manage the increasing costs of drug development. Lindus Health is building an operating system for clinical research that will allow the research needed for clinical trials to be centralized and modernized. The company projects that shifting away from a pen and paper model with limited technology will unleash next-generation innovation in healthcare as companies can be nimbler than ever before and without the need for the heavy capital requirements that legacy clinical trials required, allowing more participants in the ecosystem. The recently-launched venture is already partnered with leading healthcare research institutions like King’s College London, Imperial College, London, UCL, and the University of Oxford. LondonTechWatch caught up with Lindus Health Cofounder Michael Young to learn more about the inspiration of the company, upcoming strategic plans, the positioning, and recent round of funding from investors that include Firstminute Capital, Presight Capital, Seedcamp, Hambro Perks, Amino Collective, Mehdi Ghissassi, Alex Zhavoronkov, Marc Warner, James Dacombe , Henry de Zoete, and Vishal Gulati.
Palta Raises $100M to Build a Consumer Health and Wellbeing Factory
Normally, when a startup matures it brings to consider inorganic growth paths of growth. Startups that acquire a number of businesses may soon be operating a holding company across several lines of business. Palta shakes this model up from the onset by focusing on building several brands concurrently focused on the health and wellbeing space. Approaching it this way has several advantages: products within the portfolio are able to benefit from shared user bases, knowledge transfer from what’s working and not working, funding, shared infrastructure, and shared resources. The company currently operates Flo.Health, Zing Fitness Coach, Voir, Prisma Labs, and Simple Fasting; boasting more than 2.4M paid users with the plans to launch and acquire new applications covering more segments. This fluid model allows Palta to operate at the intersection of private equity, venture studio, incubator, and app maker. London TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Yuri Gurski to learn more about building a vertically integrated health and wellness cofounding company, the startup’s future plans, recent round of funding from investors that include VNV Global and Target Global.
Oliva Raises $2.2M for its Online Mental Health Platform Designed for the Needs of Businesses and Employees
The mental health crisis has a hidden toll on employers; depressed employees miss an increased number of workdays every year, employees with depressions lose 8% of work productivity on average, employees experiencing depression are two times more likely to leave a company than their non-depressed counterparts. With performance, engagement, and absenteeism all affected, companies are addressing the importance of providing mental health services to employees. Oliva is an online mental health platform that is designed for the needs of employers so that they can adequately address the mental well-being of their employees. The company uses a research-backed care model to provide service to employees rather than just connecting them with a therapy provider. Sessions can seamlessly be booked, with a slack integration, in just a few clicks where the employee is connected to a vetted specialist that is a part of the Oliva network and the employee is further supported by an in-house care team. Oliva also provides management training so that potential mental health issues can be detected early before they have a significant impact on operations. London TechWatch caught up with CEO, serial entrepreneur, and Cofounder Javier Suarez to learn how his personal experience running a startup led to founding this company, the importance of investing in employee mental health, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more.
Doctify Raises Another $7.5M for its Healthcare Review Platform to Keep Both Patients and Providers Better Informed
70% of patients consider online reviews important when selecting a healthcare provider and 75% of people have searched for a physician online according to a recent survey from Patientpop. With reviews playing such a pivotal role in discovery, gathering reviews is not only essential as a marketing tool but also as a mechanism for clinicians to address issues that may be resulting in less than stellar patient satisfaction. Doctify is the tech-enabled healthcare review platform that provides both patients and healthcare providers with valuable insights. Founded by two physicians in 2015, the platform also offers patients the ability to schedule appointments and teleconsultations. Doctify is offered on a subscription basis to the healthcare provider and is free to use for patients. London TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Stephanie Eltz to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic expansion plans to further support its mission to keep both patients and healthcare providers informed, latest funding round from investors that include Keen Venture Partners, Amadeus Capital, Guinness Asset Management, and Tom Teichman.
Bea Fertility Raises $1M for its At-Home Subscription Fertility Treatment Service
The global fertility market is estimated to grow to ~$50B by 2030 with nearly 1/8 couples having trouble conceiving. Advances in technology are making reproductive health options more accessible from both a convenience and affordability standpoint. Bea Fertility is a healthcare startup offering at-home fertility treatments via a kit offered through subscription. Traditional fertility options like IVF need to be done at a fertility center and come at exorbitant cost. Bea uses ICI, a technique that’s similarly effective to other treatment options, but only costs £300/month. The company is focused on supporting the entire conception journey and offers ovulation tracking, guidance, and an expert network. Presently pre-launch, Bea is in the process of gaining regulatory approval and expects to launch by the end of the year. London TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Tess Cosad to learn more about the importance of making fertility treatments accessible, the company’s upcoming launch, strategic plans, and recent round of funding from Calm/Storm VC and QVentures.
Prokarum Raises $21M to Develop Microbial Cancer Immunotherapies and Vaccines
Prokarium is developing Vesibax, an innovative, safe, and effective microbial immunotherapy (MI) for early-stage bladder cancer, a disease with afflicts over 550,000 individuals globally every year. CEO Ted Fjallman to learn more about Prokarium’s upcoming pipeline of novel therapies, its current focus, and recent funding round from investors that include Korea Investment Partners (KIP), Flerie Invest, Riyadh Valley Company (RVC), and the UK Government’s Future Fund.
Log my Care Raises £600K to Enable Care Homes to Improve Care With Software
Approximately 70%-80% of care homes are reliant on pen and paper and manual processes to run their operations and record data. Log my Care is the free care management software platform that features an intuitive interface that enables care providers to deliver exceptional care and record plans with a few clicks. Founder Sam Hussain shares some more insight on the inspiration for the company, how the pandemic led to the rapid development of new features, and the company’s latest funding round.
Farewill Raises £20M to Make it Easy to Deal With Death
Dealing with death is never easy and it often adds stress at a time when a family needs it the least. Farewill provides efficient, affordable, and simple will writing service online as well as probate and direct cremation options. Cofounder and CEO Dan Garrett walks us through how the company transforms an industry that has been doing things the same ways for 150+ years, the company’s future plans, response to COVID deaths, and recent funding round led by Highland Europe.
Lifebit Raises $7.5M to Process Big Data for Medical Research, Redefining Bioinformatics
It’s an unprecedented time to study genetics because technological advancements and the raw computational power available are helping scientists make sense of DNA in an unprecedented way. Lifebit CEO Dr. Maria Chatzou Dunford offers some insight on how her company’s platform allows researchers to analyse data faster than ever and extract actionable insights to develop better drugs, therapies, diagnostics, and products.