Venture Capital investments in startup health care sector insights by Sanchita Bamnote and Arpit Agarwal Blume ventures

1. Investing in Healthcare
SanchitaBamnote andArpit Agarwal

2. Agenda
▪ Part 1: HealthcareLandscape
▪ 4 D’s of Core Healthcare Innovation and OtherAreas
▪ Key Paths for success of Healthcare companies
▪ Part 2: Opportunities with Covid-19
▪ Telemedicine and PPE
▪ Testing and Curing
▪ Software and Devices
▪ Programs where you can find funding

3. Part 1: Healthcare Landscape

4. 4 D’s of Core Healthcare Innovation
▪ Drug: Extremely risky, expensive and long. India has practically not made a mark here.
▪ Biosimilars have seen some success, Immunologics seem like the next step
▪ Some early discoveries by Biotech in India got licensed out to Big Pharma
▪ Diagnostics: Indian Biotech is good at creating novel methods
▪ Several biomarker-based discoveries have happened over last 10 years
▪ Ability in making novel biomedical instrumentationhas helped our case
▪ Devices: Alot of novel innovations have taken place, thanks to BIRAC, but not a lot of
commercialization since it is time consuming and also relatively risky
▪ Data: This is where India shines. Companies like Tricog are making world-beating algorithms

5. Other Healthcare Opportunity Areas
▪ Marketplaces: Medicine, Consultation, Diagnostics, Surgery and Gyms are available on a click!
▪ Companies like 1mg, Practo, Healhians, Prystyn Care, Fitpass operate on this model
▪ Network / Tools: DailyRounds, Curofy, DocsApp help doctors perform better
▪ Services: Mental Health, Chronic disease management, Weight loss offerings
▪ Wysa, BeatO, HealthifyMe are examples of this set

6. How to Build a Successful Healthcare Startup
▪ Assuming Basics like having a qualified team, novel idea, strong will to succeed, some other
things that matter are:
▪ Strong Medical Team:
▪ Doctors love to speak to a doctor, much more than MBA-types
▪ Having an insider helps you build better products – brutal feedback is necessary
▪ Understanding of Regulation and Clinical Rigor:
▪ Shortens the path to market if you have already figured this out
▪ The way you prepare the documentation and trials determines your way to succeed
▪ Empathy for the Practitioner:
▪ Assuming you know what to make is often faulty thought in Healthcare

7. Part 2: Opportunities with Covid-19

8. Opportunities with Covid-19 – Telemedicine and PPEs
▪ Need for Telemedicine:
▪ Given Covid-19 situations, there’s a global surge in demand for Healthcare while the supply
is limited. A physician’s time can be leveraged with technology if remote patients can avail
consultation from their homes.
▪ Specialists can help GPs expand their ability by consulting them on complicated matters
and avoid patients reaching out to bigger cities/hospitals and loading them.
▪ Need for PPEs:
▪ India does not produce enough N95 masks. In the sudden surge in demand (peak being in
millions per day) we are expecting, this has become a critical challenge.
▪ Other challenges are related to lockdown – raw material and labor being unavailable – and
working capital – manufacturers not having enough.

9. Opportunities with Covid-19 – Testing and Curing
▪ Need for Testing:
▪ Imported test kits are both expensive and fewer in quantity. Already 5-6 such
kits are approved and more would hit the market soon.
▪ There’s need to develop other novel methods to test Covid-19.
▪ Further, administering these tests without touching the patient is a need.
▪ A cure is elusive:
▪ Several efforts are on to produce a vaccine, others for repurposing a drug
for this indication.
▪ There will also be programs given to masses to prevent outbreaks in future.

10. Opportunities with Covid-19 – Software and Devices
▪ Need for Software:
▪ Contact tracing is already a big hit in China and Korea. India has launched its own Aarogya
Setu. Alternate methods to track patients and hotspots is critical.
▪ Multiple different platforms are needed:
▪ Helping donations reach various NGOs helping migrant labor and others
▪ Helping essential SMEs access working capital
▪ State/District/Taluka level dashboard for tracking and dealing with Covid-19
▪ Need for novel Devices:
▪ Developing new ventilators that are cheap and quick to produce is the #1 need right now.
▪ Can you track and monitor patients in quarantine outside hospital?
▪ Creating mini-ICUs that can function with limited skill and hardware
▪ Can you create a device than can reduce Hospital-Induced Infections?

11. Opportunities with Covid-19 – Funding Opportunities
▪ Government Funding:
▪ SIDBI has created a scheme for startups to access working capital at preferential terms.
▪ DST has launched a program CAWACH under SINE, IIT Bombay
▪ DBT has launched a similar program with C-CAMP, Bengaluru
▪ BIRAC is talking about bulk procurement of devices and testing and PPEs
▪ Private Sector:
▪ ACT Grants – a group of VCs and startups in India. Arpit and I are volunteering.
▪ Marico Foundation – Grant proposals of various kinds
▪ Premji Foundation, Tata Trusts, Infosys Foundation, Reliance Foundation all have programs

12. Q & A