Wellthy Therapeutics targets threefold growth in revenue over next 2-3 yrs

Wellthy Therapeutics, a start-up working in the area of digital healthcare solutions, has now shifted focus towards rapid revenue growth, after spending three years (since inception) on validating its solutions through real world studies.

Backed by Cipla and Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai, Wellthy is a digital personal diabetes coach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate behavioural change and improve health literacy among patients, in collaboration with hospitals, doctors, medical device makers, and insurance firms.

The solutions are offered to the end-consumer only through these healthcare partners, with the objective being to mainly address issues in chronic disease management.

For instance, the firm works with Roche Diabetes Care India through Accu-Check glucometers. 

The glucometer package comes with a code, which could be used to log in to the Wellthy Care app to be used for integrated personalised diabetes management. Accu-Check Active will monitor the blood glucose value, while the app will help with real-time AI-powered feedback and coaching.

The company claims that its real-world studies have shown close to 60 per cent people seeing a drop in their three-month average blood sugar level, and weight loss of 2.36 per cent.

It has not earned revenue in its three years of operations, focusing instead on efforts to prove its efficacy under this business model.

“The company was registered in December 2016 and this financial year (2019-20), will be the first full year in which we report revenues. We became revenue-positive in the last six months. The first two years were dedicated to clinically validating the solutions through real-world studies, working with hospitals, insurers and others. We have established enough clinical proof that this actually works and patients are improving their health,” said Abhishek Shah, CEO of Wellthy Therapeutics.

“It may take a few years to break even in terms of profit. On revenue, we do expect growth of 2-3 times year-on-year for the next three years,” he said.

The company will raise more funds to expand next year, with global expansion plans on the agenda, he added. At present, it is working on three therapeutic sectors — diabetes, nephrology and cardiology.

It has raised close to Rs 13.5 crore in investment over the past three years, besides the Rs 4 crore by its founders.

 In March 2018, it got seed funding of $2.1 million from investors including Manipal Education and Medical Group CEO and Managing Director Ranjan Pai’s family office, Beenext Ventures, GrowX Ventures, Currae Healthtech and other strategic HNI investors such as Ashutosh Taparia and Karan Bhagat. Cipla acquired 11.71 per cent stake in the company.

Cipla and Wellthy recently entered into a partnership, a first of its kind in India, to offer a combination of pharmacotherapy and digital therapeutics for improved patient outcomes in the chronic therapies of diabetology and cardiology.

The platform brings together behavioural science, real-world clinical evidence, and AI to provide real-time monitoring, coaching and advice to patients, and virtual clinical assistance to doctors.