Singapore startup Mesh Bio to introduce clinical workflow automation solution
Healthtech startup Mesh Bio has secured substantial funding for its anticipated commercial rollout of Dara, a new predictive analytics and clinical workflow automation solution for healthcare providers in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Led by deep tech investors Elev8.vc and Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm Seeds Capital, along with Citrine Capital and Tael Partners, the USD 1.8 million (SGD 2.4 million) funding will also support clinical partnerships and collaborations for chronic disease management.
Digital health technologies are increasingly in the spotlight since COVID-19, securing greater investor interest. In 2020, the Asia Pacific digital health ecosystem closed USD 6.14 billion in venture capital funding, 25% higher than 2019 – the top funded cluster was medical diagnostics.
Mesh Bio’s automation solution Dara, for example, draws in real-time, multidimensional patient data such as health history, lab tests and medical images, to deliver a patientcentric visual report and helps doctors counsel patients. It also enables the patients themselves to understand their laboratory reports, and the diseases they live with.
Dara has helped healthcare providers in Singapore analyse patient data quickly and effectively, increasing report generation by five times and reducing human error. In-built with clinical best practices, guidelines and holistic patient assessments, it allows doctors to leverage knowledge from the global community of healthcare practitioners.
Dara’s risk assessment algorithms are compliant with local clinical practice guidelines. Other key features include: collating multiple diseases in one report; quantifiable risk contributors; up to 10 years risk projection; and clinical as well as actionable lifestyle recommendations.
So far, Dara has delivered over 60% in operational savings and 99% in revenue growth.
According to Andrew Wu, Mesh Bio Co-founder and CEO, “Chronic diseases are increasing in Asia, making patient management increasingly complex and challenging. For instance, diabetes prevalence in Malaysia is the highest in Southeast Asia at 16.8%; in Singapore, 14.2% and in Thailand, 8.3%. The situation is compounded by the lack of doctors, especially specialists, forcing general practitioners – lacking specialist training in endocrinology – to manage these challenging patient cases.
“Our vision is to deliver cutting-edge digital solutions to address challenges in patient management and rising chronic diseases in the region. Through the support of Elev8.vc, Seeds Capital, Citrine Capital and Tael Partners, we see tremendous opportunity to help healthcare providers cope with the rise in cases and simultaneously, improve patient treatment and outcomes with Dara.”
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Singapore-based healthtech company Mesh Bio was founded in 2018 by healthcare and technology veterans – Andrew Wu, formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Clearbridge Biomedics (now known as Biolidics), Arsen Batagov, former A*Star bioinformatics scientist, and Dr. Melvin Heng, physician and hospital administrator.
Mesh Bio develops clinical decision support analytics and automation solutions for management of chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease. These solutions enable data-driven care delivery, improving patient engagement, and health outcomes.
Aditya Mathur, Founder & Managing Director of Elev8.vc said, “Rapidly ageing populations across the world deserve far better healthcare. Mesh Bio’s predictive analytics offers a clinically validated technology to detect and support chronic diseases before they even occur. We couldn’t be prouder to support Andrew, Arsen and Dr. Melvin’s mission to provide far better patient outcomes for all.”
According to consulting practice Deloitte, predictive analytics will play a central role in improving the health and reducing mortality rates across age groups in the near future. The benefits offered are significant, including improving operational management, assisting and enhancing the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment, as well as advantages in cohort treatment and epidemiology to assess potential risk factors for public health.
“Mesh Bio’s overarching strategy and approach is aligned with our National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy for the healthcare sector, which seeks to leverage AI to improve chronic disease prediction and management,” said Geoffrey Yeo, General Manager of Seeds Capital.
“By enhancing clinical decision support at primary care, this could improve prevention and management of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular complications. We are pleased to support Mesh Bio as it ramps up the rollout of its unique solution in Singapore and across the region.”
In 2019, Mesh Bio became the first Asian startup selected for Germany-based Startup Creasphere’s digital health acceleration program, powered by Roche Diagnostics and Silicon Valley-based global innovation platform and venture fund Plug and Play.
