The Rise of Health and Biotech Apps and Services

Over the past decade health care has changed rapidly. We have seen the introduction of mobile apps which allow you to speak to a healthcare professional from the comfort of your home, and apps that can identify disease early based on genetic structure. Indeed, the health care sector is moving into a direction that is more tech-driven and individualised.

As society has become more health-focused since the global pandemic, the use of these apps and services have skyrocketed. GP waiting times increased and many people who needed in-person check-ups were denied this during government imposed lockdowns causing many people to turn to new services to support their health, when they may not have previously.

But to say that society has become health-conscious only as a result of the pandemic would be a gross misjudgement. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in health awareness experienced by young people, and in particular those a part of Generation-Z. Within this culture, self-care is a major aspect of life, as well as questioning what you’re putting into your body and how it affects your long-term health. This level of awareness is quite unprecedented and unseen in previous generations. Making this the perfect environment for growth within the Healthtech and Biotech industries.

In fact, there has been such tremendous growth within this industry over the past few years that several tech companies, some of which we have had a chance to work with, stand out as being front runners as this space grows. Working with some of these companies has given us an insight into both what is in store for them, and for the Healthtech industry as a whole. Here are seven start-ups to keep an eye on:

Babylon Health

To most of us, Babylon Health is a household name - paving the way for other Healthtech apps in this sector. After the patient enters their symptoms into the app, AI technology scans through millions of data samples to provide them with relevant information and next steps. Patients can speak to registered doctors through video-chat and receive prescriptions electronically.

It’s no surprise that this app has become such a success in recent years. It makes what can be a lot of hassle, requiring time off work and travel, a convenient experience that can be done from the comfort of your home. Recently, the app has installed a ‘Covid-19 Care Assistant’ feature which allows its user to identify if they are at risk of developing severe symptoms. Therefore, it’s understandable why this app has gained such rapid success in recent times - this success indicates what could be in store for the companies on the rest of this list. If you would like to check out Babylon, then here is their website which explains all of their services in more detail: www.babylonhealth.com.

Second Nature

Working to make the world a place free of chronic conditions, Second Nature creates personalised diet plans specific to an individual’s habits and behaviours. A user answers a set of questions and through their responses, the app is able to understand what meal plans are perfect for them.

This 2015 start-up was created by health care Strategy Consultants, Chris and Mike. Within their previous roles, they realised how serious the impact of lifestyle diseases are on individuals and health care systems. Then, they set out to create their own service to tackle lifestyle disease by helping people eradicate negative eating habits that can cause long-term health issues.

Through science, the creators have understood human behaviour and the most effective ways to achieve better eating habits in their clients. Users are able to set goals, replace negative behaviours with positive ones, and even have access to a support group. Second Nature’s phenomenal work has made Harmonic proud to have supported the company through recruiting their first ever CFO.

To check out Second Nature and find out more about their research-based diet plans, visit their website at www.secondnature.io.

DnaNudge

We know that not all foods agree with us. Some of us feel bloated after bread, get heartburn after eating too much fried food, or feel indigestion after a pint or two. Yet, few of us are able to fully comprehend the extent of our food intolerances, and what effect persistently giving in to our vices has on our overall health.

DnaNudge’s technology uses your saliva to determine what foods you should and shouldn’t eat. With this in mind, the app and its wearable device gives you personal DNA-based recommendations when you’re out food shopping. The user can say goodbye to fad-diets and hello to a diet catered specifically to their individual DNA. Now, that’s clever.

If DnaNudge seems like something you might be interested in then have a look at their website here: www.dnanudge.com.

Unmind

This workplace mental wellbeing app aims to enable organisations to see the mental wellbeing of their employees through letting users proactively measure, understand and improve their mental health. Employees have access to meditation exercises, melodies to help with sleep, yoga classes and healthy recipes - as well as opportunities to journal and track mental wellbeing over a period of time.

Their ‘Unmind Index’ helps users figure out which aspect of their mental wellbeing they should prioritise and are encouraged to practice using the index regularly to track changes in wellbeing. This allows users to understand their own mental health and lets organisations understand their employees and champion mental health in the workplace.

Today, Unmind works with several large organisations such as Just Eat and British Airways. In addition, after being backed by Felix Capital and Project A Ventures, the company has taken its total fundraising to £13.8m, making them a start-up to look out for.

If you’re a business that wants to help improve the overall wellbeing of your employees, or you’re interested in finding out more about a company wanting to destigmatize mental health - then have a look at Unmind’s website: unmind.com.

LabGenius

LabGenius is developing the next generation of protein therapeutics using a machine-learning evolution engine which they call EVA. This AI-driven platform can design, conduct and learn from its own experiments. Relying on EVA’s robotic automation to undertake drug discovery, LabGenius partners with pharmaceutical companies to take their discoveries to the market.

Well-versed in taking a project from concept to its preclinical stage, LabGenius is currently working with Tillotts Pharma AG to find new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. Having helped them recruit their first ever Financial Controller earlier this year, at Harmonic we are particularly interested to see what the future holds for LabGenius.

Find out more about what LabGenius are doing here: labgeni.us

Thriva

‘Take your health into your own hands’ is this start-up’s tagline - and their app allows you to do exactly that. Through tracking and testing services, users are given the option to take an at-home blood test which can be tested in the areas of energy, fitness, long term health, mood, sleep and weight management. After 48 hours, users receive a personalised GP report in the app containing their results and how to maintain levels of Iron, Omega 3, 6 and other vitamins.

With package subscriptions from only £26, Thriva allows the health-conscious consumer to take control of their health without having to rely on GP referrals and long appointment waiting times, and be able to do all of this from the comfort of their homes. To find out more about what Thriva offers visit their website at thriva.co.

Closed Loop Medicine

Closed Loop Medicine is a therapeutics company which focuses on care pathways, outcomes and the creation of dynamic, personalised regimens. They realise that one of the biggest issues in health care systems is flawed feedback loops, where doctors must rely on poorly recalled information from the patient.

Their approach combines drugs, digital therapeutics, devices and diagnostics to get the patient to their best outcome faster and more efficiently. Working internationally, this start-up focuses on helping tailor drug treatments to the user’s genetic makeup and characteristics in the areas of sleep disorders, hypertension, chronic pain and metabolic disease.

With all the excellent stuff they’re doing, Harmonic are proud to have had the pleasure of working with Closed Loop Medicine - recently recruiting an outstanding People Manager for them. To have a look at this start-up’s services, head over to www.closedloopmedicine.com.

In sum, these seven start-ups indicate a bright future for the Healthtech and Biotech industries. In light of the global pandemic and the rise of self-care, health consciousness has grown significantly in recent years. This has contributed to the use of more convenient health-care services as users want to be able to take health into their own hands, and do it all from the comfort of their homes.

If anyone reading this would like to find out more about start-ups in the Healthtech space, I would highly recommend listening to Healthtech Pigeon. In his podcast, the Healthtech Pigeon interviews CEOs and chats about businesses within this space. With Healthtech on the rise, it would be fair to predict a high volume of growth in upcoming years - making it a sector well worth keeping an eye on. Find the podcast at: Healthtech Pigeon.

Owen Jones and Serena H.

If you work for a Health or Biotech business and are looking to recruit across Finance or Operations please get in touch at [email protected]