INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
funding, TechCrunch has learned.According to multiple sources, London venture capital firm Atomico has led the round, with participation
We first heard a term sheet had been put on the table as far back as mid-January, while it is thought the investment only closed last week.I
Jacob Haddad and Laurence Bargery, who met and subsequently founded the company at Entrepreneur First in 2016, Accurx initially set out to
develop a data-set and tools to help tackle the problem of inappropriate use of antibiotics, which is a major contributor to the diminishing
effectiveness of antibiotics
Since then the startup has pivoted to focus on creating a broader communication platform to bring medical teams and patients closer
surgeries to communicate with patients
It has been designed to support nurses, administration staff and practice managers etc., as well as GPs
Typical use-cases for Chain SMS includes sending advice to patients, notifying a patient of normal results, and reminding them to book
communication methods such as telephone calls and sending letters in the post.(Somewhat related: this weekend, British Health Secretary Matt
Hancock has called for the use of pagers for communications within the NHS to be phased out by 2021
The outdated technology costs the U.K
SMS is already in use by 20 percent of GP practices in England, from close to zero when it launched in February 2018
The conventional wisdom is that startups find it difficult to penetrate the NHS, when in practice this is starting to change, whilst GP
surgeries, although funded through the NHS, are actually run as independent businesses so arguably easier to sell into.A fun fact: A quick
President, has also invested as part of this latest round
Meanwhile, I understand that recently recruited Principal Irina Haivas led on behalf of Atomico
Haivas is a former surgeon and former surgical fellow at Harvard Medical School (yes, you read that correctly!) and has previously worked at
healthcare investor GHO Capital Partners.
