$20m Digital Health Accelerator selects five companies for first cohort

Digital Health Accelerator ANDHealth has selected the first cohort of five companies that will take part in the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) funded ANDHealth+ program.

The inaugural cohort announcement follows ANDHealth+ receiving $19.75m in funding from the government’s MRFF Early-Stage Translation and Commercialisation Initiative in August. The funding will be used to run four ANDHealth+ cohorts over four years.

The five companies will share in a pool of $3.75m of project funding via the accelerator fund and over $500K of pre-screened expert professional services.

Announced at the ANDHealth Summer Summit 2021–22 by Dr Katie Allen, MP, the cohort includes the following companies:

• Cardihab — Digital Cardiac Rehabilitation providing care to patients at a time and place that works for them.
• Gheorg — The friendly robot helping children with anxiety; an AI enhanced first responder for children with mental health issues and expert guide for parents.
• Perx Health — A motivation and engagement platform changing the way people and companies create habits for managing medical conditions.
• Sound Scouts — Free online hearing test app for kids. Fun, clinically proven technology enabling hearing to be checked efficiently and reliably.
• VaxApp — An immunisation management platform that enables healthcare providers to deliver and monitor vaccination and rapid antigen testing programs.
   

Over 120 companies expressed interest in the program, with 58 completing the comprehensive application process. The five companies selected were assessed through a rigorous process by a multisectoral, multidisciplinary panel of industry leaders and approved by ANDHealth’s recently announced International Investment Advisory Committee.

Based on the past performance of companies that participated in the smaller ANDHealth+ Pilot Program, ANDHealth+ cohorts in the next four years can expect to create 1000 jobs, impact over 500,000 patients, undertake 175 clinical trials, raise over $130m in new financing and generate $80m in new revenues over the next eight years.

ANDHealth CEO Bronwyn Le Grice said, “ANDHealth+ is the only digital health commercialisation acceleration program in Australia with proven impact and outcomes. These five companies have successfully navigated an exhaustive process designed to identify the teams and technology with the greatest chance of commercial growth and positive impact for patients in Australia and around the world.

“Through ANDHealth+, these companies will have access to both Australian and international digital health experts with the specialised skills and real-world experience necessary to support the commercialisation of digital health interventions that underpin better health outcomes and allow Australia to build a globally competitive digital health industry.”

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