New Delhi: Redcliffe Lifetech, one of India’s leading diagnostics platforms, raised $61 million led by LeapFrog Investments (LeapFrog), with participation from Healthquad, Schroders, LC Nueva, Growth Spark Ventures and existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Alkemi Venture Partners.
The investment will be used to expand Redcliffe’s geographic reach across India, with a focus on expanding its low-cost but high quality Direct to Consumer Diagnostics into tier 2, 3 and 4 cities, providing affordable, rapid, and convenient pathology services from glucose to genetics in millions of households. Funding will also be used to scale Redcliffe’s platform and increase its product offerings to radiology, disease data profiling and lifestyle management, furthering its mission to shift India’s healthcare focus from treatment to early diagnosis and prevention.
“Preventative medicine is the future of health in India, helping to empower the average Indian with the information they need to take charge of their health and wellbeing,” Dheeraj Jain, Founder of Redcliffe Lifetech said. “Redcliffe has built a one-stop diagnostic shop offering a very wide selection of tests to choose from and delivering care closer to the customer. This investment will help us scale rapidly to achieve our goal to reach 500M+ Indians within the next five years.”
“Redcliffe is an exemplar of LeapFrog’s focus on digital-led and asset-light business models that enable access to essential healthcare services to emerging consumers, ”said Biju Mohandas, Partner and Global Co-Leader for Health Investments at LeapFrog Investments. “Its innovative and disruptive approach is transforming healthcare in the region by bringing consumers closer to the point of care and removing barriers to access. Furthermore, Redcliffe’s vision of shifting healthcare from treating the sick to enabling wellness will have profound implications for millions. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Dheeraj and his management team to further scale their reach across India.”
Redcliffe delivers world-class diagnostics services in its network of22state-of-the-art labs across 14 cities, several of which are already NABL accredited. Redcliffe also has a team of key-opinion leaders in the pathology sector who oversee operations and quality. Redcliffe’s unique omni-channel infrastructure, which combines innovative online channels with a fleet of 400 highly-trained phlebotomists operating in 100+ cities with home sample collection and an off-line network of500 collection centres, enables the company to offer more than 3,500 different pathology and specialised tests including genetics at highly affordable prices around 25-60% less than traditional competitors.
“Redcliffe operates at the intersection of healthcare and technology, developing innovative solutions that address persistent challenges in the Indian market. It has built a proprietary technology platform for outstanding consumer experience also enabling scaling of its operations at their labs, fulfilment and overall CRM. It has also piloted drone technology across its supply chain to reach consumers living in smaller cities, semi-urban and remote areas that are often difficult to reach with existing infrastructure. Redcliffe has also co-developed a first-of-its-kind live, remote temperature tracking to monitor the samples collected by phlebotomists and ensure they maintain adequate temperature to meet quality and safety standards”, said Ranjith Menon, Partner Chiratae Ventures.
Redcliffe’s affordable diagnostics are helping to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, which currently kill over 6 million Indians each year. NCDs are rising in India as the percentage of the population over 60 surges, and diets and lifestyles change across the country. Early diagnosis also helps mitigate the severe financial shocks related to NCDs through ongoing hospitalisation, which on average will push 47% of Indian households to incur out-of-pocket expenses exceeding their capacity to pay.
With a population of nearly 1.4 billion, 65 per cent of India’s population still lives in rural areas, and access to care is an ongoing challenge. This increased convenience and the cost-effective approach enables consumers to undergo tests more frequently, encouraging more healthy behaviour and leading to early detection of disease to ultimately reduce the health burden on households. The collection of samples by the mobile phlebotomists also reduces the time involved in getting a test, freeing up time for more productive purposes.
O3 capital acted as financial advisor on the transaction.
