Cerebra wins JJIV Pitch Battle

The social, economic, and political diversity across countries in Southeast Asia can create hurdles for health systems. As such, securing funding has proven to be challenging for entrepreneurs and startups that are tackling the need for easily accessible and affordable healthcare solutions.

One investor that’s bridging the gap in the region is Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures (JJIV). Among its goals is to provide private support to improve healthcare worldwide by investing in purpose-driven entrepreneurs who are also committed to making a difference in the quality of healthcare in their communities and regions.

To deliver on this goal, JJIV partnered with Tech in Asia to host the latest edition of Pitch Battle. Over 250 healthcare startups across Singapore, India, Indonesia and the rest of Asia Pacific sent in their applications for the event.

Six finalists presented their business ideas to a panel of investor-judges, with Kazakhstan-based Cerebra emerging as the winner of this Pitch Battle.

Winning startup: Cerebra

Cerebra is a medical software for the automated diagnosis of stroke via machine learning platforms.

Around 6.6 million people across the world died of stroke in 2019, making it the second leading cause of death that year, according to data from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Around a quarter of adults aged 25 and older are also at risk of experiencing a stroke in their lifetimes.

In addition, stroke symptoms are frequently detected too late, reducing the time for accurate diagnosis and shrinking the window to help patients. With Cerebra, health professionals can use AI to recognize a stroke within 10 minutes. The software can also calculate the change in tissue density in the core of the stroke, helping patients receive immediate treatment.

Runner-up: Aktivolabs

Aktivolabs, a healthtech startup based in Singapore, uses real-time data from smartphones and wearable devices to predict and prevent chronic diseases.

A healthy population is one of the building blocks of a happy, productive, and connected society. To reach this goal, the startup leverages science through its flagship health app, Aktivo. It is powered by a proprietary algorithm that generates an Aktivo Score, which is a digital biomarker for health and longevity. The higher the Aktivo Score, the lower the chances that a person has of developing life-threatening chronic diseases.

ActionalMD

ActionalMD is an engagement platform that connects patients, payers, and health providers to seamless healthcare services.

The Malaysia-based company leverages scalable, open-source technologies to link various stakeholders across Southeast Asia’s healthcare ecosystem, enabling outcome measurement and incentivization.

Haemetrics

Singapore-based Haemetrics aims to develop a rapid point-of-care diagnostic platform for an array of hormonal tests that can generate reliable data within 30 minutes.

Subfertility issues, menopause disorders, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are common reproductive health problems among women. But with 95% of clinics unable to afford the clinical analyzers, these patients are subjected to long test times and have to make several visits to laboratories and clinics, ultimately leaving little room for treatment.

Haemetrics wants to change the situation and make women’s lives better by improving diagnosis and consultation to overcome issues associated with fertility and reproduction.

Zi.Care

Zi.Care wants to digitize healthcare in Indonesia by providing an electronic medical record system for hospitals and patients.

The country’s healthcare system is hampered by a host of long-standing issues, including a low doctors-to-patient ratio – 0.38 per 1,000 population as of 2017, according to a Deloitte report. Most Indonesian hospitals are also paper-based, leading to poor documentation and longer wait times before consultation.

Zi.Care plans to boost hospital efficiency by 30% by improving health insurance claims, decreasing wait times, and reducing the usage of paper.

Periksain

Periksain is an Indonesia-based healthtech firm that seeks to improve health services through innovation.

According to Periksain’s estimates, 64% of Indonesians cannot get quality healthcare services. This can be attributed to the unequal distribution of health facilities, limited access to health professionals, and the inadequate use of technology for healthcare.

The startup is looking to solve these issues by being the first “universal digital health ecosystem” in the country, integrating various facilities, services and technologies as well as patients, institutions, and professionals. stakeholders. With this platform, Periksain aims to be a “health buddy” for Indonesians.

Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures is an impact investment vehicle within the Johnson & Johnson Foundation that deploys investments in innovations that support health workers and address healthcare challenges in low-income and diverse communities.

Find out more about Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures on its website.