Square Peg, former Australia PM’s family office join $13.4m round for healthtech firm

HealthMatch, a healthtech startup, has raised A$18 million (US$13.4 million) in a new financing round led by venture capital fund Square Peg, with existing investor, Sydney-based VC Tempus Partners.

Manuri Gunawardena, CEO and founder of HealthMatch.

New investors in the round include the family office of former Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and his wife Lucy Turnbull who was previously chair of Australian biotechnology company Immutep.

The Australian startup connects patients with upcoming clinical trials through an online platform. It claims to have grown from a user base of 8,000 in June to 80,000 at the start of December this year. The company also places over 2,000 patients a month on clinical trials for conditions ranging from cancer to eczema.

Founded in late 2017, the company has now raised over A$25 million (US$18.6 million).

HealthMatch plans to use the funds to expand across Asia and invest in its product, the company said in a statement.

“What has been incredibly rewarding this year is to not just see thousands of patients sign up and access clinical trials, but also to see this translate to quicker recruitment outcomes for medical research,” said Manuri Gunawardena, CEO and founder of HealthMatch.

The company plans on expanding into the Singapore market and will rope in over 60 new employees in the next 12 months, with a focus on medical and engineering talent.

Last November, HealthMatch raised A$6 million (US$4.5 million) to increase the number of drug trials on its platform, and get more patients across Asia Pacific and the US.

Southeast Asia recorded a total of US$226 million in healthtech investments in 2019, according to a report by Singapore-based advisory firm Galen Growth. Healthcare expenditure in the region is also expected to hit US$740 billion by 2025.