"We are eyeing geographical expansion to international markets within APAC and Europe"
18 May 2021 | Views
In India, the prevalence of chronic diseases was estimated to be around 54.5 million and the number of cases of COPD in India increased from 28.1 million (27.0–29.2) in 1990 to 55.3 million (53.1–57.6) in 2016. About 72.96 million cases of diabetes alone are estimated in the adult population of India. In a country with such high rates of chronic diseases, patient care needs to be personalized. To prevent, manage or treat complex chronic conditions, Mumbai based startup Wellthy Therapeutics was created. Wellthy Therapeutics complement and assist doctors with value-based patient care and help them in providing enhanced Quality of life (QoL) for their patients.
In conversation with Abhishek Shah, CEO & Co-Founder, Wellthy Therapeutics…..
How did the year 2020 go by at Wellthy Therapeutics?
Response: 2020 would be considered a watershed moment for the entire world as it went through a major overhaul. Every stakeholder in the health sector had an opportunity to ramp up their operations and offer the best services for their beneficiaries. The digitisation in the health sector, although was imminent, happened abruptly. For Wellthy Therapeutics too it was a learning curve. All through 2020, we expanded and developed our portfolio of indications and the agenda has been to create a multi-therapy universe for the beneficiaries. We also had the opportunity to partner with many global leaders in pharmaceutical companies and reached out to every stakeholder in the healthcare sector. At a functional level, we learnt our way to operate in a remote-working world.
What are the major plans in store for 2021?
Taking our cues and learnings from 2020, Wellthy Therapeutics is building its path for 2021. Our focus will be majorly on DTx candidates in diabetes,heart failure , Women’s health and Rare diseases. Our focus would also be to help improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs across our indications. Along with building a multi-therapy universe, we are working on tech innovation and interoperability with various medical devices. We have plans for expanding our presence and partnerships in Europe along with continuing our growth and sustenance in APAC.
What are the company's plans for global expansion?
Wellthy Therapeutics’ has a big portfolio of chronic indications which includes Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, Dyslipidemia, Congestive Heart Failure, Women's Health, Ischemic Heart Disease. In the near future, the company aims to add more chronic indications to its portfolio. We are also working on advancing our product capabilities to excel in the new healthcare normal- post Covid -19. Apart from the portfolio and product expansion, the company is also eyeing geographical expansion to international markets within APAC and Europe. It is committed to further product innovations and creating new business models in tandem with its partners, while also continuing to make its product reimbursable through major private and public payers.
What are the current challenges facing the digital healthcare players?
The biggest challenge for DTx players is category building. The presence of digital health was nominal in India , therefore creating awareness and building that category has been the prime focus. Regulation of Digital Therapeutic applications across geographies are still in the formation process but we have seen considerable progress in Europe and US where a regulated app can be prescribed as a digital therapy if backed by a benchmark clinical evidence. Adoption of Digital Therapeutics in Health Care is still a long way to go and we are working relentlessly to drive this agenda.
Dr Manbeena Chawla
