Qure.ai Bags INR 32 Cr From UK’s SBRI Healthcare For Cancer Detection Tech

Mumbai-based healthtech company Qure.ai has been awarded £3.2 Mn (over INR 32 Cr) by the SBRI Healthcare, part of the UK government’s National Health Service (NHS), as part of a competition for late-stage healthcare innovations.

The SBRI or Small Business Research Initiative grant was provided in partnership with the NHS Cancer Programme and the Accelerated Access Collaborative. Qure.ai’s assisted chest X-ray triage system improves diagnostic efficiency and early detection of lung cancer.

The SBRI competition was launched in March 2021 and and a second edition is planned for the spring of 2022. Qure.ai was among the eight startups that won more than GBP 9 Mn in funding for their projects that enable faster and earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer.

Qure uses AI algorithms to detect brain trauma and diagnose chest diseases. Founded in 2016 by Warier and Dr. Pooja Rao, the healthtech startup relies on AI and deep learning technology to study radiology images for a quick and accurate diagnosis, reducing the time to treatment. It last raised $16 Mn in a funding round led by Sequoia India, with participation from MassMutual Ventures to expand its product line and enter new geographies.

The company was incubated by Fractal Analytics, who also invested $30 Mn at an early stage. Qure.ai cofounder Warier had earlier founded AI-powered personalised digital marketing firm Imagna Analytics, which was acquired by Fractal Analytics in 2015.

Qure.ai’s cancer detection solution is available in 50 countries at more than 500 sites and claims to have 4 Mn patients till date. Qure.ai’s model involves selling its diagnostic tools  directly to hospitals, collaborate with health-centric non-profits, and medical devices companies among others.

The startup claims that its algorithm can detect clinically relevant abnormal trauma from X-rays, CT Scans and MRIs in a fraction of the time that doctors typically take. The chest X-ray tools have also been deployed at select primary health care (PHC) centres in Indian villages to expedite screenings of tuberculosis and can even identify 29 clinically relevant lung abnormalities including indications for Covid-19.

In India, the company collaborated with NITI Aayog, Piramal Foundation’s Piramal Swasthya initiative, and PATH NGO. Qure.ai’s chest X-rays solution has been deployed in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan where it claims to have reached more than 10K patients. In 2020, the company’s qXR solution was used by the Maharashtra government for mass screenings of suspected Covid-19 patients.