Mumbai Angels Network Invests In Healthtech Startup Theranosis Life Sciences

The Mumbai Angels Network has announced an investment in Hyderabad-based medical diagnostic startup Theranosis Life Sciences.

Founded in 2016 by Dr Shibichakravarthy Kannan and Dr Vennila Dharman, Theranosis Life Sciences aims to explore non-invasive diagnostics for cancer patients and has patented a device that can reduce the need for surgical biopsies.

Commenting on the investment, Nandini Mansinghka, Mumbai Angels Network’s CEO & MD, said “Our investment in Thernosis highlights our focus on niche opportunities in the healthcare and healthtech space. Theranosis also fits very well into another of our key investment themes — that of Indian companies with the potential to expand into international markets.”

A Liquid Biopsy To Detect Cancer

Theranosis is spearheading precision medicine in oncology in India and other developing countries and implementing the latest advances in companion diagnostics. The healthtech startup has developed a patented microfluidics lab-on-a-chip device, which detects circulating tumour cells from a simple blood sample of a cancer patient, circumventing the need for a surgical biopsy.

Theranosis’ emphasises is on a procedure called liquid biopsy, which is a less invasive method of detecting cancer and diminishes the severe adverse effects triggered by chemotherapy. Another favourable outcome is that it monitors treatment responses in real time.

The startup aspires to exhibit its revolutionary innovations in the cancer treatment landscape.

Indian Healthtech Startups Improving Cancer Treatment

Today, there are several healthtech startups in India that are revolutionising cancer treatment. One such company is OncoStem, a startup focused on personalised cancer treatment planning through the development of tests that predict the chance of recurrence of the disease in a patient.

Then there is Course Medical, another such venture aimed at developing medical devices for the management of critical care and long-term care patients.

There are also players like PharmEasy, GenID, LS Cancer Drug, etc, working to improve cancer treatment.

According to Inc42 DataLabs’ Indian Tech Startup Funding Report 2017, healthtech witnessed 111 deals in 2017, making it the second-most funded segment of 2017. Not just in terms of the number of deals, healthtech startups raised over $333 Mn in funding in 2017, which is three times the amount they raised in 2016. Further, in Q1 2018, healthtech saw 25 deals for $109.72 Mn.

The global healthtech market is anticipated to reach $104.5 Bn by 2020, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc.

According to the IBEF, the Indian healthcare market is expected to reach $280 Bn by 2020 from the current $100 Bn, and startups like Theranosis continue to make healthtech an interesting space to watch and will hopefully help alleviate the scourge of diseases like cancer.