Sequoia leads $35 mn round in Biofourmis

igital therapeutics startup Biofourmis said on Tuesday it has raised $35 million in a Series B round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India and US-based Mass Mutual Ventures.

Singapore-based technology investor EDBI and Chinese online healthcare platform Jianke also took part, along with existing investors Openspace Ventures, Aviva Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of insurer Aviva and SGInnovate.

Biofourmis has a digital therapeutics platform, BiovitalsTM, that is based on emerging clinical evidence that drug-software combinations can enhance clinical effectiveness. The platform is used with prescription software that utilizes wearable biosensors to manage and support patients diagnosed with heart failure.

The Singapore-based startup last raised $5 million in its Series A round in December 2017 led by NSI Ventures and Aviva Ventures.

Biofourmis will use the funds to expand its commercialization efforts in the US and Asia, grow its teams focused on data science, clinical and regulatory, and sales and operations. By the end of 2019, the company aims to grow to more than 100 employees in the US and Singapore. “Our core focus has always been to optimize therapies to augment patient care and health outcomes,” said Kuldeep Singh Rajput, founder and CEO of Biofourmis.

“The past year was filled with exciting achievements as our team made great strides in advancing our products, in addition to strengthening our regulatory platform and signing contracts with numerous global pharmaceutical firms. Our new funds will allow us to rapidly expand our workforce and commercialization efforts, while further demonstrating the clinical efficacy of our digital therapeutics platform through research and development,” Rajput added.

Biofourmis develops its product and treatment algorithms by running randomized clinical trials, generating clinical data and demonstrating safety and efficacy.

The deal marks Sequoia India’s second growth stage deal this year, at a time when it has been focusing more on early-stage investments, from its own fund, as well as from a dedicated accelerator programme for early-stage startups in India and South-East Asia, called Surge.

Mint reported on April 11 that Sequoia led a $26 million round Mobile analytics and marketing startup CleverTap, at a valuation of about $150 million. In April Sequoia also led a $35.5 million round in mobile sports gaming startup Mobile Premier League (MPL).

Before the current slew of growth deals, it made a series of growth investments in January, when it led a $25 million investment in online insurance platform Turtlemint, and a $40 million round in ed-tech startup Eruditus.

Health-tech startups have seen rising investor interest over the past year, sectoral tailwinds such as increased internet penetration, rise in digital payments and big-ticket government initiatives. Mint reported on November 12 that health-tech startup funding has hit an all-time high of $510 million, citing data from Tracxn Technologies.

These were led by medicine ordering website PharmEasy, which raised $115 million across three rounds this year. Other significant funding rounds include fitness startup Curefit raising $100 million from IDG Ventures, and online pharmacy Netmeds securing a $35 million round led by Cambodian investor DPC Group.