Redcliffe Lifetech raises $61 mn for expansion; LeapFrog Investments leads

Redcliffe Lifetech (Redcliffe), a leading diagnostics platform said it has raised $61 million led by LeapFrog Investments (LeapFrog), with participation from Healthquad, Schroders, LC Nueva, Growth Spark Ventures, and existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Alkemi Venture Partners.

The investment will be used to expand Redcliffe’s geographic reach across India, with a focus on expanding its low-cost but high-quality direct-to-consumer diagnostics into tier 2, 3, and 4 cities. The funds would help it provide affordable, rapid, and convenient pathology services from glucose to genetics in millions of households.

The funding will also be used to scale Redcliffe’s platform and increase its product offerings to radiology, disease data profiling, and lifestyle management. This would help further its mission to shift India’s healthcare focus from treatment to early diagnosis and prevention.

“Preventative medicine is the future of health in India, helping to empower the average Indian with the information they need to take charge of their health and wellbeing,” said Dheeraj Jain, founder of Redcliffe Lifetech. “This investment will help us scale rapidly to achieve our goal to reach over 500 million Indians within the next five years.”

Biju Mohandas, Partner and Global Co-Leader for health investments at LeapFrog Investments said Redcliffe is an exemplar of LeapFrog’s focus on digital-led and asset-light business models that enable access to essential healthcare services to emerging consumers.

“Redcliffe’s vision of shifting healthcare from treating the sick to enabling wellness will have profound implications for millions,” said Mohandas.

Redcliffe delivers diagnostics services in its network of 22 state-of-the-art labs across 14 cities, several of which are already NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited. The firm said it also has a team of key opinion leaders in the pathology sector who oversee operations and quality.

It has a unique omni-channel infrastructure, which combines innovative online channels with a fleet of 400 highly-trained phlebotomists operating in over 100 cities with home sample collection and an off-line network of 500 collection centres. This enables the company to offer more than 3,500 different pathology and specialised tests including genetics at highly affordable prices around 25-60 per cent less than traditional competitors.

“Redcliffe has also piloted drone technology across its supply chain to reach consumers living in smaller cities, semi-urban and remote areas that are often difficult to reach with existing infrastructure,” said Ranjith Menon, Partner Chiratae Ventures. Menon said the firm has also co-developed a first-of-its-kind live, remote temperature tracking to monitor the samples collected by phlebotomists. This ensure they maintain adequate temperature to meet quality and safety standards.

Redcliffe said its affordable diagnostics are helping to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, which currently kill over 6 million Indians each year.

NCDs are rising in India as the percentage of the population over 60 surges, and diets and lifestyles change across the country. Early diagnosis also helps mitigate the severe financial shocks related to NCDs through ongoing hospitalisation, which on average will push 47 per cent of Indian households to incur out-of-pocket expenses exceeding their capacity to pay.

With a population of nearly 1.4 billion, 65 per cent of India’s population still lives in rural areas and access to care is an ongoing challenge. This increased convenience and the cost-effective approach enables consumers to undergo tests more frequently. This encourages more healthy behaviour and leading to early detection of disease to ultimately reduce the health burden on households. The collection of samples by the mobile phlebotomists also reduces the time involved in getting a test, freeing up time for more productive purposes.

O3 capital acted as financial advisor on the transaction.

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