DCode Care has raised a Seed round co-led by Inflection Point Ventures, one of India’s largest angel investment platforms and PointOne Capital. The infusion of capital comes six months after the firm raised Pre-Seed financing from early-stage venture firm 100X.VC and a clutch of angel investors. DCode Care helps critical illness patients discover the right treatment and healthcare providers basis their condition and budget. Currently servicing Cancer patients, the start-up leverages proprietary technology to bring transparency in medical treatments. The funds raised will be utilized for marketing and business development, expansion to cities beyond Bangalore, and product development to deliver a personalized tech-driven experience for patients.
Ankur Mittal, the Co-Founder of Inflection Point Ventures says, “Diseases like Cancer are scary. Any survivor would tell you that. But not just emotionally and physically, on the treatment side, this can be a huge drain on patient’s financial resources. DCode Care is currently designing a complete eco-system around cancer care, right from diagnosis to finding the right hospital to financing the treatment. We support them as they look to expand their reach across other critical illnesses. Half the battle is won when you have found the right doctor and the right treatment at the right budget for serious diseases. We believe that DCode Care’s platform has been thoughtfully designed to empower patients with the right information and guidance. The business model has a positive social cause with strong business metrics underneath”
DCode Care currently provides comprehensive solutions for Cancer treatment and is operational in Bangalore. The startup empowers patients with a Proprietary Hospital Rating System that analyses the availability of over 200 clinical resources required to treat cancer as per international guidelines. These ratings help patients identify which hospitals are best equipped to treat their type and stage of cancer. It also provides a Doctor Recommendation Engine that allows patients to identify the right oncologist basis their clinical and financial condition. DCode Care’s patient engagement app ‘Canswer’ guides each patient on the various aspects of their treatment as they progress with the prescribed treatment. The startup has buit an ecosystem of clinical partners including cancer diagnostic labs, day-care chemotherapy clinics, and hospitals.
Raghavendra Prasad, the Venture Partner at PointOne Capital says “Having my own family member suffer from cancer, I understand the importance of getting the right counselling on options for treatment, hospitals and care for patients. DCode Care is using the right blend of technology and expert guidance to provide cancer patients and their caregivers the right options and guide them towards the best possible outcomes.”
Preeti Veenam, the founder of DCode Care says, “We are on a mission to empower patients with expert guidance on correct treatment at the right prices. We are pleased to partner with IPV in our vision to create an impact in the space of critical illness management. IPV has opened its wide network of portfolio companies and investor mentors for us. We look forward to leveraging the knowledge pool within the IPV system to grow.”
DCode Care has already helped over 50,000 cancer patients. Almost 50% of their patients belong to non-metro cities who are guided to the right clinical treatment options at affordable prices. DCode Care also provides medical financing to its patient base. The company has started with cancer as India has 18 lakh new cancer patients every year. The total spends on cancer care is $ 2.1 bn with over 65% of Indians not having taken insurance. This leads to them struggling to pay for expensive treatments. Through the company’s wide network of partnerships, it can extend tests and treatments at a discounted price, saving up to 30% of overall patient expenses incurred during the treatment. Since the timing of treatment is extremely critical for cancer patients, the earlier they get treatment, the better. With the platform, patients are can start their treatment 50% faster.
“DCode Care fulfills a huge gap in the critical illness journey of a patient. As the first institutional investor, 100X was impressed by the vision of DCode Care as India’s first data-driven healthcare discovery platform for critical illness. We firmly believe that the DCode Care has built a good platform which meets a huge societal need and also lends itself to a scalable business model.” Ninad Karpe, Partner, 100X.VC.
DCode Care envisions to be a comprehensive platform for critical illness patients including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological illnesses.
