Push Doctor raises $26.1M to help people live longer

Europe’s largest digital health provider, Push Doctor, today announced that it has raised $26.1M in a Series B funding round led by Accelerated Digital Ventures (“ADV” – the venture investment company backed by Legal & General, Woodford Investment Management and the British Business Bank) and Draper Esprit, with participation from major European funds, Oxford Capital, Partech Ventures and Seventure Partners. This takes the total funding for Push Doctor to date to over $37.5M.

Push Doctor is the first truly digital health consumer brand in the UK, connecting patients to a smart network of thousands of UK qualified GPs, giving them access to a doctor in as little as six minutes on any device.

The brand’s founder and CEO, Eren Ozagir, explained how the firm will provide everyone with the opportunity to live longer, happier lives: “We have treated more cases digitally than anyone in Europe and consistently grown over 35% month-on-month for 16 months. As a result, we have a dataset that provides a unique view of the medical issues facing a nation. This has meant that we have been able to scope and create a data-driven digital health platform that will treat the whole person. No one before Push Doctor has provided consumers with access to a single digital health platform that combines responsive medicine and chronic condition management as well as fitness and nutritional conditioning.”

This round of investment will enable Push Doctor to bring new products to market, the first of which will hit later this year. This will further expand the company’s value-proposition for patients as it couples its market-changing instant access to doctors with complementary products and services.

Ozagir continued: “This recent funding round will see us boost our growth in customer numbers and take significant steps in our ambition to become the preferred consumer digital health care brand in the world.”

Michael Dimelow, Head of Investment at ADV, remarked: “The health and wellbeing sector is perfectly positioned to benefit from digital technology innovation, and the UK is one of the best places from which to build a global business in this space. We’re delighted to announce our investment in Push Doctor with its unique vision to build an open platform, where the entire industry can connect and collaborate. Equally, consumers will gain efficient and direct access to healthcare professionals. The Push Doctor team is tried and tested in building international internet propositions at scale, and we look forward to supporting them in their journey to build an industry-defining global healthcare platform.”

Dr. Vishal Gulati, digital health investor at Draper Esprit, commented: “People’s expectations around how, when and where they access healthcare have evolved. Push Doctor is the leading health provider which is addressing growing, unmet patient needs. By putting the patient experience first, the company is changing our relationship with healthcare, lowering the hurdle of access for both immediate needs and chronic, long term conditions. Having known the team for two years now, I am excited to continue working with them to build a product which reshapes patient experiences in the future.”

Tom Bradley, Partner at Oxford Capital, said: “We continue to believe that digital health will change the way everyone interacts and manages their healthcare today, and in the future, which is why we invested in Push Doctor early and continue to today. This next phase of the brand’s development will see the whole team create a product set that truly reflects the needs of not just a nation, but a population generally, as we strive to make people healthier for the long term. This reflects our investment strategy of identifying potential market leaders early and supporting them through that transition from potential to leader.”

Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO & Managing Partner at Seventure Partner, stated: “Push Doctor’s digital health and wellness platform is well differentiated and has the potential to make a significant impact on the delivery of doctors’ services in the UK and beyond. We look forward to working with Eren and his team to expand the business and see Push Doctor fulfil its full potential.”

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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. You could lose all the money you invest
    1. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
  2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    1. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    2. Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
  3. You won’t get your money back quickly
    1. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
    2. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
    3. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
  4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    1. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
    2. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest
  5. The value of your investment can be reduced
    1. The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
    2. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.