BioScience Managers Release: Medical Data Platform Charm Informatics Set For Commercial Launch After Investment By Biomedical Translation Fund
Melbourne, Australia 11 September, 2017 – BioScience Managers, one of Australia’s leading life sciences investment firms, has selected Melbourne medical data company CHARM Informatics Pty Ltd as the latest investment for its Biomedical Translation Fund.
“There is an urgent need for all of the data that is produced by medical devices to be collated in one place and we are confident CHARM Informatics has the technological and commercial advantages to become that platform,’’ said BioScience Managers’ managing director, Jeremy Curnock Cook.
“There are many different companies working in the medical informatics space focused on providing therapeutic, diagnostic, rehabilitation, and activity tracking data generating devices to improve outcomes and lower the cost of health care delivery, but we believe CHARM Informatics is unique in focusing on connecting this very wide range of medical devices designed for chronic use outside the hospital,’’ said Mr Curnock Cook.
“The big advantage CHARM Informatics offers is that its fee for service platform is deliberately designed to be open, scalable and integrated so that a multitude of devices can be added to the platform easily,’’ said CHARM Informatics Chief Executive Officer, Dr Jeff Gross.
“The aspect of scalability is vitally important because the last thing insurers and other payers want is to deal with hundreds of different platforms covering various devices – they need one platform that can cover 1000 different devices,’’ he said.
Mr. Curnock Cook said an integrated platform would offer significant clinical and cost advantages over existing paper and semi-online systems, particularly if new devices can easily be added as they are developed.
“In addition to the benefits afforded insurers and payers, we believe the CHARM fee for service system will also be extremely helpful to medical device companies, allowing them to focus on their core competencies associated with their data generating device as opposed to developing an IoT Platform with all its associated challenges. The result will be a lower risk, faster to market cycle for their products speeding revenue generation,’’ said Dr Gross.
CHARM Informatics is targeting a commercial launch in the first quarter of 2019 and already has its first commercial client commitment in place.
FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE ALLOWS FOR HIGH NET RETURNS
Chief Investment Officer with BioScience Managers, Matt McNamara, said the investment in CHARM Informatics was consistent with the fund manager’s approach of looking for companies with the technology to fulfil a significant unmet need that took a robust approach to commercialisation.
“In this case the opportunity in the initial target markets of Australia and the United States alone is significant for a company that has really done its homework and we are confident that CHARM Informatics can become a global leader,’’ said Mr McNamara.
“Once an informatics platform becomes ubiquitous, it would offer significant barriers to entry for new players and the devices on the platform would form a very ‘sticky’ ecosystem,’’ said Mr McNamara.
BioScience Managers was one of three fund managers chosen to invest on behalf of the $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) set up by Australia’s Federal Government.
About BioScience Managers:
BioScience Managers Pty Ltd is a leading healthcare investment specialist founded in 2003, with the assistance of VicStart. It invests in a portfolio of biomedical companies which have clear technological and market advantages in which it can influence success and is confident of managing an exit. Past funds have averaged a net annual internal rate of return above 20 per cent. Jeremy Curnock Cook is an industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience in healthcare investing
Media Contact:
Monsoon Communications
Sarah Kemter
Investor Relations / PR
Phone: +61 3 9620 3333
sarahk@monsoon.com.au
“There is an urgent need for all of the data that is produced by medical devices to be collated in one place and we are confident CHARM Informatics has the technological and commercial advantages to become that platform,’’ said BioScience Managers’ managing director, Jeremy Curnock Cook.
“There are many different companies working in the medical informatics space focused on providing therapeutic, diagnostic, rehabilitation, and activity tracking data generating devices to improve outcomes and lower the cost of health care delivery, but we believe CHARM Informatics is unique in focusing on connecting this very wide range of medical devices designed for chronic use outside the hospital,’’ said Mr Curnock Cook.
“The big advantage CHARM Informatics offers is that its fee for service platform is deliberately designed to be open, scalable and integrated so that a multitude of devices can be added to the platform easily,’’ said CHARM Informatics Chief Executive Officer, Dr Jeff Gross.
“The aspect of scalability is vitally important because the last thing insurers and other payers want is to deal with hundreds of different platforms covering various devices – they need one platform that can cover 1000 different devices,’’ he said.
Mr. Curnock Cook said an integrated platform would offer significant clinical and cost advantages over existing paper and semi-online systems, particularly if new devices can easily be added as they are developed.
“In addition to the benefits afforded insurers and payers, we believe the CHARM fee for service system will also be extremely helpful to medical device companies, allowing them to focus on their core competencies associated with their data generating device as opposed to developing an IoT Platform with all its associated challenges. The result will be a lower risk, faster to market cycle for their products speeding revenue generation,’’ said Dr Gross.
CHARM Informatics is targeting a commercial launch in the first quarter of 2019 and already has its first commercial client commitment in place.
FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE ALLOWS FOR HIGH NET RETURNS
Chief Investment Officer with BioScience Managers, Matt McNamara, said the investment in CHARM Informatics was consistent with the fund manager’s approach of looking for companies with the technology to fulfil a significant unmet need that took a robust approach to commercialisation.
“In this case the opportunity in the initial target markets of Australia and the United States alone is significant for a company that has really done its homework and we are confident that CHARM Informatics can become a global leader,’’ said Mr McNamara.
“Once an informatics platform becomes ubiquitous, it would offer significant barriers to entry for new players and the devices on the platform would form a very ‘sticky’ ecosystem,’’ said Mr McNamara.
BioScience Managers was one of three fund managers chosen to invest on behalf of the $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF) set up by Australia’s Federal Government.
About BioScience Managers:
BioScience Managers Pty Ltd is a leading healthcare investment specialist founded in 2003, with the assistance of VicStart. It invests in a portfolio of biomedical companies which have clear technological and market advantages in which it can influence success and is confident of managing an exit. Past funds have averaged a net annual internal rate of return above 20 per cent. Jeremy Curnock Cook is an industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience in healthcare investing
Media Contact:
Monsoon Communications
Sarah Kemter
Investor Relations / PR
Phone: +61 3 9620 3333
sarahk@monsoon.com.au