NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, April 27, 2012

Bangalore-based affordable medical technology and solutions company Forus Health Pvt. Ltd. (Forus) has successfully raised Series A funding of $5 million from two leading venture capital funds, Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India.

Forus’s mission is to address the healthcare delivery issues in the developing world through innovative, inclusive product design and service deployment. Its flagship product 3nethra, a portable, low cost, non-mydriatic, non-invasive pre-screening ophthalmology solution, can detect Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retina, Refraction and Cornea problems. 3nethra can be operated by a minimally trained technician, and can be deployed in remote areas. http://www.forushealth.com.

“Technology can help us rethink healthcare delivery, and perhaps can transform healthcare from being cure-centric to prevention-centric and hence have a deeper impact in people’s lives”. “We will focus on developing technologies for early screening which will help the doctors to focus on needy patients only”, says the President & CTO of Forus, Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao, PhD.

Forus is led by Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao and K Chandrasekhar, two deeply experienced technology professionals. Dr. Shyam holds a doctorate from IISc, previously the Director Technology, Philips Healthcare at Phillips Innovation Center, Bangalore. Chandrasekhar, an alumnus of IIMC and BITS, Pilani, previously the Director of Strategy at NXP Semiconductors.

“Endorsement and motivation by ophthalmic community and the larger medical fraternity around the world and specially India has encouraged us to further our mission. This coupled with Investors like Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India showing deep commitment to support this mission will really go a long way in bringing the desired change”. “The funds currently raised by the company will be used to drive manufacturing and sales of the 3nethra and to accelerate research on 3nethra and other devices” said K. Chandrasekhar, CEO – Forus.

“We are always interested in platform technologies that can deliver healthcare cost effectively. The pre-screening technology developed by Forus holds tremendous potential and will help address issues relating to avoidable blindness globally.” said Ranjith Menon, Vice President of IDG Ventures India.

“Forus has an outstanding team that has built a world-class product all set to revolutionize ophthalmology pre-screening. We are excited to partner with them to assist in their continued success and to build a highly impactful company.” said Anand Daniel, Accel Partners.