Doctor Anywhere acquires Singapore-listed Asian Healthcare Specialists, secures additional US$38.8 million funding
- Written by Telegraph Magazine
Acquisition of integrated healthcare provider Asian Healthcare Specialists marks expansion of strategic capabilities, builds holistic healthcare offering to serve Southeast Asia
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 21 December 2022 – Doctor Anywhere (DA), a regional tech-led healthcare company headquartered in Singapore, announced that it has acquired Catalist-listed Asian Healthcare Specialists (SGX:1J3), an integrated healthcare provider in Singapore.
Asian Healthcare Specialists is a group of 14 medical specialists, with a patient-first approach and vision to make specialised care accessible to all. Its 12 specialist clinics across multidisciplinary specialities comprise orthopaedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, urology, gastroenterology, otorhinolaryngology, anaesthesia, family medicine and rehabilitation – all areas that complement DA's regional healthcare services and offer consumers greater access to complex treatments.
The acquisition is a strategic step to further DA's long-term growth ambitions, enabling it to deliver more holistic healthcare and meet the rising demand for complex, specialised treatment across Southeast Asia.
"Our goal at Doctor Anywhere is to build a digital healthcare ecosystem to enable better patient outcomes and help shape the future of healthcare in Southeast Asia. With consumers across the region seeking higher quality and more personalised care, the acquisition of Asian Healthcare Specialists strengthens our capabilities beyond our successful primary care services, enabling us to deliver more integrated, holistic care and greater value for our users," said Lim Wai Mun, Founder & CEO, Doctor Anywhere.
"We continue to be on the lookout for synergistic opportunities and targeted acquisitions of critical healthcare assets across the region, which will enable us to further the work we have begun on building a regional healthcare ecosystem that leverages technology and innovation. A more diversified and holistic range of integrated healthcare service offerings will enable Doctor Anywhere to deliver greater value and impact to elevate the region's healthcare outcomes," added Wai Mun.
Chief Executive Officer of Asian Healthcare Specialists Limited, Dr Chin Pak Lin commented, "Coupled with shifting demographics, technological innovations, and the diverse nature of healthcare infrastructure across Southeast Asia, we're currently sitting at the nexus of potential transformation. We are excited to join Southeast Asia's largest omni-channel healthcare provider and bring our well-established specialist care expertise to the group. We look forward to working together to bridge the gap between primary and specialised care to provide seamless, holistic care that transcends boundaries and statuses."
Additional funding bolstered by latest Series C1 financing round
Doctor Anywhere also announced a US$38.8 million Series C1 financing round, an up round led by Novo Holdings, a leading international life science investor. Other existing shareholders also participated in the round, including Asia Partners, Kamet Capital, Square Peg, IHH Healthcare, EDBI and OSK-SBI Venture Partners.
The funding will be used to accelerate growth and to partly fund the acquisition of Asian Healthcare Specialists. It comes just over a year after the company raised a US$65.7 million Series C in August 2021 in one of the largest private funding rounds ever raised by a healthtech company in Southeast Asia. This brings the total capital raised by Doctor Anywhere to nearly US$140 million.
"Doctor Anywhere has shown an exceptional track record since its inception, and today it has firmly established itself as a regional leader in healthcare, successfully integrating seamless online and offline approaches to bring easily accessible and affordable healthcare to millions across Southeast Asia," said Dr Amit Kakar, Senior Partner, Head of Novo Holdings Equity Asia.
"We are confident in DA's growth as it builds a regional ecosystem to bring delivery of patient care to the next level, in line with its vision to become the leading tech-enabled omnichannel healthcare provider in Southeast Asia," he added.
Carol Wang, Senior Associate at Novo Holdings Equity Asia, added: "We are particularly excited to lead this up round to fund the accretive acquisition of Asian Healthcare Specialists. With the addition of the synergistic specialist clinics, we believe that DA would further enhance patient journeys seamlessly through its fully integrated online and offline offerings and would further differentiate itself as a leading omnichannel healthcare provider in Southeast Asia, enabled by its innovative technologies. We look forward to continuing to back DA's long-term vision, which is perfectly aligned with our deep expertise and commitment in tech-enabled healthcare services."
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Novo Holdings
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the operating and financial assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the world's largest enterprise foundations. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people's health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk and Novozymes (the Novo Group companies) and manages an investment portfolio, with a long-term return perspective. The investment portfolio comprises two teams: Life Science Investments and Novo Capital Investors. The Life Science Investments team invests in companies at all stages of development and includes Novo Seeds, Novo Ventures, Novo Growth and Principal Investments. The Novo Capital Investors team manages a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate and infrastructure assets, as well as private equity investments.
Novo Holdings operates out of offices in Copenhagen, London, Boston, San Francisco, Singapore and Shanghai. As of year-end 2021, Novo Holdings had total assets of USD 106 billion. Further information: www.novoholdings.dk.
About Doctor Anywhere
Doctor Anywhere is a regional tech-enabled, omnichannel healthcare company, on a mission to make healthcare simple, accessible, and efficient for everyone. Doctor Anywhere's digital platform bridges gaps in the healthcare ecosystem through technology and innovation, enabling users to manage their health easily and effectively through the DA mobile app. Headquartered in Singapore and with a presence in six countries across the region, Doctor Anywhere now serves more than 2.5 million (and growing) users across Southeast Asia. For more information, visit: http://www.doctoranywhere.com
About Asian Healthcare Specialists
Asian Healthcare Specialists Limited is incorporated in Singapore and listed on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the "SGX-ST"), and the Company's sponsor is RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. The Group is a multidisciplinary medical services group providing an extended range of medical services such as anaesthesia, dermatology, family medicine, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology, rehabilitation and urology. The Group currently has 14 medical specialists in different divisions, one family physician and one physiotherapist, located at 12 clinics in Singapore.
