Forus Health Raises $5 Million From Accel Partners & IDG Ventures India (April '12)

BANGALORE, April 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

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. Unitus Capital was the sole advisor to Forus for the transaction.

Forus' mission is to address the healthcare delivery issues in the developing world through innovative and inclusive product design, and service deployment. Its flagship product 3nethra: a portable, low cost, non-mydriatic, non-invasive pre-screening ophthalmology solution, can detect cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retina, refraction and cornea problems - diseases that contribute to 90% of avoidable blindness in India. 3nethra can be operated by a minimally trained technician, and can be deployed in remote areas. It has also gained widespread acceptance within the ophthalmic community because of its superior imaging capability for screening and ease of use. 3nethra has won numerous awards including the Piramal Prize 2010 for innovations that democratize healthcare, DST Lock-Heed Martin IIGP 2011, Samsung Innovation Quotient, Sankalp Award in 2011, Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award 2011 and CNBC Young Turks Change Agent award in 2011. Beyond 3nethra, Forus plans to develop other medical technologies that address healthcare delivery problems. Healthcare delivery is one of the most serious challenges faced by India. India has only one doctor for every 2,000 people - One third the world average, and for specialties such as ophthalmology the ratio is 1:60000. For more information, please visit www.forushealth.com.

The low doctor-to-patient ratio, illiteracy, and poor rural reach of healthcare infrastructure have exacerbated the problem. "Technology can help us rethink healthcare delivery, and perhaps technology can transform healthcare from being cure-centric to prevention-centric and hence have a deeper impact in people's lives." says the President & CTO of Forus, Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao, PhD. "We will focus on developing technologies for early screening  which will help the doctors to focus on needy patients only."  Dr. Rao further added.

Forus is led by Dr. Shyam Vasudeva Rao and K. Chandrasekhar, two highly experienced technology professionals. Dr. Shyam holds a doctorate from IISc and was previously the Director Technology, Philips Healthcare at Phillips Innovation Center, Bangalore. Chandrasekhar, an alumnus of IIMC and BITS, Pilani, was 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."  K. Chandrasekhar, the CEO, stated. "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." Chandrasekhar added.

"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

"We are proud to be associated with Forus, Accel, IDG Ventures India and the capital raise.  Forus and technologies such as 3nethra have the potential to bridge the massive healthcare divide by reducing the cost of healthcare delivery. The immense business potential, strong leadership and strong research capability collectively contribute to Forus' potential to prevent millions of people from becoming unnecessarily blind." stated Eric Savage, Co-Founder & President, Unitus Capital.

About Forus Health:

Forus Health Pvt. Ltd. (Forus) is a technology-led innovation company focused on preventive healthcare. Its flagship product, 3nethra, can pre-screen for five ophthalmic ailments which collectively contribute to nearly 90% of the blindness in India. 3nethra is the first of many products that Forus has in its pipeline.

About Accel Partners:

Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, California, New York City, London and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel.

Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which have defined their categories, including 99designs, Actuate, AdMob, Agile Software, Alfresco, Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, BBN, Bonobos, Braintree, Brightcove, Cloudera, ComScore, Diapers.com (Quidsi), Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Fusion-IO, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Groupon, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, IronPlanet, JBoss, Kayak, Lookout, Macromedia, metroPCS, MoPub, OPOWER, Polycom/PictureTel, Playfish, Portal Software, QlikTech,Rapt, Real Networks, Redback, Responsys, Riverbed, Spotify, Squarespace, SunRun, Trulia, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, Wonga, XenSource and Zimbra. In India, Accel has made investments in companies such as Babyoye, Cnergyis, enStage, Deeksha(Ace), Exclusively.in, Flipkart, HealthcareMagic, Kaatizone, Letsbuy, MuSigma, Myntra, Perfint, QwikCilver, Sconce, Vinculum and Virident.

For more information, please visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com 

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Accel

About IDG Ventures India:

IDG Ventures India is a US$150 Million early-stage venture capital fund investing in technology-related product and services companies. The fund is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with over $6 billion under management, over 220 investee companies and 10 offices across Asia and North America. IDG Ventures makes investments on behalf of its Limited Partners, including its principal investor and sponsor, International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform - an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources - with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, IDG Ventures helps its investee companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition.  

Leading technology companies that IDG Ventures has invested in globally include BabyCenter, F5 Networks, Netscape, Service Metrics and VA Linux in North America and Baidu, Ctrip, Sohu, Tencent and VinaGame in Asia.

Our India portfolio consists of Perfint Healthcare, Agile, Apalya, Aujas Networks, ConnectM, eShakti, Firstcry, iCreate, i-Prof, iViZ, Kreeda, Manthan Systems, Myntra, Ozone Media, Sourcebits, Valyoo, vServ, Zivame and 3DSoC.

For more information, please visit www.idgvcindia.com.

About Unitus Capital:

Unitus Capital(UC) is a financial services firm specializing in arranging capital for companies benefiting those at the bottom of the economic pyramid in sectors including microfinance, renewable energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, technology and affordable housing. With operations in Bangalore, Beijing, New York and Sydney, UC delivers a range of financial advisory and capital market services to clients across Asia. Since its inception in 2008, UC has raised nearly $690mn for a wide variety of social enterprises. For further information about Unitus Capital, please visit www.unituscapital.com.

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