Stoic Venture Capital has committed to further bulking up its healthcare investments as the prevalence of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease continues to rise.
Stoic Venture Capital Managing Partner Geoff Waring said Stoic was committed to increasing its healthcare and life science holdings while most other venture capital firms focused predominantly on software.
Stoic Venture Capital has 9 healthcare companies in its portfolio of 17 companies since establishing three years ago.
"Many investors prefer software to health and science-based technology, but in doing so they neglect lucrative opportunities to invest where Australia has a global competitive advantage in its medical research," Dr Waring said.
Cardihab is a virtual program that patients complete remotely while under clinical supervision by qualified healthcare professionals. Supported by weekly phone or video consultations from their clinician, patients can benefit from the convenience of technology enabled care from their home.
"Cardihab is targeted at the world's biggest killer – heart disease. The global cardiac rehab health market size is expected to be worth US$2.5B by 2025."
Dr Waring said Stoic's unique partnership with university-focused investment fund Uniseed gave investors access to the most promising health and science opportunities such as Cardihab, which was developed at the CSIRO.
Cardihab is a landmark Australian digital health platform that facilitates the virtual delivery of cardiac rehabilitation services for patients recovering from cardiac events and living with heart disease.
Cardihab has just announced a state-wide agreement with the Tasmanian Department of Health and Royal Flying Doctor Service Tasmania to provide digital cardiac rehabilitation services in public hospitals across the state.
"Cardihab provides a solution for patients living in regional and rural areas and will become increasingly important as our health care system strives to meet the needs of our ageing population," Dr Waring said.
Cardihab Chief Executive Officer Helen Souris said Cardihab's clinically validated platform provided an important solution to managing heart disease, the
