Macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma are the top three causes of blindness in Europe. These conditions are particularly prevalent among the elderly, which is cause for concern in Germany, where nearly half of the population is aged 40 years or older. However, early detection of these diseases significantly improves the chances of preventing blindness, making retinal diagnostics critical to preserving good eye health.

TeleMedC works with primary care providers, community clinics and pharmacies to deliver low-cost, fully automated, portable eye image grading technologies. These can be used to monitor for the diagnosis and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, stroke, hypertension and macular degeneration. The company was able to capitalise on global market opportunities and the company’s diabetic retinopathy artificial intelligence (AI) was the first to be approved in Singapore and Australia, and it boasts an accuracy of 97 percent sensitivity and 92 percent specificity – making it one of the most accurate image diagnostic AI services in the world.

TeleMedC’s Portable Desktop for Multifunctional Eye Imaging

The project combines the detection and grading of cataracts as well as the automated diagnosis of glaucoma and other common retinal diseases. Besides improving detection of most potentially blinding diseases and increasing the chances of saving sight, the project could also contribute to easy, non-invasive detection of a large range of systemic diseases not related to the eyes, such as in the brain and the cardiovascular system. Through Scaler8’s international expansion strategy, TeleMedC hopes to be able to improve general population health with their low-cost but sophisticated diagnostics technology by making their products accessible to the underprivileged.

“We have been working closely with TeleMedC over the past year and we are delighted to have enabled their partnership with a strong local partner from our German network. TeleMedC’s innovative telemedicine products have significant potential to address healthcare accessibility, which will help them stand out in the competitive German eyecare market. We are committed to continue supporting them through the Scaler8 Expand programme as they execute this important project,” said Teodora Georgieva, Scaler8 Programme Director, German Entrepreneurship Asia.

In 2020, TeleMedC participated in Scaler8’s ‘Explore’ programme, a structured 11-week market exploration programme to help companies gain market access into Germany. Powered by German Entrepreneurship Asia, Scaler8 Explore supports aspiring Singaporean startups such as TeleMedC in identifying gaps and focus areas to prepare market expansion strategies to Germany. For TeleMedC, this resulted in the R&D collaboration with UKE – which has received a grant from the Investment and Development Bank in Hamburg (IFB Hamburg) – and led to TeleMedC opening a subsidiary in Germany. The company will set up their office at the-labs.space in Hamburg, where they will receive continued support from Scaler8 mentors who have been pivotal for the startup’s overseas expansion journey so far.

From Left to Right: Claus Karthe, Co-Founder & CEO, German Entrepreneurship Asia; Kristin Eckert, Senior Programme Manager, Scaler8 and Teodora Georgieva, Programme Director, Scaler8

“Early detection is crucial for the effective treatment of many chronic diseases, but people all around the world often have to choose between affordability and accuracy – or never have the choice at all. With our low-cost retinal diagnostics technology and UKE’s expertise in ophthalmology, we are excited to take our mission to solve this global problem a step further and the dedicated team at Scaler8 has been instrumental in making this happen,” said Para Segaram, Founder & CEO of TeleMedC.

“This cutting-edge project has the potential to cover a wider scope as it combines the detection and grading of cataracts – the globally leading cause of blindness – as well as the automated diagnosis of glaucoma and other common retinal diseases. It will cover most diseases that could lead to blindness and could even support the non-invasive detection of other non-eye diseases. We wholeheartedly support this exciting cooperative R&D project with TeleMedC and reiterate our commitment to contributing our expertise,” said Dr Martin Spitzer, Professor of Ophthalmology, Head of Department at UKE.

As part of Scaler8’s ‘Access’ programme, TeleMedC will receive customised market access support to further solidify its presence in the German market with on-ground business development efforts and business advisory. Scaler8 will also help set up a local team and customer support structures as part of the market expansion strategy for TeleMedC to scale quickly in the German market.

“With our distinguished health and technology universities and research centres, Hamburg is well on track to become an innovation hub for healthtech. Our goal is to help growing companies with their integration into Hamburg’s business landscape, and we were pleased to lend our support to TeleMedC when they first arrived in Germany. We have high hopes for the outcome of their partnership with UKE and we look forward to following their progress,” said Lee Lee Ong, Project Director, International Investments of Hamburg Invest.

Scaler8 is a programme by German Entrepreneurship Asia, a company that aims to bridge the innovation ecosystems of Asia and Europe. As a trusted partner of Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance for Germany, Scaler8’s customised programmes and services help Singaporean companies at various stages of readiness to create and execute a go-to-market strategy for successful overseas expansion to Germany.