Global Pharmaceutical Company Merck Acquires Kenyan ConnectMed’s Telehealth Applications

Africa’s digital health startup ConnectMed has entered into an agreement with Merck KGaA, a global pharmaceutical company, who will take over its telehealth applications in Kenya as well as related management systems.

Merck plans to utilize ConnectMed ́s platform in connection with Curafa™ points of care in Kenya for novel independent services. The company launched Curafa™ in september 2018. It is a healthcare platform based on an innovative business model, targeting undeserved populations in remote areas of Kenya. Curafa™ plans to increase awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability for healthcare and medicine, and to help healthcare providers collaborate in improving quality of life for people with health issues.

The Curafa™ points of care are run by local independent pharmaceutical technologists, clinical officers and nurses, who provide pharmaceutical and clinical services, medicine, disease awareness, digital health solutions and rapid diagnostic test, supported by a modern facility experience.

Regarding the tech acquisition, Melissa McCoy, ConnectMed’s CEO said, “We are excited that Merck will be utilizing our telehealth solution to apply it to their Curafa™ platform.”

The handover of ConnectMed’s technology will see the startup cease operating. For the period it operated, the company has served 8000 patients, along with corporate clients. During its lifetime, ConnectMed launched three direct- to-consumer digital health products in Kenya & South Africa. It raised over UDSD 300K in investment.

While being launched in Kenya, ConnectMed chief medical officer Dr Fibian Nyorita said, “Healthcare in Kenya is both scarce given too few doctors, as well as inaccessible due to cost, location, and limited available hours. We started ConnectMed to help solve these challenges and make healthcare delivery truly scalable.”

“Our doctors are passionate about harnessing technology to increase access to healthcare. They’ve all gone through an extensive training process and received their degrees from top Kenyan medical schools.”

Featured Image Courtesy: nikkei.com