Portea picks majority stake in health-tech startup PSTakeCare

Health Vista India Pvt Ltd, which runs home healthcare company Portea Medical, has picked up majority stake in healthcare discovery startup PSTakeCare, less than two months after it bought Medybiz Pharma.

The financial details of the deal, however, were not disclosed.

"Portea is very pleased to underline our commitment to enhancing healthcare in India via this investment in PSTakeCare. The tech platform that PSTakeCare has built places the patient at the centre of the healthcare universe and this focus on the patient is a shared goal for both companies," said Meena Ganesh, MD and CEO, Portea Medical, in a statement.

PSTakeCare, run by Takecare Technology Pvt Ltd, was founded in March 2015 by Pratik Chinchole, Rahil Momin, Anup Raaj, all IIT-Bombay alumni, and Shirin Shinde, who studied at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. It offers a platform that helps consumers select doctors, hospitals and other healthcare services in Mumbai based on factors such as insurance coverage provided, procedure-specific feedback and room-wise costs.

Portea is also exploring other investments as the company expands its offerings to tackle the challenges brought on by India's ageing population and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, the statement said.

PSTakeCare plans to launch its services in other metros this year, said Pratik Chinchole, co-founder and CEO of PSTakeCare, said adding, "With Portea, we have the right platform to rapidly scale the business."

In November 2015, Portea had acquired specialty pharmaceutical distributor Medybiz Pharma Pvt Ltd in a cash-and-stock deal for an undisclosed amount.

The aquistion of Medybiz Pharma had come just some weeks after Portea had raised $37.5 million (Rs 247 crore) in a Series B round of funding led by existing investor Accel Partners. World Bank's investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other existing investors Qualcomm Ventures and VenturEast had also participated in this round. In 2013, Portea raised $9 million (Rs 48 crore then) in its Series A round from Accel, Qualcomm Ventures and VenturEast in December 2013.

"All funds raised were in single tranches. I believe we have adequate capital to fuel our growth and expansion at the present time," the company's spokesperson had told VCCircle recently.

Founded by Zachary Jones and Karan Aneja, Portea was acquired by the venture building platform led by serial entrepreneur couple Meena Ganesh and K Ganesh.

In India, Portea claims to handle more than 70,000 visits to patients' homes in a month. It has more than 4,000 staff across 24 cities in India. It also has presence in Malaysia.

Home healthcare in India has seen strong growth in the last two years with a few organised players attracting venture capital investment. Vishal Bali-led Medwell Ventures raised $10 million from investors, including Fidelity Growth Partners, in June last year.

Healthcare startups like Zoctr and Care24, which offer online platform for home healthcare services but are themselves not home healthcare service providers, recently raised funds.