Challenges warned its readers back in 2019. Tilak Healthcare needs to be watched closely. Three years later, this e-health company, which was on the cover of the special issue of “100 start-ups to invest in 2019”, has just passed a new milestone in its development by becoming the first software publisher dedicated to ophthalmology whose serious game is reimbursed by Social Security.
Intended to better monitor the evolution of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, two incurable diseases that affect 1 million patients in France, the serious game OdySight, which comes in the form of puzzles renewed every day, must now test its economic model. Distributed in the form of a subscription, the application, directly linked to the office of the attending ophthalmologist, is sold at the price of 265 euros per year and reimbursed at 100% by Health Insurance under Article 51 of the law. funding from Social Security. A law which, as of 2018, provided for a two-year experimentation for certain innovative medical devices.
–
Between 2.7 and 3 million euros in turnover
“The launch of this experiment is a new crucial step in the deployment of OdySight. It rewards the work of doctors and our teams in the service of innovation in ophthalmology”, explains Edouard Gasser, co-founder and director of Tilak Healthcare. Employing around thirty employees today, the company plans to develop between 2.7 and 3 million euros in turnover this year. Now distributed in France, the company, whose CE medical device marking is valid for all of Europe, also intends to conquer other markets, in particular Germany where serious medical games can benefit from long-term reimbursement by the Health insurance since the beginning of 2021.
Read alsoMedical deserts: where are ophthalmologists missing?
The two-year experimental period enjoyed by the Parisian start-up will allow it, according to the regulations in force, to recruit up to 8,000 patients in the coming months. However, the company is not starting from scratch since for the past two years, it has benefited from the support of the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which markets, in the same way as Bayer, drugs intended to slow down the progression of AMD and diabetic retinopathy. Thus, the Swiss laboratory has so far distributed the solution free of charge to ophthalmologists so that they can monitor the development of the disease in their patients remotely. Some 400 ophthalmologists and 3,500 of their patients have adopted it to date. “Our logic is both to support devices that are not necessarily mature and the transformation of the healthcare system, which will quickly move towards digital solutions. We can clearly see the important role played by certain non-drug applications in addition to pharmaceutical treatments to improve the patient-caregiver relationship”, justified this fall, Gaëlle Recoursé-Richard, director of innovation, data and digital at Novartis France.
Financial incentive
One of the positive points for Tilak Healthcare lies in the decision of the legislator to interest doctors in prescribing the solution. Thus, each of them will receive 112 euros per patient included, then 112 euros per year for the remote monitoring that he will provide for each of them. A financial incentive necessary for the adoption of these new medical devices which, both on the side of patients and doctors, must gradually become commonplace.
Last year, Tilak Healthcare announced the raising of 7 million euros from specialized funds Elaia, Swen Capital Partners, Matmut Innovation and iBionext Growth Fund. No other fundraising is planned in the short term by this software publisher born from video games.
–
