HealthHero, a London-based telehealth company, acquired the Berlin-based Fernarzt.com, which offers users online consultations. Backed by investment house Marcol, HealthHero will initially operate in Germany, Ireland, and the UK.
Fernarzts seed investor Heartbeat Labs, who founded the company in 2017, retains minority shares and remains on board as a strategic partner for the German market.
The newly launched startup HealthHero intends to offer telemedicine services through video calls, online chats, or phone calls. Patients can use the service to access a mental health clinician, a general practitioner, specialist, or a musculoskeletal practitioner.
“Germany is an exciting market for digital health, and with Fernarzt, we have a very good basis with the potential to become the market leader,” said Ranjan Singh, Managing Director of MARCOL Digital Health and CEO of HealthHero.
Fernarzt offers questionnaire-based digital telemedicine services, meaning a patient has to take a health assessment test online by filling out a questionnaire. Later, it will be evaluated by a doctor. If appropriate, a doctor can prescribe medicine and send it to a pharmacy or have the medication sent to the patient’s home.
During the corona pandemic, the company added various services, including contactless PCR and antibody tests. Thousands of treatments are currently being carried out every month by remote doctors.
“MARCOL has built a very synergetic portfolio in the healthcare market. We are very happy to be part of HealthHero and to plan the next growth phase together. Together we will expand our services for both patients and doctors and make Fernarzt the leading European telemedicine platform,” says Felix Kaiser, Managing Director of Fernarzt.
Eighty-three digital health companies were acquired in the first half (1H) of 2020, compared to 91 in 1H 2019, according to Mercom’s 1H 2020 Digital Health Funding and M&A Report.
Image Credit: HealthHero
