Ventureast leads $3m round in med-tech startup

Ventilators can cost up to $40,000 but OneBreath's retail prices are less than $800, which makes products more affordable for hospitals in emerging countries.

The start-up was incubated at Stanford Biodesign, a training incubator in medical technology at Stanford University. Matthew Callaghan, an associate professor of surgery at Stanford, initially designed the product for use by patients in the US in the event of a severe influenza pandemic.

OneBreath will use the funding to expand into India, Africa and Eastern Europe and has also applied for regulatory approvals in the US and Europe.

The company has set up a Bangalore office and formed a partnership with Vaatsalya Hospitals, a Indian chain of affordable healthcare facilities in semi-urban and rural areas.

Respiratory illness is a leading cause of hospitalisation and death in developing nations, with thousands of patients dying each year due to lack of early access to mechanical ventilation. Based on current bed-to-ventilator ratios, India's shortage is over 1 million devices.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Healthcare
• Venture
• Early-stage
• India
• healthcare
• Venture