FUTURE TECHNOLOGY IN PREVENTATIVE HEATH

Writing the report for the 4th ‘Future Technology Series’ for the London Technology Club (www.londontechnologyclub.com) we looked at one of the most applicable capstone projects for all: Preventative Health.

The full report can be uploaded from the LTC website CLICK HERE published in February 2022.

Prevention is better than cure” said the Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus c.1500

Each year, millions of people die from preventable illnesses. A well-known early 2000s study showed that about half of all deaths in the US were due to preventable behaviours and exposures. That level of avoidable premature deaths has only increased. Leading causes are cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, unintentional injuries, diabetes, and infectious diseases. The same study estimated that 400,000 people died each year in the US due to poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.

By 2030, the proportion of total global deaths due to chronic diseases is expected to increase to 70%, and the global burden of disease to 5%.3 Yet up to 80% of chronic diseases can potentially be avoided.

If you take obesity alone, the disease impairs immune function, increases the risk of heart failure and increases COVID-19 fatality – 30% of COVID-19 hospitalisations are attributed to obesity. Four in every 10 Americans are obese. Worryingly, it’s one in five for children.

Importantly, chronic diseases don’t just impact the lives of individuals or those around them. There is also the burden on health services for treatments, not to mention the loss in ability to positively contribute to society. Corporates are nervous about the future cost of health benefits becoming unsustainable within this decade.

Governments have woken up to the need to put prevention at the heart of a nation’s health by firstly stopping health problems from arising in the first place, and, secondly, by supporting people to manage their health problems when they do arise.

The potential future burden on the state is an urgent concern for all.

“Modern healthcare should be about ensuring the well stay well, and then providing the safety net in terms of health and social care for the sick and those in need”.

Governments have started to make the wellbeing of their society central to policies. Preventing disease or detecting them as early as possible are vital goals for any healthcare system. Doing so can improve the cost effectiveness of interventions and improve health outcomes for patients.

The UK recognises its leadership role in life sciences and wants to springboard the industry by attracting additional investment from overseas. At the same time, the UK government has set goals around longevity and life expectancy.

The UK’s goal is to improve healthy life expectancy by at least five extra years by 2035, and to close the gap between the richest and poorest. This won’t be met without a potent combination of:

1. A shift in consumer attitudes and behaviours

2. Public and private cohesion, and capital

3. Technological influence

Technology is acknowledged to be a key enabler in helping consumers take more control around preventing the development of health problems. And so, this report looks at exactly that: what future technologies will help understand our predispositions, lifestyle choices and predict our future issues before they become more serious or chronic.

This topic is both profoundly important personally for each individual who wants to live a long and healthy life, not to mention the investor that wants to accelerate progress towards healthier societies and make a positive impact, as much as realising financial returns for their capital.

Our focus here, therefore, is three topics for Individual Ownership of Preventative Health (IOPH):

1) How do you increase your awareness of your predispositions? What are you genetically more likely to struggle with when it comes to your health? And what can you do about it?

2) How is your lifestyle impacting your health? How do you monitor that? What should you expect if you make or don’t make changes?

3) How can we collectively work together to better predict, plan and ultimately prevent illness?

Entrepreneurs, VCs and institutional investors have also found the opportunity in global healthcare to be a compelling investment theme. Global healthcare deals reached a record high in Q3 2021, surpassing 1,900 – up from 1,654 deals in 2020.5 Digital health startups have already raised 27% more funding than in 2020, raising $39.6 billion by Q3 2021 vs $31.1 billion in 2020. The US is dominating the healthcare startup scene, raising $18.3 billion across 808 deals in Q3 2021. If the pandemic taught us one lesson, it’s that we need a stronger baseline in society of ‘wellness’ to be able to fight off infectious diseases. The hope is that the pandemic has accelerated an acceptance that one can, and must, take more control of one’s own health to stay well for longer. People are more willing to embrace digital health tools, and the healthcare industry overall is facing mounting pressure to reduce costs while also improving patient outcomes. Everyone is looking at technology for solutions. There are numerous tailwinds explored in this report for preventative health. The global market for technologies and services focused on preventive healthcare is predicted to reach $287 billion by 2027, driven by an exponential increase in government spending on healthcare services and initiatives, coupled with growing public awareness.

As Hamish Grierson, co-founder and chief executive of Thriva, said:

“We are fortunate that health is on the agenda in a way that it wasn’t before.”