Introducing the Sunday Times Tech 100: Life sciences part 1
The Sunday Times top 100 tech companies list recognises the UK's fastest-growing private tech companies, and this year, almost a quarter (23) of them operate in the life sciences area.
The list highlights companies demonstrating strong revenue growth over the last three years, innovation and long-term commercial sustainability, and shines a light on businesses that the newspaper believes are shaping the future of the UK technology sector.
Collectively, the 100 companies on the list generated revenues of £3.7 billion ($5.06 billion), rising by around £3 billion in the three years, and now employ 23,100 people, having created 11,600 new positions over that time.
In this first article on the top 100, pharmaphorum is focusing on the five start-ups featuring in the software category.
1) Lindus Health
Describing itself as the 'anti-CRO' with an AI-powered platform for running clinical trials, Lindus Health is the top-ranked tech company in the listing operating in life sciences, coming in at number 5 in the software category. The London company, which has raised $80 million in financing to date from the likes of Peter Thiel, co-founding PayPal and Palantir Technologies, has seen its revenues rocket more than 265% to more than £8 million, but has not yet moved into profit. The company taps into a database of over 40 million electronic health records and offers end-to-end services for clinical trials in areas including metabolic disease, respiratory disease, women's health, and infectious disease.
2) Scan.com
Medical imaging specialist Scan.com makes it into the 10th slot in the software list, thanks to 200% plus growth in three years to almost £41 million, driving it into profit. The nine-year-old company – formerly known as National MRI Scan and also based in London – provides private medical imaging services across Europe and the US, and has seen revenues soar at its 200 facilities in the UK as patients resort to out-of-pocket payment for MRI, CT, and ultrasound scans, mammograms, and X-rays at a time when NHS waiting lists remain at record levels.
3) Phlo
At 13 in the list is Phlo, one of three tech companies that have built businesses from the operation of digital pharmacy services. Glasgow-based Phlo is focused on building a UK-wide digital health business, Phlo Connect, which spans medicine prescribing and pharmacy fulfilment, as well as patient care via its Phlo Clinic service. According to the Sunday Times list, the company hasn't yet moved into profit, but has grown its revenues 180% to £23.1 million.
4) Evaro
Another digital pharmacy company, Norwich-based Evaro, has grown its revenues 110% to £12.1 million, and prides itself on now providing more than 40,000 prescriptions every month and serving around 2 million people across the UK, generating £30 million in revenues for its partner brands. First set up in 2017, the start-up focuses on providing digital pharmacy infrastructure that can integrate with other businesses, handling compliance, fulfilment, and clinical consultations. Its customers include sexual wellness retailer Lovehoney, and online pharmacies e-surgery and Clue. It ranks 29th out of 50 companies in the software list, and has started to make a profit.
5) HeliosX
Finally, digital health company HeliosX, hailing from London, can be found at position 42 on the list, thanks to almost 89% in revenue growth to more than £178 million, although it remains loss-making at the moment. Founded in 2013, it operates in the UK, US, Germany, and Canada, combining online prescribing, an in-house compounding lab that has helped it tap into the GLP-1 agonist weight-loss boom, and personalised telehealth-based care. It serves more than 2 million customers per year.
Look out for the continuation of this series later this week, in which we will give a rundown of the 18 companies lauded for their expertise in life sciences hardware.
Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash
