Investor Panel: Current Fund Raising Environment for MedTech, Digital Health & IVD (2:00 PM - 3:00 PM)
Topic Description: Discover recent investment trends shaping the industry, and how to best navigate capital raising challenges for medtech companies in Asia Pacific. Gain insights into perfecting your pitch and managing term sheet expectations.
Anselm Tan, Managing Director, Heritas Capital
Anselm Tan is Managing Director at Heritas Capital, an investment firm that backs companies driving impact in healthcare and other sectors. Anselm serves on evaluation panels for the funding of healthcare innovations. Previously, he was Partner at Philips Ventures, where he launched health technology venture investing for Philips in APAC.
Colin Tan, Investment Director, Coronet Ventures
Colin is the investment director of Coronet Ventures. He has worked in healthcare startups in the US and Singapore, focusing on fund raising, medical device project management, operations, product design and development. His experience includes taking projects through conceptualization, verification, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, manufacturing and commercialization. Colin has managed and worked on a diverse range of projects from tissue engineering of vascular substitutes to ocular implants, glucose monitoring, endoscopy, orthopedic, and cardiovascular products. He completed his Master’s in Bioengineering from Stanford University and Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University.
Vasavi Vittal, Healthcare Portfolio Manager, ICM Global Funds
Vasavi Vittal is a Portfolio Manager at ICM, where she manages healthcare investments in the venture capital and listed equities space. As part of the healthcare mandate Vasavi oversees investments in biotech, health tech and med-tech sectors. Vasavi has over 15+ years of hands-on experience in healthcare, biotech, and life sciences– having worked as a scientist, as an equity analyst, as a pharma professional and in investment management. During her time as a research scientist, Vasavi co-authored several published scientific papers. She has a MBA from the Said Business School at the University of Oxford, and a MS in Biochemistry from University of Maryland.
Seemant Jauhari, Partner, Healthcare, Jungle Ventures
Seemant brings over 22 years of experience in healthcare innovation, business consulting, and strategy. Having led HealthXCapital since its inception, he has been instrumental in creating a smart connected capital platform for healthcare startups in the region. Previously, Seemant served as the CEO – Innovations & Research at Apollo Hospitals where he was responsible for spearheading initiatives related to scouting, evaluating, investing, and commercialising innovations. He also held director positions on the boards of several Apollo Hospitals joint venture entities specialising in bio-banking, cord blood banking, and clinical trials.
Prior to his work at HealthXCapital and Apollo Hospitals, Seemant gained diverse experience in business consulting at Ernst & Young, strategy and transformation at Nokia Solutions Networks, and IT consulting at Tata Consultancy Services.
Seemant is a graduate of the Indian School of Business (ISB) and has completed executive education programs from Berkeley-Haas and Recanti Business School, Tel Aviv. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology.
Dr Fong Ming Koh, Principal, LYFE Capital
Dr Fong Ming Koh is a Principal at LYFE Capital, a global healthcare investment platform dedicated to advancing the healthcare landscape through strategic value creation. LYFE’s diverse investment portfolio spans the entire healthcare sector, encompassing therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and emerging sub-sectors across North America and Asia. Prior to joining LYFE, Fong was the Head of Life Sciences at Heritas Capital, a Singapore-based healthcare-focused impact fund manager. A developmental biologist by training, he has extensive research experience spanning pluripotent stem cells, epigenetics and cancer. Dr Koh received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco.
Alumni Panel: What I wish I knew before becoming a MedTech Startup Founder & CEO (3:30 PM - 4:30 PM)
Topic Description: Hear from four medtech startup founders & CEOs about their entrepreneurial journeys, how they dealt with challenges, built on opportunities and what they might have done differently.
Adrian Ang, CEO, Aevice Health
Adrian Ang is the CEO of Aevice Health, a medical device company based in Singapore. Drawing from his personal journey of overcoming childhood asthma, Adrian co-founded Aevice Health to develop the world’s smallest smart wearable stethoscope to enhance patient care and empower individuals with the ability to manage their health at home, effectively bridging the gap between hospital and home-based care. The company currently has a commercial presence in Singapore and the US.
Arun Sethuraman, Founder & CEO, Crely Healthcare
Arun Sethuraman is the Founder & CEO of Crely Healthcare, a health technology company with a mission to reduce preventable readmissions after surgery, and to improve health outcomes and
patient experience. Crely was a finalist and a product alum of the MedTech Innovator program for Asia Pacific in 2019.
Prior to founding Crely, Arun served as Vice President, Group Information Officer – International at Stryker Corporation, where he set up the organization, and led the transformation of technology
services for all markets outside of the United States. Arun has also held multiple global roles with Merck KGaA group, Nike and General Motors Corporation for business process transformation Information Technology, M&A integration, Manufacturing, e- commerce, Supply chain, and Marketing.
Arun holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Telecommunication and a post-graduate diploma in Business Administration. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.
Lynne Lim, Founder, CEO & CMO, NousQ
Lynne is Founder, CEO and CMO at NousQ Pte Ltd. NousQ is a Singapore based medical device company founded in 2021. Its first product CLiKX, is a world-first automated sensor-controlled handheld device that aims to place a 1 mm ventilation ear tube in 1 second, with 1 click, onto the ear drum – thus helping millions of kids with glue ears hear again without general anesthesia nor the surgical microscope. (www.nousQ.com)
Lynne is Senior Consultant Ear Nose Throat Surgeon, and Adj Assoc Professor and Visiting Consultant to the National University Health System Singapore. Her research fellowship and clinical sub-specialisation were in Paediatric ENT, Hearing, and Ear Reconstruction at Cincinnati Children Hospital Medical Centre, Stanford Medical Centre, University of Virginia Medical Centre and Nagata Plastic and Ear Reconstruction Clinic, Japan. She did her Master of Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health.
Lynne was Vice- Dean at School of Medicine, National University Singapore, and Vice Chairman Medical Affairs at National University Hospital. She has pioneered several firsts in hearing implants surgery in Asia and Singapore and was primary investigator for over SGD 14 million in competitive research grants. Lynne was Founding Director for the MSc Audiology program NUS, Founding Director for the Centre for Hearing Speech and Balance at NUHS, and pioneered the roving Minivan Hearing Service in Singapore. She garnered over SGD 30M donation from an industry leader to facilitate these initiatives.
She especially enjoyed the many opportunities to teach and conduct surgical workshops in neighbouring ASEAN, India and the Middle East. After over 20 years in the public healthcare sector, since 2014, Lynne has been in private ENT practice. (www.drlynnelim.com)
Pang Sze Yunn, CEO, Neurowyzr
Sze Yunn is the Chief Executive Officer at Neurowyzr. Previously, she was the Head of Population Health Management for Philips ASEAN Pacific. She was also a council member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Longevity.
A healthtech pioneer in Asia, Sze Yunn led the Population Health Management unit in Philips ASEAN Pacific, where she was part of many Asian healthcare “firsts” in telehealth and remote disease monitoring. She has broad and deep expertise in healthcare, technology and diplomacy, and a career spanning different organization types in US, China and Southeast Asia in Philips, NTUC Health, Microsoft, Siebel Systems, and the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She sat on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Longevity.
She holds a BSc (Econs) from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Sze Yunn is the Chief Executive Officer at Neurowyzr. Previously, she was the Head of Population Health Management for Philips ASEAN Pacific. She was also a council member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Longevity.
A healthtech pioneer in Asia, Sze Yunn led the Population Health Management unit in Philips ASEAN Pacific, where she was part of many Asian healthcare “firsts” in telehealth and remote disease monitoring. She has broad and deep expertise in healthcare, technology and diplomacy, and a career spanning different organization types in US, China and Southeast Asia in Philips, NTUC Health, Microsoft, Siebel Systems, and the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She sat on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Longevity.
She holds a BSc (Econs) from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Dr Kevin Koh, Founder & CEO, Vivo Surgical
Kevin is a biomedical engineer, entrepreneur, angel investor and start-up mentor with over 18 years of hands-on experience in various academic and commercial (early to mid-stage) medical technology development settings.
He is presently Founder & CEO of Vivo Surgical, a Singapore-headquartered medical device developer/manufacturer pioneering a novel endoscope robot for advanced endoscopic surgeries along the gastrointestinal tract. ISO 13485 certified with international accreditations such as the US FDA and CE mark, the company has built up a commercial presence in over 20 international territories for its innovative product portfolio.
Kevin was previously the Asia Investment Director for one of the UK’s most established medical sciences private equity funds, where he was responsible for leading healthcare investments in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Besides Vivo Surgical, Kevin’s concurrent appointments include being Chairman of the Board of Directors of PathoVax, LLC (USA), Member of the Governing Board of TUV Rheinland (Singapore & Malaysia), Member of the Board of Directors of VerImmune, LLC (USA) and Co-Founder & Executive Director of the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (Singapore).
Kevin holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Hamlyn Centre (part of the Institute of Global Health Innovation) at Imperial College London, a BSc (Honours) in Molecular Cell Biology from University College London, and a DipABRSM Diploma in Piano Performance from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (UK).
Corporate Panel: The Role of Start-Ups in MedTech Innovation (4:30 PM - 5:30 PM)
Topic Description: Large corporate strategics rely increasing on smaller companies to help drive innovation in medtech. Learn how and when to approach strategics, what successful collaborations look like and how to build lasting partnerships.
CJ Chen, Head of Commercial Execution, Asia, Baxter
CJ Chen is an experienced medtech commercial leader with rich experience in P&L management, BD&L, strategic planning, commercial excellence, and commercial operations. He has worked with start-ups from multiple markets in Asia, including Singapore, India, Indonesia, Japan and China over the course of last ten years. Currently he is the Head of Commercial Execution team in Asia for Baxter, and is responsible for regional marketing, strategy & BD, commercial excellence & operations.
Ashley Wittorf, Head of Business Development, Asia Pacific, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Ashley Wittorf is responsible for sparking collaborations with groundbreaking healthcare companies and institutions across Asia Pacific as the regional business development lead for Johnson & Johnson MedTech. Ashley joined Johnson & Johnson in August of 2021 following an extensive career in the medical device industry. In her previous role, Ashley was a resident operating partner for medical device private equity firm Revival Healthcare Capital. Prior to Revival, Ashley spent more than eight years at the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) where she served as executive director of AdvaMed Accel; in this role, she was responsible for the creation and management of a new division focused on emerging-growth medical technology companies. While at AdvaMed, Ashley also managed the association’s relationships with the broader investment community from angel investors to Wall Street’s top equity analysts. Prior to joining AdvaMed, Ashley spent nearly ten years working in the MedTech and pharmaceutical industries with roles in product development, operations, marketing, and business development and strategy for both small, venture-backed enterprises and for large corporations, including Eli Lilly and Medtronic. Bringing her seasoned expertise in MedTech innovation, Ashley has served in several advisory capacities, including on the board of MedTech Innovator and through U.S. government-related initiatives including FDA’s CDRH Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program and the NIH HEAL Partnership Committee. Ashley holds a master’s degree in bioengineering and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She also holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She currently resides in Singapore with her husband and two daughters.
Jens Krink, Head of Sales Excellence ASEAN, Siemens Healthineers
Jens Krink is a distinguished figure in the healthcare sector, with more than 30 years of experience. His journey in the industry commenced in Germany, where he held different positions up to Managing Director at a leading software company specializing in hospital information systems.
In 2006, Jens joined Siemens Healthineers, where he currently serves as the Head of Sales Excellence for Southeast Asia, a role focusing on managing business with large global key accounts and business partners.
Based in Singapore for the past nine years, Jens has immersed himself in the region’s dynamic market, leveraging his knowledge and experience to drive growth and foster strong, enduring partnerships. His strategic vision and dedication to advancing healthcare technologies have contributed significantly to the success of Siemens Healthineers in Southeast Asia and beyond. He holds a Master Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences.