Therapy Audit Submits IPO Prospectus: Pioneering NHS-Backed Digital Solutions for Chronic Disease Management

In 2015, when Chris Wright first visited China, he discovered that the management of chronic diseases in China at that time faced the same challenges as those in the UK and other Western economies—doctors failed to establish strong connections with patients suffering from chronic conditions, and they were unable to keep abreast of patients’ health information in a timely manner.

Chris Wright (hereinafter referred to as Chris) is the founder of a UK-based healthcare informatics company. In 1995, a physician friend approached Chris with a request to develop a program that would help monitor patients’ blood test results after they took prescription drugs with potential toxicity, flagging abnormal results and adverse drug reactions. In 1996, Chris launched RheMOS, the first rheumatology monitoring system in the Beetroot series, which attracted widespread attention from the industry. Subsequently, Chris founded Therapy Audit (hereinafter referred to as TA Medical), focusing on providing chronic disease management and patient monitoring services to NHS clients.

After decades of development, TA Medical has amassed over 100,000 users and provides services to 35 healthcare institutions covered by the NHS, having delivered comprehensive digital health services to the NHS for more than 20 years. In 2015, TA Medical established its first office in Tianjin, China, to advance the Beetroot and Digital Hearing Rehabilitation project (Clear Hear).

Beetroot is a medical application that integrates behavior change, AI, and psychology. It is an intelligent app system designed for physicians and patients with chronic diseases, covering conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sharon Donald, Sales Director at TA Medical (hereinafter referred to as “Sharon”), told VCBeat that Beetroot aims to enhance communication between patients with chronic diseases and their physicians, empowering chronic disease management through both clinical management and risk control.

Within the Beetroot app, patients can view their health data offline and search for various chronic disease management resources. They can also input information such as height, weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, and other metrics from blood test reports online, send this data to their physicians, and receive medical advice. As a chronic disease management tool, Beetroot integrates certain features into the WeChat platform, allowing users to share their health information and doctors’ recommendations with family members so they can stay informed about the user’s health status. Additionally, users can post their treatment experiences with Beetroot to their WeChat Moments to share and exchange insights with other chronic disease patients.

Within the physician app, doctors can review collected patient data and remotely manage patients’ health conditions. Data points that exceed normal ranges and may indicate health risks, as well as any unexpected submissions from patients, are clearly flagged in the app interface. Parameters for clinical management and risk management are configured by the physicians themselves. Currently, TA Medical is also leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to develop next-generation predictive monitoring systems. “Current chronic disease monitoring systems are largely passive and reactive, meaning they only initiate monitoring and management after abnormalities in patients’ physiological indicators occur. We aim to develop more proactive intelligent monitoring systems to detect physical anomalies at an earlier stage,” said Sharon.

Another product that TA Medical is promoting in China is a hearing rehabilitation device (Clear Hear) that integrates digital Internet of Things (IoT) technology into medical equipment. “Many imported hearing aids fail to capture the four tones of the Chinese language, whereas our product can help adjust for these tonal variations,” said Sharon. According to her, the hearing rehabilitation program was co-developed by Professor Changzheng Ding from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK and TA Medical. In China, TA Medical has also collaborated with Professor Chen from Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen to establish a hearing rehabilitation program, which is funded by Innovate UK and Guangdong Science and Technology.

Furthermore, TA Medical is actively seeking partnerships to explore the implementation of health screening services in China. In the UK, TA Medical provides a health check-up program to the NHS. By offering health check-up software to healthcare institutions and establishing local examination centers, TA Medical conducts health screenings for individuals aged 40–74. The software records various health metrics from this population, shares them with patients’ general practitioners (GPs), and provides individuals with recommendations regarding their health risks. “The purpose of these check-ups is to encourage people aged 40–50 to make timely lifestyle changes; otherwise, they may face an increased risk of conditions such as stroke and diabetes within ten years,” said Sharon. Regarding the acquisition of population health data, TA Medical does not collaborate with any wearable device manufacturers but instead relies on patient-reported input. Sharon Donald believes that while wearable devices collect comprehensive data from daily life, much of it lacks clinical diagnostic value. For instance, a person’s heart rate may reach 160 beats per minute while climbing a hill, yet current AI methods are unable to filter out truly predictive insights from such data.

Regarding product promotion in China, Sharon stated that TA Medical is actively exploring the possibility of collaborating with West China Hospital of Sichuan University on the “Sunshine Doctor” initiative. TA Medical is also seeking partnerships in digital health projects to advance its products into public and private hospitals via a SaaS model.

Currently, TA Medical has partnered with Chengdu Kangtuobang Technology to pilot its beetroot products in Sichuan Province, promoting its chronic disease management and health screening services. Meanwhile, the company is seeking a new round of financing to advance clinical approval and market access for its beetroot and hearing rehabilitation products.