One in Three Patients With Diabetes Will Develop Vision Problems

Q: PROSPERiA received a US$2 million investment from Cardo Health. What makes PROSPERiA’s value proposition the best option to invest in?

A: We are a social impact company created to democratize access to quality health services through technology, particularly AI. PROSPERiA is a profitable company and an attractive investment option for national and foreign capital. Through our innovative solutions we contribute to general and mental health care at an affordable cost. Currently we are launching a new digital health platform, Zana to help increase and accelerate our impact.

In Mexico, access to healthcare is limited due to the fragmentation of the healthcare ecosystem and the saturation of the public healthcare system. Clinics adjacent to pharmacies are an alternative but their model is not optimal and often incentivize clinicians to overprescribe. At PROSPERiA, we use technology to bring quality care closer to the population, especially women, whose access to healthcare is often limited by taboos.

Q: What has been PROSPERiA’s impact in the detection and treatment of chronic diseases?

A: We focus on the timely detection of chronic diseases, particularly ophthalmological problems derived from diabetes and hypertension. Since our commercial launch in January 2021, we have had good acceptance and growth. We have seen over 16,600 patients and identified at least one vision problem in 9,500 of them. This is proof of how, through technology, we can reach many patients and have a positive impact in their quality of life. Part of the investment we receive will go toward further developing algorithms that can be added to our platforms and improve diagnosis and detection.

Q: How aware is the Mexican population of the importance of ophthalmic screening to prevent complications?

A: Mexican health culture is more reactive and non-preventive. With our solutions, we want to break this trend and help create a culture of prevention. Our tests can detect eye damage up to 10 years before the patient notices a change in their vision. This has significant benefits for the patient. By knowing about possible damage to their eyes, patients often take preventive actions, change their lifestyle and improve their adherence to treatment.

Q: WHO has said that the use of AI in health must be guided by the public interest instead of the specific interests of stakeholders. How do you maintain a patient-centric approach?

A: It is easy to develop algorithms that do not consider the real needs of the patient or that are biased. PROSPERiA aims to be as fair and ethic as possible by always having the patient at the center. Our algorithms were developed for a specific need taking the target population’s specific demographics in mind. Mexico has about 24 million people living with diabetes and pre-diabetes. Of these, one in every three will develop a vision problem and potentially become blind

We decided to address this problem by moving screening outside of specialized centers to end the complete reliance on ophthalmologists, which are a very scarce resource in Mexico. To achieve this goal, we spoke with opticians, diabetes clinics, pharmacies and laboratories, which are the points where people with diabetes and at risk can access a timely detection effectively and accessibly.

Q: How should regulation evolve for more healthtech companies to be successful in Mexico?

A: We need more clarity from COFEPRIS because otherwise uncertainty becomes an issue for entrepreneurs and for clients. The uncertainty is limiting the development and growth of more health and technology companies in Mexico and Latin America.

Q: What strategies are you implementing to gain more allies?

A: To be successful in healthcare, it is necessary to cooperate with others to really help the patient navigate the fragmented health ecosystem. Good synergies can be created even among competitors. For this reason, we always want to grow our number of allies and we participate in forums, interviews and events to continue looking for allies.

Q: What are PROSPERiA’s future goals and priorities?

A: We are launching a new digital health platform, Zana (zana.mx) to enter the world of telemedicine as we continue to focus on increasing access to healthcare. In the midterm, we will integrate both services to offer comprehensive care while exploiting our extensive knowledge of AI. We hope that in the future we can serve as a tool to support decision-making among doctors, allowing them to optimize the care patients receive. In a few years, our goal is to make PROSPERiA an integral nucleus to connect patients with the health ecosystem regardless of their needs.

PROSPERiA massifies early detection and treatment of chronic diseases in emerging markets through solutions based on artificial intelligence.