Leading Australian digital health start-up, Midnight Health today announced Australian health insurer, nib, has taken a 50% equity stake in the business for a total consideration of $4 million.
Midnight Health launched its first platform, Youly, in February this year filling a gap in the market for delivery of the Morning After Pill along with additional women’s healthcare needs, such as the contraceptive pill, thrush, sleep and HSV-2 treatments.
Youly provides fast, convenient, and discreet access to treatment and prevention through patient-led digital healthcare, and is complemented by Midnight Health’s men’s vertical, Stagger which launched in August.
Across the two platforms, Midnight Health combines a unique network of Australian doctors, pharmacies and healthcare partners to provide a seamless online patient experience with treatments available through delivery. Future plans for the brand will see it expand its portfolio of products beyond its core areas of men’s and women’s health into seniors’ health, gut health, cannabidiol products and other related needs in coming months.
Midnight Health Founder and CEO Nic Blair, said he is thrilled to partner with an established leader in the healthcare space to see the start-up continue to grow in the expanding market.
“COVID-19 identified huge inconsistencies in consumer demand for accessible healthcare and the current services and offering available to Australians,” Mr Blair said.
“nib understand the healthcare landscape on an international scale and is committed to improving the future of this industry as technology advances and patient requirements evolve.
“From our first conversation, it was clear that there was an alignment between nib and Midnight Health’s vision to consolidate the fragmented healthcare industry through our patient-led digital healthcare platform.
“Being able to leverage the experience of an industry leading team and innovative enterprise in nib is an exciting opportunity for the future of our business,” he said.
The funding will be used to develop Midnight Health’s offering through the growth of their team and to deliver a more robust patient-led healthcare platform, new products, marketing and customer acquisition.
“In addition, the investment will allow us to pursue a strategic partnership with nib and with that access to their 1.4 million members to provide digital healthcare services, bringing great exposure to Midnight Health and our group of brands,” said Mr Blair.
nib Managing Director, Mark Fitzgibbon said the deal will help bring to life elements of nib’s payer to partner (P2P) business strategy as it moves towards being as much about good health and disease prevention as it has, for 70 years, being there for members once they’re already sick, injured or in need of hospital support such as birthing.
“There’s a large marketplace for healthcare products and services we’re generally not able to cover through private health insurance so to this extends our reach. It also allows us to offer additional personalised support for private health insurance members. Importantly, it will introduce many young people to nib who may not yet be ready for private health insurance,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“Midnight Health have recognised the healthcare market is diverse and that consumers are demanding products and services aligned with their individual needs. And that increasingly, delivery will be heavily reliant upon digital platforms which know them and are easy to access and navigate.
“They already have more than 4,500 subscribers and we naturally expect this to grow with our close involvement,” he added.
Midnight Health offers a high-quality tech stack with clinical capability that is robust and scalable. Its key capabilities include digital patient connectivity, virtual consults with health specialists and health plan recommendations, pharmacy dispensary and delivery integrations.
Importantly, there will be no changes for current Midnight Health customers or employees. Its founders Nic Blair (CEO) and Matt Anderson (Chief Operations Manager) will remain with the business and continue as major shareholders.
