A Chat with Rav Roberts, CEO & Co-Founder at Medicine Information Company: Medsii

Medsii.com is a UK-based digital health-tech startup. We provide personalised, accurate, reliable and trustworthy health news and information to help people with chronic illnesses or those taking regular medicines – which currently includes more than 46% of the UK population.

Medsii uses AI to tailor users’ news feeds in an easy-to-follow, engaging experience. It allows users to follow developments in medical treatment, and ultimately enables them to take proactive steps to manage their condition more effectively.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
17 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in my 30s, and like many others, I also went on to develop linked conditions, like high cholesterol and eye disease. As is typical for someone in this position, I only searched for help on these after I was diagnosed with them.

Finding trustworthy and up-to-date information was difficult and time-consuming. But the more I read about my conditions, the more I realised they could have been avoided if I had known about their risks, causes and what steps I could take to prevent them.

I shared my experiences with two old friends from business school in London. One of them, Nasir, had been working at the UK’s medicines regulator the MHRA and at several large pharma companies. The other, Paolo, had gathered over 25 years’ experience in technology roles for companies like Samsung and Broadcom. Through our joint discussions, the seeds of a technical solution to this ever-increasing global problem with tremendous individual and societal costs were planted.

We consulted with numerous healthcare professionals before finally launching our solution Medsii.com in late 2020. Already Medsii is helping many people across the world proactively manage their conditions by providing them with vital information and developments in treatment. I’m grateful I’ve been able to turn my personal experience into a positive and help people who find themselves in a similar position to me.
 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
We launched in late 2020, so the context of the pandemic is in our company DNA. We already knew there was a need for authentic, reliable health information. But the pandemic and growing issues with misinformation and conspiracy theories has only reinforced that need.

Since our launch, we’ve built out our Android, Apple and Web apps, our backed database and APIs and our AI. Crucially, we’ve built relationships with wonderful health professionals in the UK, USA and Italy (our CTO Paolo is Italian) who are helping us spread the word and scale in these markets.
 

What can we hope to see from Medsii in the future?

 
Looking at the near future, in December this year we are launching our Creators programme, which will enable healthcare professionals to network with peers and monetise their knowledge and experience by creating accurate, engaging content for the user community on Medsii.com.

We’re also very excited to be starting our expansion into the US and reaching new audiences who can benefit from up-to-date, reliable medical information for their health conditions and treatments.