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New Zealand health innovator Firstcheck today opens up shares in its award-winning and first-of-its-kind smartphone technology business that helps detect skin cancer.

 

Firstcheck has been developed as a cost-effective way for anyone to check for skin cancers by taking photos of a suspicious mole with their phone camera and sending them direct to a skin cancer doctor for review within 72 hours. Firstcheck’s phone lens attachment enables smartphones to capture highly-magnified images clinically validated for melanoma detection.

 

Raising $1.2 million, Firstcheck will open up shares to retail investors from New Zealand and wholesale investors from around the world with the help of Australia’s and New Zealand’s most successful equity crowdfunding platform Equitise.

 

The offer has already been backed to $220,000 by two new cornerstone investors including New Zealand angel investment group Enterprise Angels and New Zealand’s most recognised and trusted chain of skin health clinics, Skin Institute, with 17 dermatology and skin clinics nationwide.

 

For over ten years Enterprise Angels have facilitated the investment of over $40M in 80 different early stage and established businesses across a variety of industries with a particular focus on investment opportunities with unique innovation, technology and global scale.

 

With two out of three people expected to develop skin cancer over a lifetime, Firstcheck prides itself on revolutionising skin cancer screening by placing game-changing innovation in the hands of everyone, everywhere, to fight Australasia’s skin cancer epidemic.

 

Founder and the brains trust behind Firstcheck, Hayden Laird, was inspired by personal experience and a desire to create change when it comes to skin cancer statistics in Australia and New Zealand where the melanoma rates are the highest in the world.

 

“The idea behind Firstcheck came when my grandfather was diagnosed with melanoma.Following a visit to a local mole-mapping service, we realised the power of skin specialists to diagnose skin conditions and skin cancer through photographs needed to be made more accessible,” he said.

 

“Our innovation helps raise awareness of skin cancer and then makes a personal skin checking tool widely accessible and affordable. Early detection really is key. We have developed a thriving product with over 35,000 app downloads, have been credited with saving lives, and we’re excited to be opening up our business for the public to be able to invest alongside our new investors,” he said.

Firstcheck has grown to be one of New Zealand’s most respected tech innovators now working alongside some of the big names in the health space. Firstcheck has partnered with Skin Institute, with a leading Australian life insurer, TAL, and with NZX-listed Green Cross Health and its New Zealand pharmacies, Unichem and Life Pharmacy.

 

Firstcheck works to over come accessibility issues for people that may mean suspicious spots and moles go left unchecked or not checked early enough. 85.4% of melanomas are self-detected by patients, or family or friends, and so people play a vital role in melanoma detection and effectively are the first-line of defence against the disease. Firstcheck’s early detection focus also helps tackles skin cancer treatment costs which currently total over $1 billion across Australia and New Zealand.

 

Co Founder of Equitise, Chris Gilbert says he’s thrilled to have a necessary, innovative and life-saving technology like Firstcheck raising capital on the platform.

 

“Firstcheck is poised to take its business to the next level as they further deploy their customer acquisition growth plans and introduce new sales and marketing initiatives across Australia and New Zealand. They’re a company with tremendous growth potential and opportunity ahead but more importantly they are a company which is geared towards social good in detecting skin cancer early, saving lives,” says Gilbert.

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NZHIT Member Firstcheck website 

 

For more information please contact: Nancy McDonald // NMD PR

E:

M: +61 474 432 437

 

About Equitise:Equitise isan online equity crowdfunding platform connecting startups and high growthbusinesses with a broad range of investors. We help businesses grow and thrivein a simple, intuitive and social way by disrupting the investment marketplaceand removing the traditional funding barriers and costs.