PainChek appoints new head of growth to drive Infant App scale-up

Grant will spearhead the rollout of the PainChek Infant App in Australia and abroad. Pic: Getty Images.
- Experienced app marketing and growth specialist Sasha Grant appointed head of growth for PainChek Infant App
- Grant to lead scale-up and rollout of the app, which has regulatory clearance in Australia and Europe
- PainChek looks to replicate success of PainChek Adult App, which received US FDA de novo clearance last week
The PainChek (ASX:PCK) Infant App has received a boost with the appointment of an experienced direct-to-consumer app leader to head its scale-up and rollout to parents and healthcare professionals in Australia and overseas.
Sasha Grant comes on board as head of growth for the app, having previously held senior roles with global brands including Expedia Group, eBay, and WikiCamps based in both Australia and the UK.
In her previous role as product leader for WikiCamps, Australia’s number one paid app in the Apple App Store and boasting a community of more than 1.5 million users, Grant led commercialisation and re-platforming, driving user adoption and engagement at scale.
The experienced exec will lead the scale-up and rollout of the PainChek Infant App, which has regulatory clearance in Australia and Europe as a pain assessment tool for infants aged one month to 12 months.
Word-first digital assessment tool for infant pain
The app is the world’s first automated procedural pain assessment tool for infants, using AI and a smartphone camera to assess and document an infant’s pain intensity through facial feature analysis.
It’s been designed to be easily used by healthcare professionals, parents and carers of infants to quickly and reliably provide a pain assessment.
PainChek is working to tap into a potential total addressable market of up $15 billion per year.
There are more than 400 million preverbal children in the world and 150 million babies born each year.
Clinical work validating the app has been published in the world-leading journal Lancet Digital Health.
Growing traction for app as key developments underway
In recent months, PainChek has completed the technical and logistical steps to launch the Infant App on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in Australia as part of an initial direct-to-consumer market strategy and before scaling up locally and overseas.
It has also been reviewing customer feedback from early adoption and refining the pricing and promotional campaign to optimise the marketing strategy and value to consumers.
Early adoption shows 261 downloads, including 152 first-time users, with a 67% conversion rate for account creation and subscriptions.
The company expects conversion and revenue to grow further as new self-registration features go live and ongoing partnerships, such as with NSW CPR Kids, drive trusted organic traffic.
Key product developments are underway this quarter to finalise the product market fit and scale up including:
• Website redesign to refine the direct-to-consumer message with final homepage design progressing
• The self-registration flow has been redesigned to boost top-of-funnel conversions and is scheduled to go live next week.
• The free trial period has been changed from 30 days to 14 days.
• New content is being posted daily on social media with new ads live on Instagram, Facebook and Apple Search
• Ongoing partnerships and education initiatives to support increased downloads, registrations, and subscription uptake.
Goal to replicate success of PainChek Adult App
Looking ahead, PainChek aims to replicate the success of its Adult App – which last week received US FDA de novo clearance – and commercialise the Infant App globally.
The PainChek Adult App uses AI facial recognition to analyse facial muscle movements and detect pain, even when it isn’t obvious, and is designed for people with dementia or cognitive impairment who have limited communication.
The company’s strategy includes broadening direct-to-parent marketing in Australia, where about 300,000 babies are born annually, and expanding access to international markets.
Target markets include the UK, with ~700,000 annual births and Canada with ~350,000 births, where PainChek already has a presence.
The company is also evaluating opportunities in the broader European market, including Germany and France, where it holds CE Mark regulatory clearance.
Discussions with the FDA are underway to begin the regulatory clearance process for the US market, building on the recent clearance of the PainChek Adult App.
PainChek also plans to strengthen healthcare professional endorsements and consumer advocacy in each market to support direct-to-consumer campaigns.
While the company has not provided revenue projections for these initiatives, it has indicated that actual revenues will be disclosed in future quarterly cash flow reports.
“We are delighted Sasha is joining us to bring this outstanding experience and capability to our Infant product as we continue to execute on and accelerate the PainChek Infant scale up plans,” CEO Phillip Daffas said.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While PainChek is a Stockhead advertiser at the time of writing, it did not sponsor this article.

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