Above: The Optimisers CEO Richard Conway, Neoqura co-founders Alice Delee and Tim O’Donoghue.
The Optimisers has been appointed by Neoqura, the NZ-owned US pharmaceutical and e-commerce platform, to support its launch into the US market and upcoming PledgeMe equity crowdfunding campaign.
The Optimisers will support Neoqura across SEO, GEO, AEO, performance media, Amazon optimisation and influencer campaigns, build visibility, demand and trust in the highly competitive US consumer healthcare market.
For The Optimisers CEO Richard Conway, the opportunity is more than a standard client engagement.
“This is exactly the sort of story we love,” says Conway. “A small Kiwi-founded business taking on Big Pharma in the United States with a smarter, proven product (more than $1M sales in NZ since launch), a sharper brand and a very clear understanding of what consumers actually want. It’s classic David versus Goliath; except in this case David has an FDA-listed ointment, an Amazon strategy and a surprisingly good sense of humour.”
Built from real conversations
Neoqura’s first product, Asteroid Ointment, enters one of the most personal categories in consumer health. Rather than avoiding the awkwardness of the condition, the brand leans into a more human, dignified and direct approach.
“Let’s be honest, haemorrhoids are not usually dinner-party conversation,” says Conway. “But that is exactly why this is such a clever entry point. When people have an embarrassing, uncomfortable problem, they want something that works, something discreet and something they can trust. From a marketing perspective, that is a very powerful place to build a relationship.”
Healthtex founder and Neoqura CEO Tim O’Donoghue is an award-winning pharmacist with more than 30 years’ experience working directly with patients. His background includes co-founding Green Light, a 22-branch pharmacy group in central London, and years of patient-led research into why people do or do not take their medicines.
“Neoqura was built from thousands of real conversations with patients,” says O’Donoghue.
“People told us they wanted products that were effective, discreet, easy to use and designed with some respect for how they actually feel. Asteroid is the first expression of that thinking. We are delighted to have The Optimisers working with us as we prepare to scale in the US.”
O’Donoghue’s wife and co-founder Alice Delee, a former registered nurse from Ireland, has spoken with thousands of patients over the years. Their insights and feedback, along with reports of relief from itch, helped inform the product development and its positioning within the category.
Plans for expansion
The upcoming PledgeMe campaign will help fund Neoqura’s full commercial launch in the US, including marketing, FDA regulation testing, working capital and expansion of the product platform.
According to the Information Memorandum, Healthtex is seeking to raise up to NZD $2 million, with a pre-money valuation of NZD $21 million. The campaign has already attracted significant interest from the angel community with pre-registrations.
Neoqura’s platform strategy begins with Asteroid Ointment, with plans to expand into a broader suite of over-the-counter self-care products. The company’s roadmap includes 14 products across four high-frequency US consumer health categories, with the allergy category identified as a major future expansion opportunity.
Build trust in a sensitive category
Conway says: “Tim has the rare combination of deep pharmaceutical credibility, entrepreneurial grit and a genuinely consumer-first mindset. This is not a glossy brand wrapped around a generic product. It is a product and platform built from lived customer insight. That is what makes it interesting and likely very disruptive.”
O’Donoghue says the US market presents a major opportunity for a more modern self-care brand.
“Large pharmaceutical companies have traditionally designed for pharmacy shelves. We are designing for people. The US consumer is ready for healthcare products that feel more private, more useful and more human. Asteroid is where we start, but Neoqura is much bigger than one product.”
The Optimisers will help Neoqura increase organic visibility, optimise for emerging AI search environments, scale paid acquisition, improve Amazon performance and build influencer-led credibility in the US market.
“This is where search, AI, Amazon and performance media all collide,” says Conway. “The challenge is not just getting attention. It is building trust in a sensitive category, then turning that trust into a scalable platform. That is the fun bit.”
