emocha Closes $6.2M Series A Funding Round Led by Claritas Health Ventures
emocha to use funding to drive expansion of Digital Medication Adherence Services to health plans and health systems
BALTIMORE, May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- emocha Health, a digital health company which radically improves medication adherence amongst patients with chronic and infectious diseases, today announced the closing of a $6.2 million Series A funding round.
The financing, which was oversubscribed by investors, was led by Claritas Health Ventures. Other participants included Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Kapor Capital, PTX Capital, and TCP Venture Capital. The investment will go towards strategic integrations and expanding emocha's remote clinical team of nurses and pharmacists, further equipping emocha to respond to growing demand from health plans and transplant centers across the United States. Theresa Sexton, Managing Partner of Claritas Health Ventures, will join the Company's Board of Directors.
Over the last year, emocha has seen 300% growth in revenue in response to demand from health plans, health systems, life sciences organizations, and employers.
"After twelve months of tremendous expansion, we are at an inflection point," said Sebastian Seiguer, CEO of emocha. "Our new partners will enable us to help millions of infectious and chronic disease patients across the country take every dose of medication properly. I cannot believe that society continues to tolerate the devastating outcomes associated with medication non-adherence problems, especially in this time of digital transformation. The opportunity for emocha to meaningfully change health trajectories - especially for vulnerable populations - is enormous."
emocha is the first company to comprehensively digitize the CDC-endorsed practice of Directly Observed Therapy -- the gold standard for medication adherence, using a combination of two-way asynchronous video technology and human engagement powered by artificial intelligence. emocha is tackling one of the biggest unsolved challenges in healthcare - medication non-adherence, which results in $300 billion a year in preventable hospitalizations. More than 50% of medication is not taken as prescribed—making adherence to treatment the single most important modifiable factor in chronic illness.
emocha currently serves CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Plan for Maryland Medicaid members with diabetes and asthma. emocha's technology-enabled services help improve medication adherence, achieve asthma and diabetes control, and positively impact quality measures.
"The team at emocha is purposeful and passionate about challenged populations with chronic conditions, reducing the barriers to accessing high quality care, and leading the expansion of health equity. We are honored to partner with a team who shares the same drive to effect change as we do at Claritas Health Ventures," says Theresa Sexton, Managing Partner of Nashville-based Claritas Health Ventures. "We are committed to supporting the growth of emocha and its team - there is an incredibly strong alignment between our two groups as it relates to a dedicated mission to impact care."
"The emocha platform is transforming the medication adherence challenge into a medication engagement opportunity. Going beyond nudges and compliance, emocha provides people with intuitive, timely support in managing their own health journey," said Doba Parushev, Healthworx Venture Capital Director. "We know that establishing good health habits early significantly improves long-term outcomes and we're looking forward to strategically supporting Sebastian and the emocha team in that effort. It's clear this team brings the right mix of passion and empathy to drive results for people."
emocha has been validated in nine peer-reviewed publications, all demonstrating greater than 90% adherence to treatment. The program features two-way asynchronous video check-ins between patients and emocha's clinical adherence team, as well as the patient's provider. emocha nurses, pharmacists, and coaches confirm adherence, correct administration techniques, and address all medication challenges remotely.
Initially developed to monitor infectious diseases, emocha's platform now supports over 20 conditions with a primary focus on asthma, diabetes, and solid-organ transplant therapies, and is the standard of care for tuberculosis in over 450 public health departments. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, emocha launched a symptoms monitoring service for employers, health systems, and educational institutions, and will continue to offer direct access to support for symptoms and medication as employers look for solutions to keep their employees healthy and safe in the long-term.
This latest investment round continues to propel company growth in the rapidly evolving healthcare technology sector.
About emocha Health
emocha is tackling one of the biggest unsolved problems in healthcare: medication non-adherence. emocha's Digital Medication Adherence Programs empower patients to take every dose of medication through video technology and scalable human engagement. emocha partners with health plans, health systems, employers and health departments across the country to radically improve adherence for patients with diabetes, asthma, tuberculosis, and other chronic and infectious diseases. The company has been nominated as a top 10 innovative company in health by Fast Company and was recently named Best New Technology Solution for Medication Management by MedTech Breakthrough Awards program. Learn more at www.emocha.com.
About Claritas Capital
Claritas Health Ventures is the dedicated healthcare investing arm of Claritas Capital, a private equity firm with two decades of experience investing in emerging, lower middle market transformative healthcare companies. Claritas seeks management teams building with a mission to drive access, equity, reduced costs, and improved outcomes in healthcare, and partners as lead minority investors providing up to $25 million of capital to accelerate growth. Investments include digital health, femtech, mental health, data services, provider services, population marketplaces, and software solutions. Claritas Health Ventures is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
About Healthworx
Healthworx operates at the intersection of healthcare and innovation by creating, co-creating and investing in companies that are improving healthcare quality, accessibility and affordability. As the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst, Healthworx envisions a healthier future for all people by changing the way health works. Learn more at www.healthworx.com
SOURCE emocha
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