Evidation Health has secured $45 million to further expand its direct-to-person, virtual research platform, which already spans nearly 4 million participants across the U.S.
This includes plans to begin offering digital interventions and treatments through its app, as well as deliver clinically actionable information that can be shared with a user’s healthcare provider. The first of these self-activated, virtual health programs is slated to launch later this year.
“Participation in research is an activator for individuals to better understand their health and seek care proactively,” said Evidation CEO Deborah Kilpatrick. “The natural next step for Evidation is to decrease the latency between evidence and action by offering virtual health programs, while still keeping privacy and consent at the forefront.”
The former Fierce 15 winner’s series D raise was led by B Capital Group, with new backing from McKesson Ventures and Section 32. Evidation’s previous investors Revelation Partners, Rethink Impact and SV Health Investors also joined the round.
At the same time, Evidation brought on Sam Marwaha, a long-time advisor and a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, to serve as its chief commercial officer—and tasked with scaling up the company’s marketing and business development teams as it brings its new offerings to market.
“Evidation is a learning engine directly connected to four million people, making it possible to understand real-life indicators of health quality and disease progression, reflecting behavioral and social factors,” Marwaha said. “Evidation can drive personalized, consented engagement with individuals in the safety and convenience of their homes, empowering them to be partners in their own health.”
Evidation also plans to expand and diversify its population of participants, with a focus on additional at-risk and disease-specific cohorts. The company’s platform currently includes participants in nine out of every 10 ZIP codes in the U.S.
Earlier this month, the U.S. government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided Evidation with funding for a project aimed at digitally detecting the early symptoms of COVID-19.
This includes sifting through daily behavior and symptom data, such as sleep and activity patterns gathered by wearable devices, as well as self-reported health issues, from 300 healthcare workers and first responders at a high risk of contracting the disease. Evidation has also gathered a digital cohort of more than 185,000 participants to track the broader impact of the novel coronavirus.
“COVID-19 has shown us that accelerating real-world evidence development is critical,” said Mike Pellini, managing partner of Section 32 and former CEO and chairman of Foundation Medicine. “Evidation has led the way in health measurement and has proven out the potential of person-generated health data. The company is optimally positioned to lead the way into a new era of individualized healthcare.”