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| HealthPrize platform--Courtesy of HealthPrize Technologies |
Drug adherence player HealthPrize Technologies closed a Series B financing for an undisclosed amount. The company currently uses a "gamification" approach to push drug adherence, but plans to expand into other sectors of the healthcare industry.
Participating investors included Mansa Capital, Anthony Wild, Robert Dahl and Trygve Mikkelsen. Dahl and Mikkelsen will also join the company's board as part of the financing.
In addition to serving a number of pharma companies, including Novo Nordisk ($NVO), HealthPrize teamed up with West Pharmaceutical Services in 2014 on a program to improve patient outcomes by increasing treatment adherence. Their program comprises an electronic drug delivery system that tracks when patients take their medication and rewards them with points when they meet their goals. In addition to scoring points when they refill or inject a medication, patients can also pick up points by completing educational quizzes online.
Patients skipping refills and not sticking to their prescriptions costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $290 million, the company said in an earlier statement. HealthPrize has demonstrated levels of patient engagement that result in more than 50% increased adherence compared to control, according to the company.
HealthPrize will use the funding to expand its team to keep up with growing demand for its software and services. It will also use it to support the company's international expansion and its entrance into other healthcare spaces, including the payer market, self-insured employers and risk-bearing provider groups.
HealthPrize is far from the only company using "gamification" to improve adherence. Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) has an app that aggregates patient data and suggests behavioral changes, while Sanofi ($SNY) has launched a gaming app to help children manage their diabetes.
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