Propeller Health has been on a roll over the past year, inking no fewer than 45 partnerships around its digital system for the management of respiratory disease. Now, the company has snatched up $21.5 million in Series C financing that will drive the expansion of its digitally guided therapy platform.
While there are countless medications to help patients manage their asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), these aren’t always put to their best use. Propeller Health’s sensor attaches to a number of different inhalers to track when patients take their medication. This data is communicated via Bluetooth to a smartphone, where an app provides personalized insights to patients and physicians on where, when and why a patient uses an inhaler.
“We aim to make today’s treatments more accessible, personal, powerful and convenient for each person who uses them, and enable physicians to measure, analyze and act to help their patients,” said CEO David Van Sickle, in a statement. “Our goal is to connect and guide these patient-physician teams to find the right path of therapy for each individual.”
By helping patients and physicians personalize their respiratory disease treatment plans, Propeller’s solution not only drives down cost and suffering, but also unnecessary healthcare utilization, Van Sickle said. Numerous inhaled medications are on the Propeller platform, which helps patients and physicians land on the most optimal treatment regardless of drugmaker or brand.
With the Series C in the bag, Propeller will continue to add more partnerships, with both pharma and commercial partners. The company already has relationships with Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline and Vectura. “It’s really about connecting franchises to the system and ensure that patients and physicians using Propeller have access to the widest range of therapy,” Van Sickle said.
New investors 3M Ventures, S.R. One Limited and Hikma Ventures participated in the round, as well as existing backers Safeguard Scientifics and Social Capital.