Safeguard Scientifics Leads $10M Series B Financing for Quantia
Quantia enables meaningful communication between physicians, clinicians and major healthcare organizations; Reduces costs, saves time and improves quality of care
WAYNE, Pa. & WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 03, 2013--
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE) deployed $7.5 million as part of a $10.0 million Series B financing for Quantia, Inc. Existing investors, including Fuse Capital, contributed the remaining $2.5 million in the round.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Waltham, MA, Quantia's mobile and web-based physician relationship management (PRM) platform, called QuantiaMD, enables principal participants throughout the healthcare spectrum_including health systems, payers, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies_to reach, engage and interact with their high-value physicians in a way that ultimately creates revenue opportunities, reduces costs, saves time, and improves quality of care.
Quantia utilizes a mix of social media, game mechanics and engagement science to help its clients effectively convey relevant information and shared objectives with physicians and clinicians. These unique capabilities, coupled with the breadth and depth of Quantia's extensive reach across practicing U.S.-based physicians, has helped Quantia's clients to develop deep mutually beneficial relationships with physicians and clinicians in a way that leads to real changes in behavior.
"We are excited to work with a seasoned management team that has a deep understanding of technology, healthcare data, healthcare analytics, social media, and physician engagement," said Gary J. Kurtzman, MD, Managing Director, Healthcare at Safeguard, who, along with Jim P. O'Connell, Principal, Healthcare at Safeguard, will be joining Quantia's board of directors. "Decisions made by physicians and other healthcare providers drive approximately 80% of the nearly $3 trillion annual healthcare spend in the U.S. Quantia offers a highly differentiated digital platform that actively engages its growing network of physicians by providing meaningful content and an online forum to discuss important and relevant issues. In addition, Quantia provides a unique way for health systems, payers, pharma and medical device companies to actively engage physicians."
Health systems, payers and pharmaceutical companies have struggled with effective ways to communicate with physicians. On an annual basis, pharmaceutical companies spend $30 billion marketing and promoting to U.S.-based physicians. As demand for physician time has increased and new regulations come into effect, access to physicians by pharmaceutical sales reps will continue to decline, and market dynamics point to an increasing shift to digital tools by pharmaceutical companies to engage physicians. Health systems and payers similarly struggle to effectively communicate policy changes, program changes and best practices to their networks of physicians and, in turn, face reform-driven pressure to align physicians around new payment and care models.
As a result of these dynamics, physicians are constantly being bombarded with messages. Traditional methods of communication, including mail, faxes, web portals and banner ads, have demonstrated limited effectiveness in impacting physician behavior. To cut through the noise and hold a physician's attention, information must be delivered objectively and conveniently, on the physician's terms. Quantia solves these issues with a single comprehensive web-based and mobile platform that currently has an addressable annual market opportunity in the U.S. between $1 billion and $2 billion.
"At Quantia, we've cracked the code on how to truly engage physicians in a way that creates positive relationships and generates effective change at the point of care," said Mike Coyne, CEO of Quantia. "This financing will help us accelerate our sales and marketing efforts and continue to grow QuantiaMD, our active and vibrant physician community, which recently surpassed 200,000 physician members. We are thrilled to have the Safeguard team on board."
About Quantia
Quantia, Inc. is a leader in Physician Relationship Management. We enable meaningful communication between physicians, clinicians and major healthcare organizations. As the creator of QuantiaMD, the largest online physician community, we are experts in physician engagement and alignment. Our web-based and mobile platform uses a blend of social media, game mechanics and engagement science to help clients_organizations such as health systems and life sciences companies_collaborate with physicians to reduce costs, save time and improve quality of care. Learn more about Quantia at www.quantia-inc.com and QuantiaMD at www.quantiamd.com.
About Safeguard Scientifics
Founded in 1953 and based in the Greater Philadelphia area, Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE) is celebrating 60 years of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Today, Safeguard provides growth capital and operational support to healthcare and technology companies in medtech, healthtech, specialty pharmaceuticals, financial technology, digital media, and Enterprise 3.0. For more information, please visit our website at www.safeguard.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, statements in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the Company's ability to make good decisions about the deployment of capital, the fact that our partner companies may vary from period to period, the Company's substantial capital requirements and the absence of liquidity from our partner company holdings, the Company's inability to obtain maximum value for our partner company holdings, market valuations in sectors in which our partner companies operate, the Company's inability to control our partner companies, the need to manage assets to avoid registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, risks associated with our partner companies, and other uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to predict or control. As a result, past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information in this press release.
CONTACT: Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.
For Investor Relations
John E. Shave III, 610-975-4952
Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Communications
jshave(at)safeguard(dot)com
or
For Media Relations
Heather R. Hunter, 610-975-4923
Director, Marketing Communications
hhunter(at)safeguard(dot)com
or
Quantia, Inc.
Ross Homer
Communications Manager
ross.homer(at)quantiamd(dot)com
SOURCE: Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. and Quantia, Inc.