TrialCard, a company that works with pharma manufacturers to link patients to medications and services, announced last week that it is set to acquire Mango Health, maker of a gamified patient engagement tool and medication adherence platform, for an undisclosed amount.
As part of the deal, TrialCard will acquire Mango's app, which lets patients track their medication and adherence. It also has a component that gamifies medication adherence. Patients are able to earn points through proper health habits that are then redeemed for gift cards and charitable donations.
TrialCard said Mango’s technology will fit into its offerings that target affordability.
"This acquisition will allow us to offer a best-in-class engagement and adherence solution to the patients we support with our affordability solutions," TrialCard President and CEO Mark Bouck said in a statement. "For nearly 20 years, TrialCard has been providing the industry's premier affordability and access solutions for its pharmaceutical industry clients. By adding Mango Health to our services, we feel like we're raising the bar on what customers should expect from their provider."
WHY IT MATTERS
TrialCard is on an acquisition roll. Within the last 12 months, it also acquired a noncommercial dispensing pharmacy and its competitor RxSolutions.
However, it is not just Trialcard that has been buying and selling companies. M&A has historically been one of the most popular exits for digital health companies. However, this year has seen a dip in deals. As of July, Rock Health reported 43 M&As, which is less than typical according to the report. If this trend continues, this year will be on track to have 25% fewer acquisitions than last year, according to the report.
THE LARGER TREND
Launching in 2011, Mango Health was relatively early in the digital health space. The startup boasts a healthy list of big partnerships in the past, and just this year inked a deal with EnvoyHealth, the pharma services division of Diplomat, the U.S.’ largest independent specialty pharmacy. As part of the deal, Mango Health was commissioned to create a white-label version of its app for Envoy to deliver. In 2017 the company teamed up with Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the country, giving the latter’s clients access to Mango’s apps.
There have been some shakeups for the company recently. Last December its CEO Jason Oberfest announced his plans to leave the company. After this, he joined Apple’s health team in an unspecified role.
ON THE RECORD
"We looked at a lot of organizations who said they were able to affect engagement and adherence," Scott Dulitz, chief strategy officer at TrialCard, said in a statement. "However, none of them was able to demonstrate the combination of significant adherence improvements and top-tier technology like Mango Health. We're extremely excited to offer these capabilities to our specialty and retail product manufacturers."
