Verana Health scores $150M and other digital health fundings

Also: German startup Wellster Healthtech brings its Series B raise to $60 million, Faeth Therapeutics scoops up $20 million and Yuvo Health announces a $7.3 million seed round.
By Emily Olsen
01:19 pm
Share

Photo: Gary Burchell/Getty Images

Real-world clinical data analytics company Verana Health scooped up $150 million in Series E funding.

The round was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Novo Growth, with participation from GV, Casdin Capital, Brook Byers, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, THVC and Breyer Capital. Verana plans to use the influx of capital to expand its life sciences products across the drug development process, improve its data network for providers and add new data partnerships, including ones with medical societies.

"We’d like to thank both our existing and new investors for partnering with us, demonstrating confidence in the foundation we’ve built through our exclusive real-world data network and our advanced population health data engine, VeraQ," CEO Sujay Jadhav said in a statement.

"We’re especially pleased to have a strong mix of investors including growth firms, life sciences innovation funds and academia who recognize the momentum we’ve built in powering real-world evidence by cultivating exclusive partnerships with three specialty medical societies and collaborating with four of the top five pharmaceutical companies."

Verana's last funding round came in February 2020, when it raised $100 million and announced it had acquired PYA Analytics’ technology assets and its team. According to Crunchbase, the company's total raise is now more than $288 million.


German digital health startup Wellster Healthtech announced a $20 million extension to its Series B round, bringing the total raised to $60 million. The latest funding comes from Claret Capital.

The company plans to use the investment to launch a women's health-focused brand. It already offers men's health products under the name Spring.

"It cements our ambition to continue our established leadership in the European market and expand our offering to more people in need of in-home healthcare services," CEO Dr. Manuel Nothelfer said in a statement.


Faeth Therapeutics, a startup studying how precision nutrition therapy can be used in cancer treatment, has closed a $20 million seed funding round.

The round was led by Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures, with participation from S2G Ventures, Digitalis, KdT Ventures, Agfunder, Cantos and Unshackled.

Faeth will use the capital for clinical trials for its precision nutrition platform and its lead drug candidate, Serabelisb. The company also plans to expand its team.

"At Khosla Ventures, we invest in ventures that are bold, early and impactful for the world," Alex Morgan, partner at Khosla Ventures, said in a statement. "Faeth's approach and team has shown that modulating nutrition could be key to unlocking treatments for cancer patients and we look forward to working with them."


Yuvo Health, a tech-enabled startup that helps community health centers enter into value-based care arrangements, raised $7.3 million in seed funding.

The round was led by AlleyCorp, with participation from investors including AV8 Ventures, New York Ventures, Laconia Capital, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and Ro chief medical officer Dr. Melynda Barnes.

The investment will go toward expanding its program in downstate New York, developing its tech platform and adding partnerships with health centers around New York and in other markets.

"FQHCs [Federally Qualified Health Centers] care for nearly 30 million patients and have played a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic response in underserved communities," Dr. Brenton Fargnoli, managing partner at AlleyCorp Healthcare Fund, said in a statement. He will also join Yuvo's board.

"Yet, as primary care transitions to value-based care, these community health centers are being left behind. Yuvo Health is boldly stepping up to change that."

Share