Virta Health, a provider of type 2 diabetes management programs through its virtual coaches, raised $93 million in Series C funding, bringing the total equity funding to $166 million.
Caffeinated Capital led the round, with participation from early investors Venrock, Obvious Ventures, Creandum, Playground Global, and SciFi VC.
The company will invest new funds in further prospective research to expand its treatment to type 2 diabetes.
“This latest funding is validation for the consistency and durability of our health and economic outcomes in both clinical trial and commercial patients,” said Sami Inkinen, Virta Health’s co-founder and CEO, in a company press release. “We can now invest more into growth to help millions of people living with type 2 diabetes, while also investing in product and research to address other diseases.”
The company witnessed remarkable growth in 2019, with a 200% increase in its customer base. Key additions came from health plans and large government organizations, including Blue Shield of California, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Meantime, Virta’s peer-reviewed research published in June 2019 unveiled sustained diabetes reversal – reducing HbA1c below the diagnostic threshold for type 2 diabetes while eliminating diabetes-specific medications – in 55% of the patients. Insulin use decreased by 81% from baseline across the population.
“The health outcomes Virta delivers for people with type 2 diabetes are unmatched in the absence of medications or surgery, and particularly noteworthy for the level of control achieved while eliminating medications,” said Dr. Alan Moses, new Virta advisor and former Senior Vice President and Global Chief Medical Officer of Novo Nordisk, in a company press release. “What is even more exciting is that Virta’s care delivery model has transformational potential for a variety of conditions beyond diabetes.”
In a similar deal, GluSense, a miniature, long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring system for both Type 1 and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes patients, received an investment from the JDRF T1D Fund, a venture philanthropy fund devoted to funding early-stage T1D commercial programs.
According to Mercom data, tech-enabled diabetes management companies raised over $1.6 billion since 2011.
