Solera Health, a technology-enabled personalized preventive health network, today announced the closing of a $4 million Series A1 round of funding. The company will use the financing to scale its operations to meet the growing demand by health plans for the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) as a covered health benefit.
Solera’s technology creates a marketplace that connects the 86 million U.S. adults at risk for type 2 diabetes with the over 850 CDC-recognized digital, national or community-based DPPs that help participants make modest lifestyle changes to reduce the likelihood of developing the disease. The company’s national scalable model was designed to consolidate highly fragmented programs and services into one integrated network allowing health plans and medical providers to increase consumer access and participation while lowering associated costs. This latest investment round also moves Solera closer to its goal of extending the reach of its preventive health network to include social services referrals and providing chronic disease management services.
Participation in the Series A1 round includes BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners (BCBSVP), Sandbox Industries and SJF Ventures. SJF Ventures is a social impact fund and a new investor in the company. In November 2015, Solera closed a $3 million Series A round, bringing its total capital raised to $7 million.
“BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries and SJF Ventures each understand the complex challenges that our current healthcare system faces when it comes to chronic disease prevention and management, and they have demonstrated strong support for innovations that can make a substantial difference in health outcomes moving forward,” said Brenda Schmidt, CEO of Solera Health. “The cost of chronic disease is staggering. To answer this epidemic, large commercial health plans representing over 20 million covered lives have recognized the value of Solera’s business model through recent contracts. These contracts and the new round of funding are a strong endorsement for our technology and our approach to chronic disease prevention and management. We are excited by our successes to date and the support of investors who are aligned with our strategic roadmap for future growth.”
“SJF Ventures’ investment philosophy is built around supporting high-growth companies that are creating a healthier, smarter and cleaner future. We are passionate about generating extraordinary results and creating positive changes, and we seek visionaries who share – and can deliver on — those goals which is why an investment in Solera Health was so attractive to us,” said Cody Nystrom, managing director at SJF Ventures. “What Brenda and her team are doing to disrupt the healthcare and social services delivery model is truly game changing. Conceptually, Solera is the only digital health player who has taken this unique approach to chronic disease prevention. Enabling a network of community and virtual providers to address the social determinants of health is clearly an offering that’s resonating really well with payers.”
Since its initial funding, Solera has achieved important milestones including launching a new technology platform and scaling operations to meet the high demand of chronic disease prevention referrals. The company has announced a number of strategic diabetes prevention program (DPP) partnerships with both community and digital health companies, including HealthSlate, Blue Mesa Health, Noom, Inc., Retrofit, Canary Health, and Weight Watchers, as well as the Black Women Health Imperative and other non-profit organizations. Finally, the company has put in place a highly talented executive team that is committed to taking Solera and its unique business model to the next level.
“From an investment perspective, dollar for dollar there is no better way to spend money on healthcare than on prevention-it’s better for patients, better for payers and increasingly better for providers,” said Dan Phillips, managing director of Sandbox Industries and Solera Health board member on behalf of BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners. “At BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, we continue to see great progress and growing opportunity for Solera’s unique approach to chronic disease prevention which integrates clinical and community systems as an adjunct to primary care and addresses the health behaviors and social factors of health that are closely linked to improved long term health outcomes.”
About Solera Health, Inc.
Solera is a personalized preventive health network that connects patients, payers, and physicians with a new class of non-clinical healthcare provider, simply and securely. Solera helps consolidate highly fragmented programs and services into one integrated network, allowing health plans and medical providers to increase consumer participation while lowering associated costs. In our role, we proactively identify the “best fit” chronic disease prevention program provider based on each individual’s unique needs and preferences, which has proven to have a significant impact on improved patient outcomes at a fraction of the cost of traditional medical care. For more information, please visit: www.soleranetwork.com.
About BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners
BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, L.P. is a corporate venture fund licensed by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The fund invests in promising, emerging companies of strategic relevance to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Sandbox Industries is the exclusive provider of investment management services to BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners. For more information, please visit www.bcbsvp.com.
About SJF Ventures
SJF Ventures is a growth equity fund with offices in Durham, New York and San Francisco. SJF has a 17-year successful record of assisting management teams aligned in building industry-leading firms creating a healthier, smarter and cleaner future. SJF has deep expertise and networks in the sectors of efficiency, clean energy, asset recovery, food, health and education. For more information, please visit www.sjfventures.com.
