US-based kidney care provider Somatus raised $11m today in a series B round that included healthcare system Inova Health and corporate venturing vehicle BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.
Venture capital firm Flare Capital Partners led the round, which also featured an unnamed innovation firm founded by Andy Slavitt, formerly acting administrator of the US government’s Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Founded in 2016, Somatus supplies longitudinal dialysis and kidney care management services to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) sufferers on behalf of healthcare systems, focusing on more cost-efficient home care.
The series B proceeds will be used to enhance the company’s technology and services as it seeks to enter new markets. Somatus received $5m from undisclosed investors in May 2017, according to a regulatory filing.
Jim Santry, Inova Health System’s CEO of direct to consumer, ambulatory and global services, said: “We see Somatus as key to our strategy of better managing our patients afflicted with CKD and ESRD.
“Through the Somatus platform, we can provide comprehensive, longitudinal care to our kidney care patients while tracking and optimising total cost of care. Somatus is essential to our ability to manage this high-risk population and succeed in value-based contracts with payers.”
BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners invests on behalf of health insurers Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Bupa.