Novu, a bootstrapped health IT company that developed a Software as a Service platform to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients, has raised its first institutional round to expand its services to health systems, employer wellness plans and other payers.
The Minneapolis-based business raised $20 million from SSM Partners and Noro-Moseley Partners, according to a company statement. In a phone interview, CEO Tom Wicka said it wanted to add up to 100 employees across technology, corp marketing, sales, client services, and operations over the next 12 to 18 months.
“The fundraise is really about catalyzing our growth,” said Wicka. “We’re looking at how we can take what we have learned in Medicare and Medicaid and make it work for other patient populations.”
Novu’s platform is designed to provide different ways for patients to interact with its health and wellness tools, depending on their needs and interests. Although the social gaming component is a significant part of it, there are also programs that allow users to take a self-directed approach to their health.
Its community management channel provides a social network for groups interested in competing against each other to fulfill health and fitness goals. Users can ask questions of personal trainers and registered dietitians. It also provides self-directed, two-week programs across areas such as smoking, nutrition, sleep, and stress, as well as programs that revolve around conditions such as hypertension and diabetes prevention.
Wicka said it has a “deep and long roadmap to new products and services” and it will continue to add on to the programs it already has in place. “It will be a maturation of a platform that will provide lots of organizations in healthcare the ability to meet member needs better.”
The company was founded in 2011 by three brothers. In addition to the CEO, Jim Wicka manages corporate relationships and John Wicka heads up product development. Novu came out of stealth and went live in 2013.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
UnitedHealthcare was among its first round of customers. Although payers continue to be important customers, Novu sees providers as an interesting area for customer growth as well as employers.
Although Tom Wicka has worked in biotech, notably as a co-founder and board member of Akashi Therapeutics, some of the most relevant experience comes from his previous role as chief marketing officer for direct marketing company IWCO Direct. The focus was developing and managing consumer loyalty and rewards programs for Fortune 500 companies in travel, hospitality, retail and financial services industries and dealt with consumer engagement. That kind of background has come in handy, given the shift by payers to consumer-oriented models.
