Hospitals, Startups

Lantern finds clinical validation partner in UPMC for cognitive therapy tool

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center led a $17 million Series A round for the three year-old company.

lantern screengrab itunesLantern has completed a $17 million Series A led by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The funding will be used to apply the company’s cognitive behavior therapy solution to alleviate anxiety and depression to clinical validation.

In addition to UPMC, previous investors that participated in the round included are delivered and accessed in the US. UPMC was joined by previous Lantern investors, including Mayfield Fund, SoftTech Venture Capital and Stanford University.

The company was founded in 2012 and its app is based on technology developed in partnership with Stanford University, Penn State University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Users who download its app do an assessment that functions as a self-evaluation. It provides daily exercises, which help users identify and restructure negative thoughts. It also functions like a life coach with support and feedback.

Tal Heppenstall, president of UPMC Enterprises, the commercialization arm of UPMC, said it was excited by the prospect of using an accessible, scalable, and cost-effective platform to reach a wider population of people with mental health issues. The medical center will work with Lantern to support its push to integrate behavioral health into medical care and focus on prevention for large groups of patients.

In a phone interview with co-founder Nicholas Letourneau, he talked about the impact of its relationship with UPMC. Asked if the investment made UPMC a majority stakeholder in the company, he declined to answer.

“What we want to do as a mission-driven company is we want to be able to provide access to services for anyone that wants access.”

He noted that the data the company has collected from users will provide useful insights to UPMC to apply to clinical applications.

“We opened the door to direct to consumer, but there is a certain amount of insight we get from having a robust dataset.”

Among the company’s customers are the University of Missouri system and it also has a relationship with Canadian payer Great-West Life in Canada.

“There is documented evidence that this is an efficacious product, but really getting down to the proof point takes some time. The deal with UPMC helps its solution along that path,” Letourneu said. “We will be working with UPMC over the life of the company.”

Photo: Flickr user tuckett

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