ZappRx has raised a Series A round to support sales and product development for its specialty pharmaceutical portal. SR One, the venture arm of GlaxoSmithKline, led the $5.6 million fundraise, along with Atlas Venture. It also added former Teva Pharmaceuticals CEO Jeremy Levin to its board.
The point of ZappRx’s platform is to improve communication and automate prescription drug management in the complex world of specialty pharma. It is intended to speed up the process of filling out the 50-page risk evaluation and mitigation strategy or
REMS documents. By making it easier to notify patients, it can reduce patient frustration and increase the likelihood of patients picking up their medication.
In a phone interview, ZappRx CEO Zoe Barry said pharmaceutical companies were finally beginning to realize their responsibility in helping patients access “Payers require a lot of information. If patients don’t have enough support, they won’t get their medications. The pharmaceutical industry has really woken up to the fact that they’re responsible.”
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
ZappRx will also work with obesity-focused biopharma company Zafgen (NASDAQ: ZFGN), to support patients with Prader-Willi syndrome — a genetic condition affecting up to 30,000 people — and hypothalamic injury-associated obesity.
