Health IT, Startups, Patient Engagement

AbleTo founder raises $5M for digital health startup to treat heavy drinkers (Updated)

Michael Laskoff's latest venture, Annum Health, uses telehealth as a discrete alternative to rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous for heavy drinkers.

Beer Bottles lined up

The convergence of substance abuse and digital health has produced a fair few startups such as Sparkite, Addicaid, and Pear Therapeutics. Michael Laskoff founded AbleTo, previously known as AbilTo, to harness telemedicine, phone and other mediums to provide behavioral health support as a way to improve physical health. He wants to do something similar for heavy drinkers.

Since Laskoff stepped down as CEO of AbleTo last year, he has been building a new venture to provide a discreet alternative to rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous for heavy drinkers called Annum Health.

Update Laskoff clarified in an email that the New York City-based company raised a total of $5 million, $2.5 million of it was reflected in a Form D filing. He shared a few details about the business in an interview with MedCity News.

He said heavy drinking should be treated as an epidemic rather than as an isolated problem.

Although Laskoff was sparing in his description of the company, he referenced an article, which described the company as leveraging telehealth lessons honed at his previous business to offer cost-effective, evidence-based treatment.

“Digital health is a key aspect of this [business]. We’re trying to bring together what works best in medicine,” said Laskoff. “There’s lots of room for personalization but it’s designed to take users through a continuum of care.”

The chief medical officer of Annum Health is Dr. Mark Willenbring, an addiction psychiatrist who has worked in the profession for more than 30 years, according to his website. His research centered on developing better ways to manage chronic complex conditions, where substance use, mental, and physical disorders are often combined and underpins the Alltyr Clinic Willenbring started in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Investors in the “super seed round,” as Laskoff called it, include .406 Ventures — which also invested in AbleTo, Canaan Partners, and Axa Strategic Ventures, the investment arm of life insurance company AXA. Among Annum Health’s board members are Everyday Health President Miki Kapoor, Manish Agarwal —  a general partner with Axa Strategic Ventures, Nina Kjellson a general partner with Canaan Partners, and Liam Donohue, a co-founder and managing partner of .406 Ventures.

Laskoff said the funds would be used to support the roll out of its program with a vague target of the middle of 2017.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s parameters for binge drinking are the consumption of five or more alcoholic drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the past 30 days. The same group defines heavy drinking as consuming five or more drinks on the same occasion in five or more days in the past 30 days. Many of those who fit the definition of binge drinkers hold down jobs earning $75,000 or more.

That’s why employers are among the potential customers Annum Health is targeting. Laskoff sees companies as gaining more productivity from their employees through its program. He said Annum is designed to help the largest number of people get appropriate assistance to address their heavy drinking.

But the biggest opportunity for the business, why Annum Health has positioned itself the way it has, also poses its greatest challenge. Many of the people who fit the description of heavy drinkers or binge drinkers don’t seek help simply because they don’t view themselves as heavy drinkers or as having a problem, despite the long-term health risks of their behavior.

Photo: Adam Kaz, Getty Images

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