Health Tech

Another California venture capitalist jumps ship to a startup

Busy Burr, the founder of Humana Ventures, is joining digital health startup Carrot, which has developed a smoking cessation product. In September, another corporate VC, — Renee Ryan — formerly with J&J's venture arm, became CEO of digital neurology startup Cala Health.

Busy Burr, newly-appointed president and chief commercial officer, Carrot

In early September, Renee Ryan, veteran healthcare venture capitalist with Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC – made a career move to become CEO of digital neurology startup Cala Health.

And now comes the news that Busy Burr, founder of Humana Ventures and the leader of the Louisville, Kentucky-based payer’s innovation strategy is becoming president and chief commercial officer of digital health startup, Carrot, based in Redwood City, California.

Between 2015 and September 2018, Burr was Humana’s chief innovation officer and vice president of healthcare trend and innovation. Notably, she led investments in and was on the board of Livongo and Omada Health, two of the marquee names in the world of digital health.

At Carrot, which has developed a digital smoking cessation program, Burr will be responsible for commercializing the company’s first product, Pivot.

“People today want to take control of their own health—and now more than ever, they have the tools, technology, and science at their fingertips to enable their personal journey to better health,” Burr wrote in an email forwarded by a spokeswoman. “Carrot is at the forefront, integrating breakthrough technology, mobile access, and the advanced behavioral science to transform the smoking cessation market – and it works.”

In the news release announcing the appointment, Carrot claimed that a recent clinical trial showed that six out of seven Pivot participants (85.7 percent) who completed the program indicated that Pivot increased their motivation to quit, and nearly 1 in 3 (32.4 percent) Pivot participants quit smoking.

Pivot has four key components — an FDA-cleared mobile breath sensor that measures carbon monoxide in the breath; a personal dashboard for users to track metrics; customized, evidence-based content; and personal coaching from experts that guide smokers on their path to quitting the habit.

The portable, connected sensor measures how much carbon monoxide is in the body and displays that in a companion app. The app not only shows the amount of carbon monoxide in a smoker’s body at any given time but also how it fluctuates depending upon the number of cigarettes smoked. People trying to quit can also see the number of cigarettes consumed as well as time spent in smoking in a day. The digital strategy is complemented with human coaches who are meant to stay in contact with those who have quit for up to a year to help prevent chances of relapsing.

Carrot’s Pivot platform has appealed to venture capitalists and wealthy investors alike. Last year, Carrot raised $25 million from JJDC, which led the round, as well from New York Life Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Marc Benioff, R7 Partners and Carrot founder David Utley. Benioff is the founder, chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.

Currently, the product is sold to payers and self-insured employers, but Carrot doesn’t specify how many people are using Pivot. For Burr, the goal will be to get the product in as many smoker’s hands as possible. She noted that her experience with Livongo and Omada Health particularly as well in the nonhealthcare world of Citi, Gap and other employers have taught her the importance of customer experience.

“I will, like the Carrot team, stay focused on our customer’s experience so that we enable a personalized, empowered health journey.” Burr wrote regarding her goal over the next six months. “People who smoke are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and a myriad other disease states.  This is not news. What is news is that it has taken until now to create a scalable, remarkably effective, technology-enabled solution like Pivot.”

The smoking cessation market got a boost under the Affordable Care Act by which most insurance programs must provide programs aimed to help people quit at no additional. But of course, Pivot is not the only solution out there and Carrot has competitors who are also trying to reimagine smoking cessation.

In September 2018, New York-based startup Ro raised $88 million in Series A funding to launch a smoking cessation product called Zero. The solution includes a prescription, nicotine gum and a behavioral app to track progress and consult a physician.

On the opposite coast is Chrono Therapeutics, which combines a transdermal wearable patch to deliver nicotine to manage cravings and has a digital app for support. Back in 2016, Hayward, California-based Chrono Therapeutics, raised $47.6 million from a cadre of investors — both foreign and domestic — with Kaiser Permanente Ventures leading the round.

While each of these companies have different approaches to help people quit and not fall off the wagon, they have a large total addressable market: More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking, according to the CDC.

Photo: Busy Burr

Shares1
Shares1