BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PatientsLikeMe, the world’s largest integrated community, health management, and real-world data platform, today announced it has raised $26 million in financing led by Alta Partners, Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, Optum Ventures and PBM Capital, with participation from Jeff Leerink and Symphony Ventures, an investment partnership established by Rory McIlroy and his team. The funds will be used to expand on PatientsLikeMe’s support and empowerment of people managing significant health conditions.
Through PatientsLikeMe, a growing community of more than 830,000 people with over 2,900 conditions share personal stories and information about their health, symptoms, and treatments, with a goal to improve the lives of all patients through knowledge derived from shared real-world experiences and outcomes.
“Understanding and sharing experiences has never been more important than right now – in the middle of a global pandemic, in which people are isolated, stressed, and fearful of risks to their health and quality of life,” said Jeff Leerink, CEO of SVB Leerink. “Communities can connect, learn, and heal on PatientsLikeMe. Through connection, patients can take ownership of their health, together.”
On PatientsLikeMe, members of a patient community can put their disease experiences in context and find answers to their questions. They can easily connect directly with patients who have the same conditions, are experiencing the same symptoms, or have used similar treatments.
Pete Hudson, M.D., Managing Director of Alta Partners, said, “PatientsLikeMe empowers patients by arming them with data about themselves, and connecting them to patients with similar conditions, life experiences, symptoms, treatments, and outcomes. This capability effectively digitizes ‘word of mouth’, a powerful force for healthcare consumers.”
PatientsLikeMe will enter a new phase of growth as an independent, venture-backed organization. The company has a tremendous capacity to support care delivery, scientific research, and consumer engagement through partnerships with every participant in the health industry: care delivery organizations, health plans, employers, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, life sciences organizations, and government sponsors.
Paul Manning, Chairman and CEO of PBM Capital, sees exceptional potential for PatientsLikeMe to advance life sciences research and development through the power of patient communities and knowledge sharing.
“Investors are leaning in to ensure the company is fully supported to serve consumers, as well as healthcare partners with a diversity of interests, from research to care management, patient engagement, clinical trials, and community support,” said Mr. Manning. “The company has the capacity to deliver the largest network of patient data in the world to enable breakthrough research.”
Bill Hambrecht, Founder and Chairman WR Hambrecht + Co., sees PatientsLikeMe as a powerful catalyst for uptake of consumer-facing technology innovation.
“PatientsLikeMe will serve as a platform to link patients to the incredible, fast-paced consumer digital health marketplace. The pandemic has given society a glimpse of the real future of what a digital, virtual health system could look like at scale. PatientsLikeMe is well positioned to accelerate the trends we are seeing in consumer digital health.”
About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe is the world’s largest integrated community, health management, and real-world data platform. On PatientsLikeMe, members can put their disease experiences in context and find answers to their questions. They can easily connect directly with members who have the same conditions, are experiencing the same symptoms, or have used similar treatments. Data generated by members themselves are systemically collected and quantified while also providing an environment for peer support and learning. The site enables members to monitor symptoms of their condition(s), share their disease experiences and treatment outcomes, and learn how to improve their care through peer-to-peer interactions. These data capture the complex temporality and competing influences of different lifestyle choices, socio-demographics, conditions, and treatments on a person’s health. Everything members share empowers the community with personal agency, establishing PatientsLikeMe as a clinically robust resource with demonstrated impact, including more than 100 studies in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals.
To learn more about PatientsLikeMe, visit patientslikeme.com
