Vancouver-based Ayogo Health, which has developed a behavioural support platform for healthcare patients, has raised a $7.5 million CAD Series B round. This brings the startup’s total funding to date to approximately $10 million.
“We are delighted to be working with investment partners that understand the potential our products have.”
Participants include new investors Baxter International and MedTeq, a pan-Canadian health-technology investment organization, in addition to existing investors Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, 7Wire Ventures, and Excel Venture Management. Ayogo will use the funds to add team members with technical, design, strategy, and clinical skills.
“We are delighted to be working with investment partners that understand the potential our products have to improve health outcomes while reducing costs, and to positively impact the lives of patients, families, and clinicians,” said Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo.
“In this challenging time it is both a great honour and responsibility to have received the capital to help grow and accelerate our mission and business, and we intend to maintain our focus on leveraging advanced technology and cutting-edge behavioural science to improve the human condition.”
Ayogo aims to support people facing healthcare transitions. Its products are designed for life science, pharmaceutical, and medical technology companies, aimed at improving patient engagement. Its main app helps patients with chronic conditions stick to their care plans. Patients can use the app to set goals, track their health and medication, access informational content, and receive reminders tailored to their condition.
Fergusson said as a digital health company, Ayogo is in a position to contribute constructively during the current crisis through its products. He said helping patients be more independent and resilient, especially away from point of care, is going to continue to be a priority through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, so Ayogo will also look to use some of the fresh funding to explore opportunities in this area.
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“I call this our ‘spider-man moment,’ with great opportunity, comes great responsibility,” Fergusson told BetaKit. “I know I speak for our whole team, for all Ayogis, when I say that we take this very seriously and are laser-focused on living up to this moment.”
The Ayogo team is currently working remotely due to COVID-19, and although Fergusson said there are productivity and logistical challenges associated with this, these challenges are “not the chief concern.”
“One thing we’ve noticed is that the millennials on our team appear to be particularly vulnerable to loneliness and feelings of isolation,” Fergusson told BetaKit. “To help with this, one thing we do is organize online social activities. We just had a company lunch, where we sent everybody credits with a food delivery service so we could order lunch and share our meal via video conference.”
Image source Ayogo via Facebook.