Vancouver healthtech startup Curatio has merged with Australian medtech firm RxMx.
Named RxPx, which stands for prescription medication and patient experience, the newly combined entity aims to combine the strengths of both Curatio and RxMX to deliver “next level” solutions to patients, especially those on specialty therapies meant to treat more serious diseases.
RxPx is backed by private equity firm Pemba Capital Partners, which acquired a majority stake in RxMx last year. Consolidating Curatio and RxMx’s businesses, RxPx is used in over 100 countries, available in 15 languages, and was designed specifically for the privacy, security, and compliance needs of healthcare organizations.
“The need for a social health prescription is increasingly urgent and the level of physician burnout is a serious concern for the entire ecosystem,” said Lynda Brown-Ganzert, founder and CEO of Curatio. She took on the role of CEO for the consolidated companies as well.
“Any healthcare organization can use the RxPx solution, and brand it for their program, therapy, clinic or membership,” Brown-Ganzert added.
Founded in 2013, Curatio provides a platform for people to connect with others that have similar illnesses, as well as to life sciences companies. Curatio said its social network is meant to increase patient knowledge, empowerment, adherence to treatment plans, and peer support.
In a Curatio case study where a pharmaceutical company was losing patients early due to a manageable side-effect, Curatio said that it found 92 percent of the users remained on therapy using the peer-to-peer social network solution.
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“We really are on a mission to transform lives,” said Brown-Ganzert. “No patient should be alone and without support when dealing with a health challenge, and no doctor should be without the tools to easily and safely onboard their patient onto a new therapy or program.”
Prior to its consolidation with RxMx, Curatio raised an undisclosed amount of funding for its Series A round from Conexus Credit Union and Rhino Ventures. In 2019, Curatio received a $250,000 grant from VentureClash.
Curatio also previously secured $325,000 from the SaskWorks Venture Fund and $100,000 from Novartis’ 7th annual Health 2.0 Conference in Silicon Valley.
In 2014, Curatio received support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to build out its platform from other apps in the healthcare market. NRC IRAP said it started its relationship with Curatio by initially providing some technical guidance on usability, metrics, and the functionality of Curatio’s offering. This support also included funding to hire young graduates to build a more robust version of Curatio’s product.
Also established in 2013, RxMx provides digital risk management and patient adherence SaaS solutions in the specialty medicine sector, predominantly in the multiple sclerosis (MS) market. It specializes in the commercialisation stage of the drug life cycle, assisting pharmaceutical companies on the launch and global roll out of new and in-market approved drugs.
Featured image from Curatio via the National Research Council of Canada.