Israel’s HelpAround announces $6 million financing round

The company says it will “accelerate its growth into the specialty drug market”

JANUARY 21, 2020 20:37

Close up of a man using mobile smart phone (photo credit: INGIMAGE) — Close up of a man using mobile smart phone

(photo credit: INGIMAGE)

HelpAround, Inc., which developed the HelpAround Mobile Patient Concierge Platform, announced Tuesday its $6 million financing round, completing the initial closing of its round. It anticipates the final closing in the first quarter of 2020, according to a release.

“Our top priority is to provide patients with a private, secure experience that fits their individual lives,” said Yishai Knobel, co-founder and chief executive officer of HelpAround.

Knobel and his co-founder are both graduates of Mamram, the IDF Center of Computing and Information Systems. Although they mostly operate in the United States, they still have an office in Herzliya.

The platform enables drug manufacturers to adapt therapy onboarding and trial protocols to the human behind the smartphone, a release said. It also helps patients navigate complex treatments by matching available patient services to the patient’s real-life profile and lifestyle: targeted affordability options, matching to similar peers, on-the-go chat support and more.

The funding round was led by IQVIA, a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. One of IQVIA’s executives will be joining HelpAround’s board of directors.

In a release, HelpAround said it “intends to use the funding to accelerate its growth into the specialty drug market, where approximately 35% of patients discontinue therapy before the first refill.”

Knobel added that, “We are excited to have IQVIA lead the round and work with us on the joint mission to improve the lives of millions of patients who are struggling to follow their prescribed therapies.”

Gregg Dearhammer, senior vice president of data sciences, safety and regulatory at IQVIA, said, “We believe their unique passive data and AIML technology will detect when patients are not adherent to trial protocols, enabling site coordinators and other HCPs to engage on patients’ behalf.”

Knobel is the former head of mobile health at AgaMatrix, which launched its first iPhone-connected glucose meter with Sanofi while he was there. HelpAround saw success from its beginning in 2014. That year, the company presented at the annual Healthcare

Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference. An article about HelpAround reported that the company had thousands of users after only two months of operation and that 30% of them reported using the app every day.

“Research has shown that peer support drives medical outcomes,” Knobel said.