A new Chicago startup has come out of stealth with a platform that helps people find lower-cost prescription drugs. And it's coming to market with $35 million in funding from Google and other investors.
Waltz Health announced it raised the Series A round from GV, the venture fund formerly known as Google Ventures, along with Define Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, Blue Venture Fund, Byers Capital and Twine Ventures.
Waltz is led by Mark Thierer, the former CEO of OptumRx, a pharmacy benefit manager. Thierer was CEO at Catamaran, which merged with OptumRx when it was bought by UnitedHealth for $12.8 billion in 2015. Thierer is running Waltz alongside his son Jonathon Thierer, who's serving as co-founder and VP of product.
Waltz is tackling the problem of rising prescription drug costs. But rather than competing with the traditional pharmacy industry, a la startups like Mark Cuban's new online pharmacy, Waltz works with retail pharmacies to provide transparency around pricing.
Its first product, called Marketplace Search, is an online search engine that Waltz white-labels for pharmacies to give to their customers. The database lets customers compare prices for their medications and easily view prescription savings programs.
Waltz said it plans to announce "several partnerships with major pharmacy chains" later this year. The benefit to pharmacies, Waltz says, is that it builds customer loyalty and creates a better customer experience.
"Our mission begins with giving consumers visibility into available programs to save money on life-saving medications by partnering with their pharmacies,” Mark Thierer said in a statement.
Waltz is the latest health care startup in Chicago to land funding from Google. Earlier this year GV invested in Synapticure, a Chicago startup that's creating a tech platform to provide telemedicine and personalized care for people battling ALS. GV has also invested in Cameo.
