A Columbus startup helping patients take charge of managing chronic illnesses gained a much wider network of patients and pharmaceutical manufacturers through a distribution deal with Labcorp.
Redi.Health Inc.'s app is now offered to patients through the Patient Access Solutions business in the global diagnostic and drug development company. It's part of a larger contract research organization the public company announced Thursday it is spinning off, Triangle Business Journal reported.
"Labcorp is a leader in the patient support space, among other things, so their network is very robust," Redi co-founder and CEO Luke Buchanan said. "They’re the first to bring a true holistic solution to the market that can be with the patient all the way from diagnosis through continuation of therapy."
The Redi partnership is part of the overall strategy for the standalone drug development business post-spinoff, Redi said in a statement.
Redi.Health was founded one year ago by former managers from CoverMyMeds and Beam Dental, and raised at least $1.3 million in seed funding in the fall, according to regulatory filings.
Over the next decade, according to the company, the number of Americans with three or more chronic conditions and taking five prescriptions a day is expected to grow to 90 million.
Redi is a single mobile tool replacing manual processes for tracking medications, symptoms and steps in a treatment regimen. The app is free for any patient to use.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are Redi's paying clients. The app helps patients identify and access drugmakers' assistance programs such as steep discounts and nurse counseling when they're prescribed high-cost specialty drugs.
Thousands of patients use the platform, visiting the app two to three times a day, Buchanan said. On average, 85% stick with their medication regimen as recommended by their doctors – compared to less than half for some pharmaceuticals.
One of Columbus Inno's "Startups to Watch" this year, the company has grown to 10 employees, working virtually with coworking space at Rev1 Ventures.
The Labcorp deal helps Redi integrate with more manufacturers, he said, so the startup hopes to double this year.
“Redi.Health shares our goal of leveraging technology to improve health and lives, and their platform will help change the way medications are understood and managed by the individuals taking them,” Lynne Dominick Sager, vice president of Patient Access Solutions, said in a release. “This innovative approach improves patient adherence and total health management.”
Redi also provides aggregated non-identifiable data back to the manufacturers on how engaging with different digital tools affects adherence to a treatment regimen. For patients, the app provides feedback such as showing how 30 minutes of daily exercise led to improving symptoms.
The patient access programs are part of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' (NYSE:LH) drug development business, which represented $5.8 billion of the North Carolina public company's $16 billion revenue in 2021.
