Eight years ago, David Rambo was diagnosed with an aggressive form of type 2 diabetes.
His battle with the disease not only set Rambo on a path that led him to reverse what is typically a chronic health condition, it also resulted in his formation of a health care company.
That company, Simplex Health of Ambler, is a medical nutrition provider that takes a "food as medicine" approach to help patients with a variety of health conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, digestive health problems and diabetes.
Simplex Health, which has 62 employees, works with health systems and physician groups to provides patients with a care team that include a registered dietitian, a health coach and access to physician advisors who work alongside a patient's primary care doctor.
The team guides patients through the practice's evidence-based protocols regarding nutrition that match up with an individual's biology and lifestyles. The interactions are done the company's secure portal, mobile app, virtual appointments and in-person appointments.
“We want to do something more powerful than managing a condition and maintaining the status quo," Rambo said.
Rambo said 99% of the services it provides are reimbursed by health insurers.
"We are an allied health partner," he said. "We don't add costs.
Simplex Health has formed partnerships with several area health systems and physicians groups including Temple University Health System, Crozer Health, Redeemer Health and Axia Women's Health. It is currently working with more than 2,400 patients at 58 health networks.
Founded in 2015, Rambo initially funded the company using a personal line of credit. In 2018 it raised $500,000 from a group of angel investors. Two years later, it raised another $1 million in a Series A round led by Redeemer Health. The latter valued the company at $20.8 million. The amount of Redeemer Health's investment is being kept confidential.
Simplex is looking to raise an additional $3 million in a Series B round. "We have two syndicates the have agreed to participate and we are looking for a lead investor," Rambo said.
Michael Laign, CEO of Redeemer Health, said he was introduced to the company by Dr. Avi Gurwitz, chairman of pediatrics at Redeemer Health and chief medical officer and medical director at Simplex Health.
Laign said he learned from the health system's clinicians that Simplex was providing a solution to addressing nutrition-health issues for obstetrical patients and patients with chronic health conditions. "Simplex Health also complements our strategies focused on the health and wellness of the populations we serve, including our employees and their families," he said. "We were also impressed with their leadership and plan for scaling the solutions they created for our markets in Pennsylvania and New Jersey."
Rambo, previously the co-owner of a fitness club in Center City, was 34 in 2012 when he went to his doctor with symptoms that include fatigue, frequent urination, constant thirst and hunger.
"I'd eat dinner and then be hungry 10 minutes later," he said.
The doctor ordered blood tests, which showed Rambo had type 2 diabetes.
"I was put on the typical care pathway — medication, increasing physical activity." Rambo said. "I was told it was a condition I could live with."
Six months later, Rambo was not responding as hoped and his medication was increased. He was referred to a specialist who wanted to begin an insulin treatment regimen.
Around the same time, Rambo met a different doctor who successfully treated and reversed his son's problem with eczema, a skin condition, by modifying his diet.
The doctor said he thought he could help Rambo with his diabetes through the same functional medicine approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of a disease — and incorporates the use of food as a first-line therapy. The approach, based on evidence-based research, favors food such as nuts, vegetables and low glycemic fruits and certain fats and proteins over processed foods in order to produce health benefits including hormone restoration and rebalancing.
Rambo was skeptical. Hours before his appointment to begin insulin therapy training he changed his mind, wanting to reverse his condition and not just deal with it as a chronic disease
Rambo learned his type 2 diabetes was linked to his dairy intake. By making dietary changes that included substituting dairy-free products for dairy-based one, over four months he was able to lose 60 pounds, completely reverse his type 2 diabetes and safely eliminate the need for medications.
He started Simplex Health to put together a medical team that could provide people with access to the type of care he received.
“I want to educate the world about this," Rambo said. "There's not enough focus on reversing somebody's underlying condition. There's too much reliance on pharmacologic solutions to what are lifestyle problems."
As a privately owned company, Simplex does not release revenue or income figures.
Simplex initially worked with employers as an adjunct to their benefit offerings. After a few years, it shifted to working with health care providers, health systems and physician groups, to gain access to more patients and identify those it could potentially help.
In May, Simplex expanded its partnership with Axia Women's Health to support gestational diabetes patients — a condition that affects up to 14% of pregnant women in the U.S. annually. The two-year-old partnership was originally limited to Axia's Montgomery County practices. It was expanded to include 400 providers at Axia practice sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
