St. Louis-based medical device startup Readout Health has added to its C-suite, hiring for a key role that comes as it expands the scope of its digital health technology.
Readout has hired Naomi Parrella as its chief medical officer, a newly created role. Parrella will take the post in a part-time capacity and continue her position as an obesity and family-practice physician and chief of lifestyle medicine at Rush University in Chicago, Readout said. Parrella earned her medical degree from Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine.
Founded in 2018, Readout has developed a hand-held metabolism-tracking device called Biosense that provides users with fat burn data through the use of breath samples. Users of the device are able to track and analyze their personal data through a mobile app.
CEO Jim Howard said Readout’s device has been used in pharmaceutical company and academic clinical trials as well as by physicians in their treatment of diseases that include cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and obesity.
Readout’s hiring of Parrella as its chief medical officer comes as the company this week said it plans to launch its own digital health curriculum programs focused on using the data from its devices to help users achieve health goals focused around weight loss, anti-inflammation, longer healthspan and metabolic flexibility. Readout said it plans to launch those programs this spring.
"By combining personal full-day Biosense fat burn biofeedback with a medically-designed curriculum in these engagement programs, patients and consumers now have a path to sustainable change,” Howard said.
As Readout's chief medical director, the St. Louis startup said Parrella will help lead the company’s own digital programs as well as the Biosense device’s use by physicians and researchers.
“With Biosense, users can get real time feedback and support in between clinic visits for faster and better results. I am eager to enable the use of Biosense's patented technologies to simplify protocols, reduce costs, and deliver smarter outcomes for patients, providers and payers, as well as to Readout's partners in clinical research,” Parrella said.
Readout unveiled its Biosense device in 2019 and began selling it to consumers directly through its website. Howard said it has since inked a distribution agreement with electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). The device retails for $299 on Readout’s website.
The St. Louis startup has 14 employees and has raised $3.1 since its founding. Its investors include St. Louis-based venture firms BioGenerator and iSelect Fund as well as Alexandria, Virginia-based Route 66 Ventures. Howard said Readout is pursuing a Series A funding round as it seeks to expand its team, target global expansion and develop other medical devices.
