A Tampa startup which leverages both the telehealth and gig economy industries has received $23 million in its latest round of funding.
Aspen RxHealth, which connects users with pharmacists to deliver clinical services, had the investment led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Bessemer Venture Partners has a long history of investing in well-known technology companies, including LinkedIn, Yelp, Shopify and DocuSign.
Other participants included Takeda Digital Ventures, Novartis’ digital venture fund called dRx Capital, McKesson Ventures, and previous investors Humana and Flare Capital Partners.
The company has previously raised a $9 million Series A round. The latest deal began after the novel coronavirus pandemic had swept the nation, which in turn created an accelerant of funding for in-demand services including telehealth. Aspen RxHealth Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Wuhong Li believes while the pandemic played a part in garnering interest, the investment was more a comment on the work the company is doing as a whole.
"I think (the pandemic) is part of it, but it's the fundamental idea that it’s the first of kind," he said. "It's the service model. The pandemic may make some other winners out of it, but it feels very much for the pharmacists and how do they service the company? Even without the pandemic it's what the profession and patients are looking for."
Aspen RxHealth has a network of over 5,000 pharmacists, which are connected to patients based on social and clinical factors. The company has roughly 45 employees and is currently hiring. The company was founded in 2018 and currently has its headquarters located in the Industrious coworking space in the SunTrust building in downtown Tampa.
"Three of the co-founders, we've all been in Tampa the last 20 years," Li said. "Technology-wise, what matters is talent and also having the team who understand it and what we can do. We're not limited to Tampa, but all three of us are in Tampa and have been embedded in the health area tech space in the city. Tampa feels like it's natural and clearly allowed us to get up to speed pretty quickly."
The funding will be used to further growth in the company, both from a hiring perspective and expansion.
“This capital will help us deliver on our promise to create a true marketplace for pharmacists," David Medvedeff, CEO of Aspen RxHealth, said in a statement. "[And it means the company can] rapidly scale our business at a time when pharmacy is ripe for disruption, and aggressively pursue newer, broader markets such as specialty pharmacy support and medication reconciliation.”
The funding follows a path of quick growth the past few years for the company: In 2019, the company teamed up with Humana, a Fortune 500 health and well-being company. In October that same year, Aspen RxHealth launched a health plan star rating services, along with a new service that allows pharmacists to create a targeted medication reviews.
It was also named a Tampa Bay Inno Startup to Watch in 2020.
