Oshi Health, a virtual gastrointestinal center of excellence, announced Wednesday that it snagged $60 million in Series C funding, which it will use to grow and reach more patients.
New York City-based Oshi Health treats patients for a range of conditions, including acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and abdominal pain. It provides diagnostics, medications, nutrition support, mind-gut support, health coaching and monitoring. Patients gain access to gastrointestinal doctors and a care team that includes a nurse practitioner, dietitian and a gut-brain specialist. The company operates in all 50 states and works with employers, payers, health systems and community gastrointestinal practices.
The $60 million Series C funding round was led by Oak HC/FT and included participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Flare Capital Partners, Frist Cressey Ventures, CVS Health Ventures and Takeda Digital Ventures. In total, the company has raised nearly $120 million.
“Digestive health is an urgent and under-resourced category, and Oshi stands out for its unique ability to provide proven clinical care that delivers faster relief for patients and significant savings for employers and health plans,” said Nancy Brown, general partner at Oak HC/FT, in a statement.
With the financing, the company will seek more partnerships with provider organizations, expand its insurance coverage and reach more employers. It will also begin serving Medicare patients in 2025.
“We’ve treated Medicare-aged patients that are commercially insured, so we know that our model works in Medicare-aged patients,” said Sam Holliday, Oshi CEO, in an interview. “Now we’re actually getting a lot of inbound interest from both the gastroenterologist who has patients Medicare-covered and need our care, and primary care providers who own risk in Medicare Advantage plans.”
Currently, about two out of three Americans battle digestive symptoms each week. In addition, gastrointestinal conditions cost about $136 billion each year. Oshi Health launched in 2020 to meet this need.
“[People] need dietary and gut-brain psychological support to actually really get outcomes that they want as a patient, which is to figure out what is causing their symptoms, then what they can do to keep that down … We just didn’t understand why this wasn’t the way care was delivered and so we set out to fill that gap,” Holliday said.
The company has achieved some results as well, with a clinical trial conducted by a national health plan showing that 92% of patients reported symptom improvement. In addition, the company secured a total medical cost savings of $10,292 per patient in six months due to a decrease in avoidable testing, procedures, ER visits and medication use.
Holliday added that Oshi Health is often asked if it plans to expand into other specialties, but the answer is no. He said there is a lot more to do in Medicare, and the company aims to grow into serving Medicaid and the VA in the future.
Oshi Health is not the only company for digestive health. Another is Cylinder, which provides access to a care team and offers content and courses on digestive health.
Picture: Feodora Chiosea, Getty Images
