Aegis Digital Health

Origin: MO | Grant Awarded: 2023 | Status: Active

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What is Aegis Digital Health?

Aegis’ first product, SweetSpot, addresses the problem of ineffective, inconsistent standard of care for diabetes patients. These patients visit the provider’s office at most 4x/year, when they are tested for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), with little to no engagement between visits or insight into how their medications or lifestyle affect blood sugar on a daily basis. This leads to “clinical inertia” and poor clinical outcomes for the 34M Americans with diabetes. Underserved populations – rural, low socioeconomic status, and certain ethnic groups – are particularly hard hit. As few as 20% of diabetics achieve the target HbA1c level of <7%, and they incur $9,600 annually in excess health care expenses compared to the average, including 12M ER visits and hospitalizations every year, and an annual cost to the health care system of >$240B. Advances in technology – continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps and other delivery devices – provide significantly far more detailed data than HbA1c, and studies have shown this can lead to more effective and less expensive care. However, device complexity, difficult data retrieval, confusing reimbursement codes and lack of clinical resources often prevent the provider (the target customer) from effectively using these devices and the data available to improve patient care.

SweetSpot is a software platform and clinical support service that supports end-to-end remote patient monitoring for all diabetes devices. The service solves all the problems described above by: 1) managing device setup and patient onboarding, 2) automatically retrieving data from each device manufacturer’s portal, 3) analyzing and triaging the data, 4) providing a common dashboard that enables clinicians to quickly see which patients need attention without having to manually retrieve and sort through hundreds of pages of device data, 5) supporting clinician data review with recommendations for changes to patient management, 6) automatically capturing billable events and applying the appropriate reimbursement codes, 7) presenting claims-ready reports to the billing staff, and 8) integrating with the patient’s EHR. SweetSpot also offers clinical support for practices that do not have the internal resources to support this new workflow. By transitioning the standard of care from HbA1c to Time in Range (TIR – the percentage of time glucose levels are within prescribed boundaries), SweetSpot has the potential to reduce comorbidity risk by 40% and ER visits by 50%.

Company Leadership

STEPHEN VON RUMP

CO-FOUNDER & CEO

Stephen Von Rump, MS, is a 5-time CEO and 3-time founder with 3 exits. He has extensive healthcare sales and operational experience, and has developed, launched and managed a dozen products in the healthcare technology space.

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RALPH OIKNINE, MD

Co-founder & CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Ralph Oiknine, MD, is an endocrinologist with over 20 years of clinical experience, and is nationally known among diabetes clinicians and industry leaders. He is the inventor of the SweetSpot concept, born out of years of frustration with the existing standard of care for diabetes patients.

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AMIAD FREDMAN, MD

Co-founder & chief product officer

Amiad Fredman, MD, is nationally known digital health thought leader with experience driving product development. His focus is on maximizing user engagement, and he brings both clinical and design expertise to the task.

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abby cohen

Co-founder & CoO

Abby Cohen, BME, was the founder and CEO of Sparo, which had an exit in 2022. She has extensive product development and operations experience, FDA regulatory and quality experience, early partner development and revenue generation experience.

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KAY BROSCHAT, PhD

Co-founder & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOr

Kay Bouschat is a seasoned project management professional with a substantial 30-year track record that spans academia, startups, and pharmaceutical companies. She has demonstrated a robust ability to secure funding for research and development through diverse channels including NIH grants, venture capital, pharmaceutical partnerships, and strategic alliances. Specializing in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostic translational medicine, Kay has been pivotal in recruiting and fostering the adoption of new medical practices among Key Opinion Leaders. Her strategic insight into in-licensing and alliance structures has proven invaluable for therapeutics and technology transfer, underscoring her role as a dynamic force in the advancement of medical innovation and enterprise.

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GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness

Origin: MO | Grant Awarded: 2023 | Status: Active

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What is GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness?

GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness (GreaterHealth) is an innovative pharmacy model that combines culturally responsive pharmacy services with medically tailored dietary meals to provide a comprehensive path to improved healthcare outcomes for underserved communities. Patients experiencing hypertension, kidney disease, high cholesterol, or diabetes are paired with a pharmacist and dietician, and receive free home medication and meal delivery services. This innovative approach to the last touchpoint in the healthcare journey serves to transform the lives of those furthest away from opportunity. This solution has the potential to impact 200,000 Missouri residents and 100M+ people across the U.S.

Company Leadership

MARCUS HOWARD, Ph.D.

Founder & CEO

Dr. Marcus Howard is a North City St. Louis native and graduate of Metro Academic and Classical High School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Exercise Science and his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in Human Development. He returned home in 2020 to start GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness, the very first radically inclusive, culturally responsive pharmacy in the U.S. GreaterHealth is already blazing a trail in the city of St. Louis in its first year of operations, offering free delivery, medically tailored meals, and serving residents who have historically been forgotten in the healthcare space. GreaterHealth is growing fast and expects to be a national pharmacy brand by 2026, ensuring that all people have access to greater health and a greater quality of life.

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Honeydew

Origin: New York, NY |

Grant Awarded: 2023 | Status: Active

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What is Honeydew?

Honeydew is a virtual dermatology platform integrating healthcare services and wellness for people suffering from chronic skin conditions like acne, atopic dermatitis, plaque psoriasis, and others. We connect patients with licensed specialists in 24 hours instead of 4 months, help them access FDA-approved treatments from home with ongoing support 7 days a week, and provide insights on lifestyle triggers like diet, menstruation, and stress. We also help patients navigate insurance coverage for treatments or find the lowest cash-price options. Ultimately, we are building a gold mine of structured data which we hope will enhance drug development, phase IV research, and precision medicine.

Honeydew was founded by David Futoran (Wharton) and his dermatology Dr. Joel Spitz (Princeton, Columbia), after years of struggling with the healthcare system firsthand through personal experiences as patient and provider.

Honeydew is backed by top tier angels like Jeff Nadler (Teladoc), Dan Reich (Tula Skincare, DIBS Beauty), Cory Levy, and Adam Guild, as well as Browder Capital and V1.VC.

Company Leadership

DAVID FUTORAN

Co-Founder & CEO

David grew up in a family of immigrant physicians and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in Healthcare Management and Biology. As a student, David led Wharton’s Healthcare Club and wrote a masters course on health economics for Penn Medicine. Prior to starting Honeydew, David led product and growth at a digital health startup with $20M in funding. David started Honeydew with the dermatologist that cleared his skin after personally struggling with a chronic skin condition for 6 years.

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JOEL SPITZ

Co-founder & CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Joel Spitz, MD is a Princeton/Columbia trained Board-certified dermatologist with over 25 years of practice. Joel is the author of Genodermatoses, a textbook taught in every dermatology residency across the country. He also serves as the dermatologist for the US Open and the NY Islanders. Joel is also a Medical Advisor for Brothers for Life, an organization he helped start to heal wounded soldiers in Israel. Joel has been a leading advocate for telemedicine since as far back as 2009.

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Pivto Digital Learning

Origin: MO | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is Pivto Digital Learning?

Pivto Digital Learning transforms digital learning for the healthcare industry. Pivto provides custom eLearning experiences through consumer-focused technologies – mobile, micro, and social. Cinematic quality video-based learning is delivered through E-Laborate, our online LMS platform. Our platform, E-Laborate, is simple to use with a modern user interface. Our clients include leading healthcare systems, medical organizations, pharmaceutical & medical device companies, and public health agencies & associations. We help healthcare organizations train employees, customers, or patients anytime, anywhere, from any device.

Company Leadership

Kelley Robson

founder & cEO

Kelley Robson brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare – including several startup organizations. Kelley’s healthcare industry experience includes sales, marketing, and training roles at GSK, Baxter Healthcare, and Siemens. Kelley is a graduate of the University of Missouri.

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Peppermint

Origin: MO | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is Peppermint?

Peppermint is a consumer healthcare brand that designs beautiful products for those with mobility challenges. Its first product is a walker unlike any other.

For the first time in US history, those over 65 years of age will out number those under 18. These are known as the “baby boomers” and they are very different than the generation before them. Among the many differences is their interest in “embracing” as opposed to “accepting” their age, and their focus on health and wellness.

The healthcare equipment category is filled with brands that force a feeling of being a patient instead of a person, and products that look like hospital furniture.

By reinventing what a brand and its products can look like for those with mobility challenges, Peppermint can help encourage people to embrace their season of life and better connect them with their loved ones, communities, and their health and wellness.

Company Leadership

Scott Bernstein

founder & cEO

Scott has dedicated much of his career to innovative businesses on both the investor and operator sides. Prior to founding Peppermint, Scott sat on the leadership teams of several startups including Freely Pet and Stix Golf.

Scott was also on the investment team at Lewis & Clark Ventures, a Series A stage VC firm, and managed operations for Capital Innovators.

Scott has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado Boulder.

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Nutrible

Origin: CA | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is Nutrible?

Nutrible is a web app and virtual medical practice that delivers diagnosis-based food directly to patients as soon as they are discharged from hospitals, emergency departments, behavioral health facilities, and other healthcare settings.

More than 3.8 million times per year, patients leave healthcare settings without the resources they need to live independently. With our technology and processes, we partner with healthcare organizations to ensure their most vulnerable patients live full and healthy lives.

Company Leadership

Kwamane Liddell, JD, MHA, BSN

founder & cEO

Kwamane Liddell, JD, MHA, BSN is a health equity visionary and business leader who has saved lives, and believes healthy food should be accessible to every sick person. While Kwamane was an emergency department nurse, he witnessed the devastation that happens to families when they don’t have the right food at home. Those patients inspired him to create Nutrible, where he uses his experiences as a trauma nurse, healthcare lawyer, and entrepreneur to build technology that connects the current healthcare and grocery systems. Nutrible focuses on the most vulnerable patient populations and makes it easy for patients to access food that aligns with their medical, cultural, and financial needs.

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HIVE

Origin: IL | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is HIVE?

HIVE is a remote patient monitoring company devoted to improving medication adherence and reducing unplanned readmissions for the 3 million patients on home infusion therapies. These patients self-administer long-term IV medication under the remote supervision of their clinician. The problem is that clinicians don’t have good options for monitoring their patients to make sure they take their medication safely and correctly. For example, of the 3 million patients prescribed at-home IV antibiotics, 20% are readmitted, and each readmission costs $80,000. Clinicians currently call every patient, a process that is time-consuming, subjective, and ineffective. HIVE has developed the only device to solve this problem. Our patent-pending IVsight smart catheter leverages a simple mechanoelectrical sensor that wirelessly reports objective medication administration data in real-time, so clinicians can make informed treatment decisions to prevent costly and dangerous readmissions

Company Leadership

Joe Beggs

cEO

Joe Beggs is a St. Louis-based entrepreneur with expertise in the development and commercialization of medical devices and regenerative medical products. While a biomedical engineering student at Washington University, Joe founded two medical device companies, HIVE and GenAssist, gave a TED Talk on the science of business, and completed internships in venture capital, neuroengineering innovation, and laboratory research. Joe has been named a Top Innovator under 25 by the St. Louis Business Journal, won the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award from WashU, and raised over $600,000 for both HIVE and GenAssist.

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Glen Kleinschmidt

c0O

Glen is a Dual-Degree Engineering graduate who holds a BS in Biophysics from Elon University, and both a BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Wash U. ​He has extensive prototyping and product design experience and has worked with a variety of medical device companies and their products. Glen leads product development and project management at HIVE, collaborating with people across many disciplines to ensure HIVE not only meets its milestones, but actively creates oportunity for growth.

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Sai Dodda

cmO

Sai Dodda is a PharmD graduate from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) and he received a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from STLCOP. Sai has clinical experience with home infusion therapy patients as well as knowledge of drugs and therapeutics. Sai also has publications in infectious disease centered on health outcomes and market research. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy with a concentration in Applied Pharmacoeconomics. At HIVE, Sai works on planning, implementing, and maintaining business operations and clinical development activities.

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Jake Eshelman

computer engineer

Jake is a Dual-Degree graduate with a BS in biochemistry and biomedical engineering from WashU. His focus is on bringing innovation into the med-tech field through software and hardware solutions. Jake took a leave of absence from a MS of computer engineering program at WashU to join HIVE as a full time embedded software engineer and tech lead. Since joining he has lead development of HIVE’s technology platform in conjunction with key contractors in preparation for an upcoming clinical trial at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

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DenScore

Origin: IA | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is DenScore?

DenScore is a data-driven digital health company that helps consumers make smarter decisions about their oral health care so they receive higher quality, more personalized and affordable dental treatment. DenScore provides dental claims insights to Medicare Advantage plans, insurance carriers and health systems so they can steer members to the most desirable dentists in their network to reduce dental plan costs and member disenrollment. DenScore also offers a web-based application that helps enrollees, employees and uninsured Americans understand their dental symptoms so they’re better equipped to navigate their dental care needs. DenScore’s application benefits users by helping them manage their symptoms, avoid unnecessary dental care, reduce out-of-pocket costs, minimize non-urgent dental-related ER visits and much more.

Company Leadership

Kyle Gernhofer

Co-founder & cEO

Dr. Kyle Gernhofer is DenScore’s co-founder and chief executive officer. After graduating from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Kyle treated thousands of patients in the Navy and private practice. While on active duty, he received the Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal for leading a humanitarian exercise that provided medical care to communities throughout Southeast Asia. In private practice, Kyle was consistently recognized by his patients and peers as being one of San Diego’s top dentists. Kyle started DenScore to help people make smarter decisions about their oral health so they can live healthier and happier lives.

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Charlie Hubbard

Co-founder & cdO

Charlie Hubbard is DenScores’s co-founder and chief data officer. He graduated from Iowa State University with an MS in Computer Engineering and has been practicing data science for over 8 years. Charlie uses his passion for machine learning and big data analytics to ensure that DenScore’s performance-based metrics enable clients to gain deeper insights about their dental provider network. Charlie is inspired by DenScore’s unique approach for harnessing the power of big data to improve oral health outcomes for millions of Americans.

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BestFit

Origin: GA | Grant Awarded: 2022 | Status: Active

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What is BestFit?

BestFit is a digital one-stop-shop for post-secondary programs and social service providers looking to increase student retention and connect students to benefits and social services. Our platform automates screening & referral services for federal benefits—reducing cognitive burden for users & labor burden for case managers and staff.

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Company Leadership

Asha Owens

CEO

Asha Owens is an award-winning product designer & software engineer committed to building equitable, community-centered technology. Throughout her career, she has utilized her interdisciplinary background in Neuroscience (Brown) and Instructional Technology & Media (Columbia) to build innovative products and lead fast-paced, high-impact teams. Asha is a recipient of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, a Roddenberry Fellow, a Civic Innovation Fellow, a 4.0 Schools Fellow, and Techstars alum.

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