Scoop: Aegis and Northwell launch virtual care partnership

Aegis Ventures and Northwell Health are unveiling their second partnership, a national virtual care joint venture called Caire, at this week's JPM conference, sources tell Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Drawing on the clinical expertise of Northwell Health's physicians, Caire aims to be a differentiator amid a noisy virtual care market.

What's happening: Caire will start with a focus on women's health via Upliv, a virtual menopause care company Northwell and Aegis announced in November.

• Using Upliv as a launchpad, Caire is creating a full suite of women's health-focused virtual care companies, aiming to launch two or three more companies this year, the sources say.
• Beyond women's health, Caire will look at building companies in respiratory health and metabolic health, or specialty care like musculoskeletal injuries and autoimmune diseases, sources tell Axios.

Details: Caire will launch with Northwell Health first, with plans to roll out to additional health systems, the sources say.

• As self-insured employers, the health systems will be both stakeholders in and customers of Caire.

Catch up fast: In April 2022, Aegis announced a $100 million commitment in funding for partnerships with Northwell.

• The first partnership, Ascertain, is a joint company creation platform to launch health care artificial intelligence companies.

Between the lines: Virtual care has ballooned in the wake of COVID, but most players (think Hinge Health and Omada) either serve only a small and specific patient population or offer a wide array of medical services without a depth of clinical knowledge (think Teladoc).

• Leveraging the 12,000 physicians and 18,000 nurses within Northwell's network, Caire aims to be a virtual care company that goes deep and wide.