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Hybrid chronic care company Thirty Madison revealed its new dermatology offering, following through on plans its executives spoke with Erin about exclusively back in January.

Why it matters: Thirty Madison has rapidly mushroomed from a digital pharmacy selling medications for hair loss and migraines into a hybrid care company with offerings for more than five chronic conditions.

Flashback: In February, Thirty Madison acquired reproductive health-focused digital pharmacy Nurx.

The deal more than doubled its number of active patients to 750,000 from 350,000.

It also boosted Thirty Madison's B2B presence by giving it access to Nurx's relationships with pharmacy benefits managers.

And last fall, Thirty Madison said it would open its first in-person location in New York, a hair transplant clinic under its Keeps brand, this year. 

Details: Called Facet, the new vertical offers customers 50-plus prescription and non-prescription treatments and care plans it says are guided by board-certified dermatologists including Peter Young, its newest medical director. 

Facet sells anti-aging treatments as well as medications for eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, dandruff and melasma.

The big question: Can Thirty Madison prove that its direct-to-consumer house of brands strategy is a profitable care model? Only time will tell.

What's next: Thirty Madison told Erin back in January that it planned to launch a new vertical for sleep health, and hired Vik Panda to lead the category as a general manager.

1 big thing: Thirty Madison is on a roll

Illustration of a hand cursor pointing at a bottle of prescription pills. 

Senior care startup Duos landed $15 million in Series A funding led by Imaginary Ventures, the parties tell Sarah exclusively.  

Why it's the BFD: By understanding and solving the needs of older adults and caretakers, Duos, as co-founder Karl Ulfers puts it, aims to "reimagine freedom" for America's rapidly aging population. 

Details: Imaginary Ventures is joined by existing investors Forerunner Ventures, Declaration Partners in its latest capital infusion, along with new investor Optum Ventures. 

Duos last June emerged from stealth with a $6 million investment from Redesign Health and Forerunner Ventures.

State of play: Many older adults lack fundamental social services or don't make use of available benefits that help them live longer, better, and independently. With that, burnout is increasing among the sandwich generation — those supporting both their children and elderly parents. 

“Duos is going after a massive problem in the country, which is that we're aging more than we’re growing from a population perspective,” Ulfers says. “There’s a tremendous amount of strain put on adults on their family caregivers.”   

Imaginary Ventures' Kelly Dill says that by building a product (its "System of Aging" digital platform) at the intersection of consumer and enterprise, “Duos empowers older adults to age within their home.”

By the numbers: 51% of older adults have unmet fundamental social needs and by 2030 one of five Americans will be at least 65 years old.  

The number of unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. reached 54 million in 2020, up from 10 million five years earlier. 

“The only way to solve for that [macro trend] is with technology," says  Dill. "It can't be a one-to-one system." 

How it works: Duos connects older adults and caretakers to a constellation of service providers, along with a dedicated personal assistant, or “duo,” that coordinates these services and offers companionship. 

The startup addresses social determinants of health (SDOH), facilitating needs like transportation, food delivery or house cleaning, while also assisting with care navigation needs and utilizing Medicare benefits that often go unused.  

Duos simplifies the disparate nature of information across the health care system, Ulfers adds. “When you are a caregiver and you go to look for services, it’s scattered in the wind.” 

Between the lines: Duos aligns with payors' acknowledgment that nonclinical social services are crucial to managing chronic conditions and keeping aging adults out of more costly settings of care. 

Duos “is at the intersection of what payers are looking for and consumers need,” Dill says.

Duos amid the funding inked a new partnership with Geisinger, which is known for its SDOH initiatives like the “fresh food Farmacy” program. 

It also partners with Magellan Healthcare and other national and regional payers and providers spanning seven states.

Be smart: Regulatory changes enacted by CMS in 2020 were a “category-creating moment,” Ulfers says, enabling services offered by the likes Duos to be paid for.

That included the expansion of what CMS defines as “primarily health-related benefits” and new SSBCI benefits that gave MA plans the flexibility to offer richer benefits of this vein to chronically ill members. 

What’s next: The funding will fuel technology advancement (including a new easy-to-use app), new hires including 100-plus additional “duos,” and additional payor and provider partnerships. 

2. The BFD: Duos rakes in $15M to redefine aging independently

Illustration of a cane forming the center staff of a caduceus.

According to a report from Rock Health, digital health funding may be slowing down after (checks notes) roughly 11 years of seemingly unchecked growth. 

For three of the past five years, first-quarter funding totals beat the preceding quarter's figures — but not this time around, as the report found Q4 2021 bested Q1 2022.

Not only did the total $6 billion raised lag Q4 2021’s $7.3 billion, but it also fell below the annual quarterly average of $7.1 billion, according to the report.

3. 💸 Digital health funding loses its wings

Real, makers of a mental wellness platform, raised $37m in Series B funding led by Owl Ventures. 

Diligent Robotics, an Austin-based robot company helping to transport supplies for frontline health workers, raised $30m in Series B funding led by Tiger Global with support from previous backers including True Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures plus new investors including Cedars-Sinai Health Ventures. This brings its total raised to date to just under $50m. https://www.diligentrobots.com 

Ultrahuman, a London-based maker of a metabolic fitness platform, acquired LazyCo, a Bangalore, India-based consumer-focused wearable company. https://www.ultrahuman.com/

4. Deals o' the day

SOC Telemed promoted Steven Rubis to interim SVP of finance from VP of investor relations.

Real named professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe to its advisory board.

Charlie Health promoted Dorothy Kharrat to director of care team engagement from clinical onboarding manager.

Ovia Health named Mamta Elias VP of product strategy from Best Buy, where she was director of virtual care strategy and offering management.

Lyn Health named Brad Fluegel to its advisory board.

Bamboo Health named Tom Kowalczyk senior manager of market research from Wolters Kluwer Health, where he was a market research project manager.

IntelyCare named Laura Jillian Gray content marketing manager. 

Known Medicine named CEO and co-founder of BioAge Kristen Fortney to its advisory board.

5. It's Personnel 

It's Tuesday, Health Tech enthusiasts, let's get right to the news.

❄️ Erin is having weather whiplash, having taken her dog on a sunny hike this past weekend (in shorts!) and seeing a forecast of 23 inches of snow this week.

❤️ Thanks for reading Axios Pro Health Tech! Please ask your friends and colleagues to sign up. 

April 12, 2022

1 big thing: Thirty Madison is on a roll