A Berlin-based startup whose mobile health app uses AI to help people manage chronic digestive problems has raised $7 million in Series A funding. The company intends to spend the bulk of the money getting the app in the hands of gastrointestinal patients in the U.S.
Cara Care, which launched in 2016 and quickly raised an initial $2 million, announced June 18 that the new funding round was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s venture arm, JJDC, and Barcelona-based Asabys Partners.
The company says its app has already helped upwards of 400,000 people in Germany and the U.S. manage widespread GI conditions such as reflux, irritable or inflammatory bowel, food intolerances, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis “with a 78.8% treatment success rate.”
The announcement includes input from gastroenterologist Anthony Lembo, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
“It is clear that digital therapeutics will play a crucial future role in the treatment of individuals with chronic gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS,” Lembo says. “I believe that these digital treatments will help improve patient compliance to medication and lifestyle changes, delivering better outcomes across this patient population.”
Cara Care says it will also use the new funding to conduct research and expand collaborations with players in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics and food-production industries.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.