PharmaShots Interview: Kaia Health's Konstantin Mehl Shares Insight on the Funding to Transform the Treatment for MSK and COPD

In an interview with PharmaShots, Konstantin Mehl, President, CEO, and Founder at Kaia Health shared his views on the grant of $75M Series C funding to expand clinical capabilities & transform the treatment path for musculoskeletal (MSK) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care in the US and EU.

Shots:

The funding will extend the offering within EU and increasing access to Kaia by making MSK and COPD available through national reimbursement systems
Fundraising was led by an unnamed leading growth equity fund with support from existing investors including Optum Ventures, Idinvest, 3VC, Balderton Capital, Heartcore Capital, Symphony Ventures (investment vehicle of four times Major winner Rory McIlroy, pro golfer) and A Round Capital
Kaia Health covers ~60M lives in the digital MSK space. The business grew 600% as the pandemic accelerated demand for a digital MSK solution. The virtual physical therapy provides real-time exercise feedback that has been third-party validated for accuracy

Tuba: What does this funding mean to Kaia Health?

Konstantin: It gives us additional resources to help us scale our team to achieve our mission: Make the best-in-class therapy available to every chronic disease patient. More concretely, the investment will grow the commercial team and accelerate product and partnership development to help more Americans access Kaia Health MSK and expand the offering to COPD care. In addition, the funds will be invested in extending the offering within Europe and increasing access to Kaia by making its MSK and COPD available through national reimbursement systems. Kaia will also continue to invest in its evidence base and computer vision team, which has been innovating the use of computer vision in the healthcare market for three years, filing for numerous patents.

Tuba: Who are the lead investors behind the Series C funding?

Konstantin: Fundraising was led by an unnamed leading growth equity fund with support from existing investors including Optum Ventures, Idinvest, 3VC, Balderton Capital, Heartcore Capital, Symphony Ventures (investment vehicle of four times Major winner Rory McIlroy, pro golfer), and A Round Capital.

Tuba: Discuss the impact of the pandemic on Kaia Health's growth?

Konstantin: Our customer base grew by 600% over the last 12 months. Pre-pandemic only around 20% of organizations were interested in offering a digital therapy solution. During the pandemic, chronic disease treatments were considered elective treatments and were thus very hard to get access. Out of necessity, 100% of organizations transitioned to offering digital health services. Patients now got used to the new level of convenience and we are convinced that this trend is here to stay.

Tuba: How will this funding be helpful for patients with chronic diseases?

Konstantin: We will use it to expand our product capabilities and thereby make our product more effective and easier to use and integrate into the daily life of our patients. Furthermore, we can greatly increase our reach by making it available to more patients through employers and health plans in the US, and by integrating it into national reimbursement systems in Europe. All of this comes at no direct cost for chronic disease patients.

Tuba: Do you think your digital approach to treating chronic pain related to MSK disorders and COPD will replace the traditional therapies?

Konstantin: No, we never saw ourselves as a replacement to the traditional multimodal therapies or even to physical therapy. The problem in the healthcare systems we operate in is that a lot of people do not have access to these very effective and cost-efficient treatments and therefore proceed in their chronification and only get referred to the best available treatments when it's almost too late, leading to unnecessary suffering and high costs. Or even worse, have to undergo more invasive treatments such as orthopedic surgery (for MSK) or lung transplantations (for COPD). Our digital approach reduces the care gap to best-in-class treatments and patients can have access to treatments much earlier in the journey and at a large scale.

Tuba: How can one access your virtual physical therapy?

Konstantin: It depends on the country: In the US it is offered through collaborations with employers and health plans, in Germany, we plan to be offered via the general reimbursement system as early as Q3 2021.

Tuba: How is Kaia Health different from the other players in this field?

Konstantin: A combination of unique technological advantages with our proprietary motion coach technology which delivers results without having to rely on cumbersome sensors or expensive hardware, a strong basis of clinical evidence including one of the largest RCTs of its kind, great traction in multiple markets, and a team of motivated and dedicated Kaianeers.

Image Source: MobiHealthNews

About Konstantin Mehl:

Konstantin Mehl is the President, CEO, and Founder of Kaia Health. He holds a dual Masters in finance and Energy Systems from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree from Technical University Munich.