Digital therapy company Sidekick Health has raised $55 million in Series B funding to help it expand its business. The round was led by London-based venture capital firm Novator Ventures, with additional participation from Wellington Partners, Asabys Partners, and Frumtak Ventures, as well as a US-based strategic investor.
Sidekick is developing personalised digital therapeutics that utilise tools such as gamification and artificial intelligence to deliver behavioural change health benefits and is being applied to chronic illnesses such as diabetes and ulcerative colitis.
Sidekick is working with companies including Pfizer and Bayer, to develop integrated combination therapeutics consisting of a molecular drug and a digital therapeutic.
In 2019, Sidekick entered into a strategic partnership with Bayer to provide a digital therapeutic to patients with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). In 2020, Sidekick then secured a deal with Pfizer addressing five inflammatory diseases across Europe and beyond.
Sidekick will now use the funding to diversify its portfolio and expand its chronic disease treatments across even more therapeutic areas, bolstering existing partnerships and forging new alliances with key stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem.
Official comments
“By harnessing the power of technology we have a unique opportunity to deliver personalised treatments via smartphones and other mobile devices, empowering people to take control of their own health,” Sidekick’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Dr Tryggvi Thorgeirsson said.
“The major challenge facing the world’s healthcare systems is how to support and treat people who are dealing with with two or more chronic conditions. The cornerstone of Sidekick’s approach is our multi-chronic digital therapeutics platform, and this funding will allow us to scale even faster the production of a new generation of clinical treatments across all major chronic diseases,” Thorgeirsson added.
Novator Ventures General Partner and Founder Birgir Mar Ragnarsson has now joined Sidekick’s board of directors in conjunction with the closing of the Series B financing.
“It has been impressive to follow the rapid growth of the company from the close of its A round 18 months ago. The company may have begun in the Nordics, but I am proud to say that Sidekick is now a globally-recognised digital therapeutics player,” Ragnarsson said. “Novator Ventures recognises the immense opportunities presented by third generation therapeutics and Sidekick’s ability to scale and operate at the global level. We look forward to working closely with the Sidekick team to transform how healthcare is delivered.”