Podimetrics, a Somerville, Massachusetts-based care management company that is considered a leading solution for helping prevent diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), announced it has raised $13.4 million in Series B funding. The participants in this round include Rock Health, Norwich Ventures, and Scientific Health Development.
“Diabetic foot ulcers are one of the most devastating and costliest diabetes-related complications. In fact, data suggest that today as many as one out of every three dollars spent on diabetes is linked to lower extremity complications,” said Podimetrics co-founder and CEO Jon Bloom, M.D. “At Podimetrics, we are working diligently to help prevent DFUs, remotely catching early signs often five weeks before they would present clinically. As the son of a veteran, it is gratifying to know this funding will accelerate our efforts to bring this solution to more patients, especially in the VA system.”
Using Podimetrics, patients are able to simply place their feet on a cellular-connected SmartMat for just 20 seconds a day. Then the data is then seamlessly and automatically sent to the Podimetrics care team — which triages any concerning findings to help patients receive the proper care and preventive treatments under the direction of their clinician.
DFUs are one of the complications of diabetes and they have a devastating effect on patients’ lives — which leads to debilitating injuries and amputations. Plus it is a significant driver of health care costs. A single DFU-related amputation costs about $100,000 on average.
With this funding round, the company is going to accelerate its growing presence within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and commercial payers nationwide. And Podimetrics is going to use the funding to continue growing its business within the VA where one out of every four veterans have diabetes and 80% of non-traumatic amputations are from a DFU.
“We continue to be impressed by the clinical outcomes delivered by the Podimetrics platform, which has been achieved by integrating proprietary remote monitoring technology with a proactive care management program,” added Rock Health Venture Principal Jeff Trost. “We are excited to support Podimetrics as they scale and bring this clinically validated solution to the millions of patients who can live healthier lives free of DFUs.”