Zest Health, which is the first value-based virtual care company focused on treating patients with inflammatory skin diseases, announced $13 million in seed funding. And Zest Health’s platform offers personalized dermatology care that minimizes unnecessary pharmaceutical utilization while producing sustainable clinical outcomes.
The roughly 40 million Americans with eczema and psoriasis face average wait times of over a month and rushed visits as dermatologists increasingly turn to cash-pay models that prioritize aesthetics. To minimize and expedite office visits, prescribers rely on systemic medications to quickly achieve clear skin.
The overreliance on these medications has driven rapid growth in associated spending. Biologics for these conditions are being used earlier and more chronically, growing at 15% annually and driving over $40 billion in annual US spending.
Zest offers patients more personalized, responsive care. Its virtual and high-touch approach is supported by patient data to identify optimal prescription regimens, over-the-counter medications, lifestyle changes, and preventative interventions for more convenient, durable relief.
Zest’s approach reduces pharmacy spend by thousands of dollars per enrollee annually without sacrificing outcomes:
— Over 80% of patients see disease improvement as measured by Body Surface Area (BSA) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)
— Over 90% of patients prefer Zest to their prior dermatology experiences
Roivant Health incubated and invested in Zest, bringing their historic expertise in inflammatory disease innovation and transformative health technologies. The funds will be used to scale Zest’s existing partnerships with health plans and employers seeking to address this growing cost pool.
KEY QUOTES:
“As a psoriasis patient myself, I know that the status quo fails to deliver ongoing support and lasting relief. At Zest, we have flipped traditional dermatology care on its head by providing radical access and personalized care so flaring patients get expert help during and in between flares, without overreliance on biologics.”
– Zest Health CEO Olivia Deitcher
“Many problems in healthcare involve challenging tradeoffs between quality and cost. This is an exception where higher quality simultaneously reduces unnecessary expense. We are excited at Roivant to support Zest as they use technology to bring dermatology into the 21st century.”
– Alex Gasner, EVP of Roivant Health
