KORE Digital Health Therapeutics Files IPO Prospectus Amid Surging Demand for Gut Health Digital Therapeutics

In North America, more than 50% of the population experiences symptoms of gut dysbiosis or suffers from gut-related disorders. Conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease incur healthcare costs totaling $18 billion in Canada and over $100 billion in the United States.

Why Are Digestive Diseases So Prevalent?A key reason is that many digestive system diseases are chronic, with an insidious onset, a prolonged course, and a tendency to persist without resolution. Therefore, in light of these characteristics of chronic diseases and leveraging the current advancements in digital technology, managing chronic digestive conditions through digital therapeutics has emerged as a cost-effective and efficient approach.

This article will introduceKORE Digital Health Therapeutics: A Digital Therapeutics Startup Focused on Gut Health(hereinafter referred to as KORE), exploring how it improves users' digestive health.

In 2012, KORE was founded in Vancouver, Canada, with its establishment closely tied to the personal experiences of its CEO and founder, Darlene Higbee Clarkin.Darlene’s father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and ultimately lost his life to the disease. During treatment, although he consistently adhered to medication regimens and followed the care team’s recommendations, he gradually weakened due to a series of complications caused by the condition, including stroke.

During this process, Darlene began to focus on health issues and hoped to find a way to fully manage her own health. She found that although her father had received treatment, he had never changed his lifestyle habits, such as his diet. AndDarlene believes that lifestyle changes may aid in the treatment of the disease., thereby altering her father's initial predicament.

Thus, she embarked on her own journey of exploration. Leveraging her expertise in e-commerce and technology solutions, she founded Whole Life Health Tech, the predecessor of KORE. At its inception, Whole Life Health Tech launched the website mywholelife.ca, offering three applications that provided quick lifestyle tips, blood sugar balance management, and weight management, enabling users to access nutritional advice with just a few clicks.

Later, Darlene co-founded KORE with Justine Dowd, a celiac disease researcher at the University of Calgary, and Desiree Nielsen, a registered dietitian, with support from Celiac Canada, Mitacs, and the Calgary Foundation.

Although KORE has adopted a platform and technology similar to those of Whole Life Health Tech,KORE is a new brand dedicated to helping people manage their gut health, providing users with evidence-based digital therapeutic solutions.

KORE’s mission is to empower individuals to take control of their gut health; to this end, it has developed an application called My Healthy Gut to help users manage chronic conditions related to gut health on a daily basis.

My Healthy Gut targets individuals suffering from indigestion, celiac disease, and gluten intolerance.By focusing on users' overall health status, My Healthy Gut provides scientific knowledge and information about gut health to help users manage symptoms.Meanwhile, the program can track user symptoms to identify their triggers, thereby reducing or preventing symptom flare-ups.

For example, for patients with celiac disease, My Healthy Gut provides users with extensive nutritional information and lifestyle recommendations, including dietary plans such as identifying gluten-free foods, to help prevent symptom onset and enhance disease management.

Source: KORE Official Website

In summary,Evidence-based scientific foundations and a user-centric approach are at the core of My Healthy Gut’s development.. For the former, the nutrition and lifestyle plans offered by My Healthy Gut were developed in collaboration with the Gut Health Disease Association, researchers, and healthcare practitioners, and have undergone peer review and testing.

In a pilot study of the My Healthy Gut celiac disease program conducted by KORE, 118 adult participants underwent one week of testing. The cohort included patients diagnosed with celiac disease, physicians, and dietitians, with randomized controlled results forthcoming. According to information on its official website, 90.7% of participants in the study indicated the need for a dedicated mobile application for celiac disease management. Additionally, KORE has optimized the user workflow and corresponding content based on participant feedback.

User-centricity is reflected inThe design, development, and testing of the My Healthy Gut program were conducted by KORE in collaboration with patients and healthcare practitioners. Such collaboration helps ensure that the program’s design better aligns with user needs., so as to enhance patient engagement and adherence, and truly drive actual behavioral change.

My Healthy Gut offers comprehensive services.It not only provides users with lifestyle and expert recommendations but also offers treatment plans tailored to specific symptoms. Throughout this process, the program can track users’ dietary intake and symptoms through methods such as daily diaries, generating visit reports to share data with clinicians, thereby facilitating communication between patients and healthcare providers and aiding in diagnosis and care.

Additionally, My Healthy Gut is easy to use.It is a fully compatible digital platform that delivers its solutions via mobile devices, ensuring users receive flexible, real-time services. It has been commented that,The app is designed to function as a “nutritionist in your pocket.”, enabling users to access information such as meal preparation and dietary supplement recommendations.

Source: KORE OfficialVCBeat

KORE’s digital therapeutics optimize users’ digestive health through behavior change, progressive nutrition education, and evidence-based digital therapeutics.For patients, this translates to improved gut health, lifestyle modifications, and reduced frequency of medical visits; for insurers and enterprises, it helps lower healthcare costs associated with gut health issues.

"My Healthy Gut" has gained market recognition, with its user base surpassing 80 million in 2017. Additionally, it was named one of the five best gut health apps by Healthline in 2017 and received an award in the digital health category on the 16th annual Ready to Rocket list in 2018.

KORE plans to launch new features and tools in the future to implement additional digital therapeutic programs in the field of digestive health, providing greater support for individuals with digestive health issues.

Encouraged by the success of My Healthy Gut, KORE is developing a comprehensive suite of science-based, accessible digital therapeutics to address other gut health conditions and diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, colorectal cancer, and dermatological conditions, as outlined in the table below.

Source: Compiled from information on the KORE official website

The gut performs diverse functions; beyond digestion and excretion, it plays a critical role in immunity and neuromodulation. However, the gut is also highly susceptible to infections and diseases, and its condition is closely linked to a wide range of systemic disorders.

Digital therapeutics, which leverage software programs to deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions for the prevention, management, or treatment of diseases, have demonstrated significant potential in the field of chronic disease management, including conditions such as diabetes and autism. Similarly, there is a pressing need for digital interventions in gut health that can continuously monitor and guide patients in self-management to control disease progression, reduce incidence rates, and minimize side effects.