Digital Behavioral Health Company NOCD Secures $4M Series A Funding to Expand Nationwide Service Network

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that digital behavioral health company NOCD recently announced the completion of a $4 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Chicago Ventures, with participation from 7Wire Ventures, Meridian Street Capital, and Hyde Park Angels.

This round of funding will be used to expand the service network across China, enabling them to provide effective treatment for every patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

NOCD is a Chicago-based digital behavioral health company dedicated to the identification and management of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The NOCD app serves as a resource for individuals who have or suspect they have OCD. It features a suite of self-help tools, including evidence-based Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) exercises, user forums for sharing and discussing symptoms, real-time guidance for tolerating distress during unexpected OCD flare-ups, and other OCD educational materials. Additionally, users can chat with OCD-trained mental health professionals directly within the app or locate specialists in their area. Data shows that NOCD completed a $1 million seed funding round on December 27, 2017, led by 7wire Ventures.

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) receive video-based diagnostic assessments and treatment from specially trained clinicians. A study currently underway at Columbia University Irving Medical Center indicates that this integrated model reduces OCD severity by an average of 40% within eight weeks, while decreasing healthcare service time per patient by 75%.

OCD is one of the top ten most disabling diseases worldwide, as identified by the World Health Organization. It is a chronic psychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 2.5%. OCD is characterized by the coexistence of conscious obsessions and counter-obsessions, where meaningless or even involuntary thoughts or impulses repeatedly intrude into patients’ daily lives. Patients with OCD are frequently misdiagnosed, and it takes an average of 9 to 11 years for them to receive evidence-based care.

Insufficient resources allocated to OCD treatment in the healthcare industry have led to a significant shortage of effective care. Among approximately 1,000 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), about 50% are lifelong sufferers who require annual treatment.

Peter Christman, Head of Chicago Ventures and a member of NOCD’s Board of Directors, stated, “The healthcare system facing individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is not designed to serve them. Stigma, misinformation, and neglect are the norm. NOCD is replacing this outdated engagement model with an end-to-end clinical service platform that puts patients first. The result is a transformative shift in how we identify and manage OCD.”

Chicago Ventures, a venture capital firm founded in 2012, primarily focuses on seed-stage investments in technology-related sectors.

7wire Ventures focuses on investing in early-stage and growth-stage companies that specialize in healthcare IT, digital health, and mobile health.

(Compiled by Tan Jiulin)