First Mile Care Secures $2M Seed Funding to Expand Prediabetes Prevention Platform

On October 15, 2018, VCBeat (WeChat ID: VCbeat) learned that First Mile Care had secured a $2 million seed funding round, with Silicon Valley healthcare innovation firm Health2047 participating in the investment. Further details of the financing have not been disclosed. First Mile Care is the second spin-off company established by Health2047 in 2018. Previously, Health2047 invested $10 million to launch its first spin-off, Akiri, in 2017. Akiri is dedicated to developing blockchain-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) network solutions for the healthcare industry.

First Mile Care focuses on the prevention and management of prediabetes (a precursor to type 2 diabetes characterized by elevated blood glucose levels), building an affordable, scalable, and sustainable platform to improve the lives of individuals with prediabetes. Currently, First Mile Care is developing its initial platform product to facilitate peer-to-peer community service connections for patients with chronic conditions.

Image from the official website of Health2047

First Mile Care’s platform is developed based on the concepts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP). First Mile Care will establish a certified coach network platform, known as First Mile Coaches, covering 42,000 ZIP codes across the United States. Leveraging demographic data specific to each ZIP code, the platform matches patients with fitness coaches who take into account potential social and geographic determinants to identify target individuals with prediabetes. Subsequently, coaches provide patients with a 10-week lifestyle intervention program consisting of one-hour weekly sessions aimed at preventing diabetes. This approach helps modify patients’ lifestyles and reduces the risk of progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Compared with placebo interventions, this platform method can reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes among patients by 58%.

Karl P. Ronn, CEO and Founder of First Mile Care, stated, “The majority of healthcare spending is directed toward treating chronic diseases, whereas the real challenge lies in how we can prevent them. Currently, there are 30 million individuals with type 2 diabetes in the United States, incurring annual treatment costs as high as $327 billion, along with 84 million individuals with prediabetes. First Mile Care aims to bring together these 84 million prediabetic patients as extensively as possible, empowering them to prevent chronic diseases through self-management. Ultimately, our platform will be integrated into the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), enabling physicians to confidently recommend our services to their patients.”

Lawrence Cohen, CEO of Health2047, stated: “Health2047 is committed to developing system-level solutions for the most significant challenges in health insurance, and First Mile Care’s platform is key to transforming the current state of chronic disease coverage and saving the U.S. healthcare industry trillions of dollars.”

First Mile Care, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, is a chronic disease prevention and care company dedicated to developing affordable, scalable, and sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life for individuals with prediabetes. The First Mile platform delivers personalized guidance within communities, providing people with coaches, tools, and resources to lead healthier and better lives. By integrating demographic data collected by organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into its unique “First Mile” platform and leveraging its expertise, the company significantly reduces the incidence of chronic diseases among the U.S. population.

Health2047, founded in 2015 and headquartered in California, USA, is dedicated to driving a comprehensive transformation of the U.S. healthcare system. The company’s primary areas of focus include data interoperability, chronic disease care management, significant productivity enhancements, and value-based payment models. Health2047 has established strong relationships with the American Medical Association (AMA) and its strategic partners, facilitating profound transformation within the healthcare sector.