Cohero Health Raises $9M in Series A to Expand At-Home Respiratory Disease Management Platform

On November 2, Cohero Health secured $9 million in Series A financing, led by Three Leaf Ventures, the healthcare technology investment subsidiary of the Broe Group, a diversified conglomerate based in Denver. Other participating investors included Zaffre Investments, the investment arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; GIS Strategic Ventures, the investment branch of Guardian Insurance; BioAdvance, a healthcare technology investment firm; and Haijin Dumeng Group. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of its proprietary respiratory disease management platform, BreatheSmart.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic lower respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are the third leading cause of death in the United States, with COPD alone imposing an economic burden of $36 billion on the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that respiratory diseases are among the most common conditions worldwide, affecting over 2.1 billion people and consuming a significant portion of physicians’ clinical time.

Chronic respiratory diseases require long-term attention to lung health in daily life, and the main reason for hospitalization is that patients do not follow medical advice to take control medications. Therefore, Cohero hopes to provide related devices and platforms to allow patients to conveniently track their lung function at home.

Smartphone-Connected Spirometers and Drug Inhalation Sensors

The company offers a range of products for patients with respiratory diseases: a spirometer approved by the FDA in 2015 that connects to smartphones, enabling tracking of peak expiratory flow and forced vital capacity measurements to monitor patients’ lung function; several medication inhalation sensors, including one called HeroTracker, which uses mobile software to track medication adherence; and a respiratory care app available in adult and pediatric versions, with the pediatric version using gamification to increase children’s interest in using inhalers. Cohero Health has established strategic partnerships with 25 medical research systems, hospital systems, healthcare payers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and pharmacy benefit managers, and recently announced a collaboration with ImagineCare at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which specializes in chronic disease management. Previously, the company partnered with Presspart, part of the Hekatron Group, to manufacture a metered-dose inhaler called eMDI.

Cohero believes that its integrated treatment solution, which tightly combines controller medications (primarily for asthma), rescue medications, and spirometers for measuring lung function, will enable it to stand out in the increasingly competitive respiratory care market.

The company will use the proceeds from its financing to collaborate with Three Leaf Ventures to further expand clinical trials and continuously optimize BreatheSmart, a monitoring system for patients with respiratory diseases. Dan Weinstein, Co-founder and COO, stated that an extended study conducted in partnership with the Mount Sinai Hospital’s respiratory disease management platform would soon yield “promising” results.

Dr. Melissa Manice, Co-Founder and CEO of Cohero Health, stated that they also intend to use the funds to accelerate commercial growth. Due to the limited market penetration of their products, many patients have not evenProactively reach out to them to express interest in acquiring the product.This is also the primary driving force behind Cohero Health’s efforts to secure financing and bring the BreatheSmart platform to widespread commercialization.

However, to achieve greater success in business development, Cohero must find ways to collaborate with the continuously evolving health insurance system. To successfully integrate with the medical reimbursement system, the product must have robust clinical performance data. Clinically validated data show that Cohero users’ adherence is 2.5 times higher than that of patients receiving standard treatment protocols, which is sufficient to enable its successful entry into the commercial market.

“Three Leaf Ventures invests in companies that are transforming the fragmented healthcare system through innovative approaches,” said Sean Kearney, Managing Director at Three Leaf Ventures. “Cohero Health combines hardware and software to collect critical clinical data, providing physicians and patients with a new tool for better management of respiratory diseases.” Kiki Broe of Three Leaf Ventures added, “Cohero Health’s BreatheSmart platform is unique because it serves a dual purpose: it not only tracks medication adherence but also incorporates quantitative, real-time lung function testing.”

As of the latest funding round, Cohero Health’s total known financing amounts to $11 million, with a total of 13 institutional investors and individual investors.

Cohero Health has disclosed a total of $11 million in funding to date.