Digital Health Firm Protenus Secures $4 Million Series A Funding to Enhance EMR Privacy Protection

Digital health company Protenus recently announced that it has secured $4 million in Series A funding, which will be used to provide privacy protection solutions for electronic medical records (EMR). The round was led by Arthur Ventures, with participation from LionBird Venture Capital, DreamIt Ventures, Cognosante, TEDCO, and the Baltimore Angels.

Proteus was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California, dedicated to developing digital health products and providing consumers with personalized health management tools.

Over the past decade, Proteus has secured more than $300 million in total investment and developed a range of products, such as the ingestible sensor pill Helius. These products are capable of collecting various human metrics—including behavioral, physiological, and therapeutic data—and monitoring functions such as medication adherence, heart rate, sleep patterns, physical activity, and stress levels.

Currently, Proteus is collaborating with numerous leading companies and research institutes, including Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Novartis as partners in digital medicine for pharmaceuticals, and Vancive as a partner in consumer and medical wearable sensor products.

With the advancement of information technology, big data, electronic health records (EHRs), and electronic medical records (EMRs) are gradually replacing traditional methods of medical documentation. In response to the expanding coverage of EMRs, patients’ personal privacy and health information are receiving increasing attention and protection.

Protenus leverages advanced real-time analytics and detection technologies to help hospitals safeguard the privacy of information contained within patients’ electronic health records (EHRs), ensuring compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Protenus has developed a Privacy-as-a-Service platform, which includes an analytics engine designed to monitor unauthorized access and engage in continuous autonomous learning, as well as a next-generation forensics platform that provides essential information to privacy and security personnel. By reducing the cycle time for search, investigation, and resolution from months to minutes and eliminating noise that can obscure genuine threats, Protenus ensures that every patient is treated as a VIP—whether a high-profile celebrity or an ordinary family member—with their patient data effectively respected and protected.

“A critical aspect is that we have established an immune system for patient data, capable of determining whether current medical records are being accessed in an inappropriate manner,” emphasized Nick Bertelsen, founder of Protenus, in an official statement. “Our product helps enhance the capabilities and standards of health systems by providing deep insights into the rationale behind accessing medical records and ensuring proper access protocols, thereby raising awareness of whether viewing or using a specific patient’s medical or financial information complies with laws and regulations.”

Currently, Protenus safeguards healthcare data with the assistance of the Johns Hopkins University Health System, while Virginia’s Inova Health System and the Maryland regional health information exchange (HIE), CRISP, are also involved. The data exchanges facilitated by Protenus cover nearly all health systems in the Maryland region. Sage Growth Partners, based in Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland, is a healthcare consulting firm that provided advisory services to Protenus and supported the establishment of the CRISP pilot program. Since its inception, Protenus has partnered with Johns Hopkins University, an institution long committed to protecting patient privacy; this collaboration has served as a key catalyst in the product’s development.

“Fundamentally, we could not have found a better place than Baltimore to develop Protenus,” said Bertson. “With its vast and rich talent pool, a broad commercial community, and the emphasis placed on cybersecurity and health information by both state and local leaders, it is this extensive support that has enabled us to achieve our current success.”

Robert Lord and Nick, both former students at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, developed an effective method in 2014 to protect patient privacy and prevent unauthorized access to information. Before entering medical school, Nick served as a U.S. Army Special Forces operator, while Robert worked at Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund firm based in Westport. Later, Nick and Robert joined a diverse team comprising top data scientists, engineers, and designers. This team benefited greatly from the ecosystem in Baltimore and established their own company in the region.

By | Chen Kun