NuvoAir, a digital health startup that helps people with ongoing respiratory illnesses manage their health, announced Tuesday it raised $12 million in fresh funding. The Series A was led by longtime healthtech investor AlbionVC, and caps off a year of massive growth for the Boston-based company.
In the first quarter of 2021 alone, NuvoAir says it experienced 500 percent growth, attributing much of its success lately to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused demand for virtual care to increase. Plus, NuvoAir’s tech can be used in clinical trials — another area that went remote amid the pandemic.
Basically, NuvoAir works by gathering data from a Bluetooth-enabled device that remotely monitors lung function, a sensor that attaches to inhalers and a device that integrates with Fitbit. Patients and their doctors can use this data to monitor their health in real-time and make more informed decisions about things like medication. The goal is to help patients (as well as health plans, insurance companies and healthcare systems) reduce the cost of managing illnesses like COPD and asthma, while allowing these parties to better manage the care they provide.
NuvoAir says more than 500 million people globally suffer from chronic conditions like asthma, cystic fibrosis and COPD, and it costs $300 billion a year to manage them. So there is a lot of room for innovation here. Other startups like Sonde Health and Kaia Health have made strides in this area too.
To date, NuvoAir has partnered with various providers across the U.S., U.K. and Europe, including Harvard Boston Children’s Hospital, King’s College Hospital in London and Regeneron. It has also helped carry out clinical trials in more than 20 countries. This latest funding round will allow NuvoAir to expand its services even further and develop new products.
“The growing demand for our solution and the possibility to serve more patients in need, drives and motivates our team,” founder and CEO Lorenzo Consoli said in a statement. “Thanks to this financing round we will be able to further expand our technology, data science and clinical service capabilities to empower more people with chronic conditions to live a better life.”
