Three Connecticut startups have garnered as much as $150,000 apiece to scale up their mHealth innovations.
The fledgling companies are part of seven startups receiving as much as $1.05 million from Connecticut Innovations, which "helps Connecticut businesses grow through creative financing and strategic assistance."
The mHealth companies are:
1. InBox Health, of Madison, which is developing software "that simplifies doctor-patient communication, with an initial focus on digital bill delivery and acceptance of payments online." Company officials say their platform will automate much of the patient billing process, giving providers access to analytics and "insights into patient interaction with bills and payments," while patients will gain education on payment plans for large, out-of-pocket expenses.
2. Tangen Biosciences, of Branford, which is working on a point-of-care, DNA-based molecular instrument to diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis. Company officials say the device – the first in what they hope will be a line of molecular diagnostic instruments – will enable doctors to take sputum samples from patients in a clinical setting and receive diagnostic results within an hour.
3. Yingo Yango, of Weatogue, which is working on a technology platform that would enable employers and health plans to offer health and wellness resources to their employees and members through focused "health circles" or ecosystems of care. The low-cost service would offer tracking, analytic and assessment tools and integrate with existing intranets and patient portals.
Connecticut Innovations officials say they combine funding with other resources to help startups as well as established companies with innovations, contributing more than $4 billion in new financing to the state's economy and adding some 26,000 jobs.
Claire Leonardi, CEO of CI, said in a press release that these three latest investment mark a milestone of sorts.
“We have now invested in more than 50 companies through the fund since its launch in 2010," Leonardi said, adding that such pre-seed investments help build a pipeline of young businesses in Connecticut.
