Trellus Health, a resilience-driven digital health solution for chronic conditions, announced that it has raised $5 million of seed funding led by Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) and EKF Diagnostics, a global medical manufacturer of point-of-care and central lab devices and tests.
The company will use the funds to transform the way chronic conditions are treated, with an initial focus in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Trellus has also entered into an exclusive multi-year contract with MSHS to commercialize its patent pending GRITT-IBDTM resilience assessment and personalized treatment methodology.
“We are transforming the way chronic conditions are treated by developing a resilience-driven connected care platform that integrates precision medicine with psychosocial care,” said Monique Fayad, CEO of Trellus Health. “The traditional journey of medical care for people living with chronic conditions typically results in repeated costly, unplanned emergency room visits and hospitalizations, high rates of work absenteeism and lost productivity, as well as chronic disability and behavioral health issues. We’re working to change this by focusing on building patients’ resilience while integrating all partners in care, including employers, insurance plans, health systems, Trellus-certified GI providers, nurses, psychologists, and dieticians who can utilize Trellus Health’s proprietary platform to effectively monitor and communicate with patients and their caregivers in real time.”
The first chronic condition that Trellus Health will address is IBD, one of the costliest chronic conditions with a high mental health burden, affecting 3 million patients in the U.S. (7 million globally) and costing the U.S. healthcare system over $30 billion a year, according to the Cost of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Initiative From the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation 2019. Since 2016, the company’s co-founders, Marla Dubinsky, MD, and Laurie Keefer, PhD, who together bring close to 50 years of experience managing IBD and serve as co-directors of the Mount Sinai IBD Medical Home, have integrated resilience-driven multi-disciplinary care into the management of IBD patients.
“Our research on over 200 IBD patients indicates that more than 70% believe their condition would be better managed if they had support for anxiety or depression,” said Marla Dubinsky, who along with being a co-founder and board member, is also a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Chief of Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and co-director of Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center at Mount Sinai. “By personalizing care to address the psychosocial needs of all IBD patients and applying the latest evidence-based clinical approaches, we can help patients achieve disease control and enjoy a significantly improved quality of life.”
“Crohn’s disease was discovered at Mount Sinai by Dr. Burrill Crohn nearly 100 years ago, and the System has made great strides in enhancing the the standard of care and outcomes for our patients,” said Erik Lium, President, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Innovation Officer at Mount Sinai. “We’re pleased to partner with Trellus Health to advance commercial development of a resilience-driven approach and connected care model for treating IBD and other complex chronic conditions, making Mount Sinai’s technology available to more patients.”
“Dr. Keefer’s important research utilizing the GRITTTM Method at the Mount Sinai IBD Center shows first-hand how resilience-driven multidisciplinary care significantly reduces unplanned care,” said Julian Baines, CEO of EKF Diagnostics. “We are excited to support Trellus in helping millions of people reduce their disease burden and improve their overall well being.”
Trellus Health claims to be a leading pioneer in resilience-driven care for people with complex chronic conditions. Through its multidisciplinary connected care platform, Trellus coordinates expert whole-person care, including both clinical and behavioral health, to improve outcomes and to reduce healthcare costs for patients, employers, and the healthcare system.
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