The US healthcare system’s capability disaster has reached a breaking level in neurology, the place 145 million People with power neurological situations face common wait instances of 4-6 months to see a specialist, if they will discover one in any respect. This scarcity isn’t simply an inconvenience; it’s forcing tens of millions to cycle via emergency departments, endure preventable struggling, and watch treatable situations worsen whereas they wait. Neura Well being tackles this disaster head-on with a complete digital neurology platform that delivers appointments inside seven days, combining board-certified specialists with AI-powered workflows and steady care coordination. The corporate has already served over 43,000 sufferers nationwide, attaining a 73% discount in ER visits and a 66% improve in sufferers’ international impression of enchancment – outcomes that caught the eye of the American Coronary heart Affiliation’s Go Pink for Ladies Enterprise Fund, which made Neura its first-ever funding. With their current growth into reminiscence care addressing the important scarcity of cognitive neurologists (only one per million dementia sufferers), Neura is constructing the infrastructure layer that well being programs have to handle neurological care at scale.
AlleyWatch sat down with Neura Well being CEO and Founder Elizabeth Burstein to be taught extra in regards to the enterprise, its future plans, current $11.4M Sequence A spherical that brings whole funding to $21.7M, and far, rather more…
Who had been your buyers and the way a lot did you increase?
We raised a $11.4M Sequence A led by the American Coronary heart Affiliation’s Go Pink for Ladies Enterprise Fund, marking the fund’s first-ever funding. Extra individuals embody Norwest Enterprise Companions, Koch Disruptive Applied sciences, Esplanade Ventures, Pear VC, Correlation Ventures, and E12 Ventures.
Inform us in regards to the services or products that Neura Well being presents.
Neura is addressing an pressing unmet want for sub-specialty, patient-focused neurological assist. 145 million People dwell with a neurological situation, but the typical wait time for an appointment with a neurologist is at the least 4–6 months attributable to a nationwide supplier scarcity (American Academy of Neurology). Neura is closing the entry hole with a first-of-its-kind, complete platform that mixes digital visits with prime neurologists and neurological sub-specialists, alongside AI-powered workflows, an intuitive app with built-in symptom monitoring, streamlined care navigation, and customized schooling and training.
What impressed the beginning of Neura Well being?
Previous to founding Neura, I led product growth at LinkedIn, Maven Clinic, and Zocdoc, all of which uncovered me to the promise of expertise to do proper by sufferers. In March 2020, I grew to become affected person myself – I developed a sophisticated nerve entrapment situation. Regardless of having had 7 radiology exams, 3 rounds of bodily remedy, and 10 nerve blocks and epidural steroid injections, I’ve not discovered any efficient aid. The expertise has uncovered me to the fragmented system, challenges with specialist entry, and lack of integration with well being trackers. After diligently documenting my ache patterns on a Google sheet, I couldn’t discover a specialist to frequently interact with me on this knowledge to enhance remedy. I spotted how badly issues wanted to alter for sufferers and for the system at giant.
How is Neura Well being completely different?
Not like level options centered on only one situation or that provide text-only care, Neura’s care mannequin delivers accessible, complete neurological care constructed for each high-quality outcomes and high-touch assist, whatever the situation. Neura is the one tech-enabled care mannequin to assist the total spectrum of neurology situations, together with eight main situation classes: headache and migraine, epilepsy, power ache, concussion, stroke restoration, dementia, and undiagnosed neurological signs.
What market does Neura Well being goal and the way huge is it?
Neura is targeted on sub-specialty, patient-focused neurological assist. Over 145 million People undergo from power neurological situations, and in response to the American Academy of Neurology, there are solely roughly 21,000 neurologists throughout the US. This reveals us there’s a large alternative to assist these struggling entry assist, wherever they’re.
What’s your corporation mannequin?
Neura has cast partnerships with greater than 40 well being plans, together with Aetna, Blue Defend of California, Cigna, Sana, Anthem Blue Cross, TriWest, and Medicare, permitting us to combine seamlessly into the medical system and supply in-network remedy to sufferers. For others, we provide efficiency ensures or extra value-based care agreements.
We’ve additionally partnered with main well being programs like Sentara Well being to increase their bandwidth and deal with the widest array of neurological situations, and have referral partnerships with life sciences leaders reminiscent of Theranica and Otolith Labs. These are primarily payment for service agreements.
How are you making ready for a possible financial slowdown?
We’re taking needed precautions for our enterprise, together with minimizing pointless prices and maximizing our income. That mentioned, we consider that, as a result of we provide such a necessary piece of healthcare, well being plans will proceed to acknowledge and put money into our providing.
What was the funding course of like?
We had been actually energized and excited by the strategic synergies between Neura and the American Coronary heart Affiliation’s Go Pink for Ladies Enterprise Fund. The Go Pink for Ladies Enterprise Fund is targeted on situations that have an effect on girls distinctively, otherwise, or disproportionately, so Neura’s concentrate on many of those situations (migraine, stroke restoration, dementia, power ache) ties in nicely.
What are the most important challenges that you just confronted whereas elevating capital?
One of many largest challenges in elevating capital has been serving to buyers actually perceive our go-to-market. It’s not a easy, single-channel mannequin — now we have a multi-pronged method that touches sufferers, suppliers, and payers. That’s intentional, as a result of healthcare doesn’t transfer via one clear distribution path. Nevertheless it additionally means our story takes a bit of extra time to clarify.
A whole lot of buyers are inclined to bucket corporations into acquainted patterns — pure B2B, or D2C, or payer-focused — and we don’t match neatly into any a type of. The problem was exhibiting how the completely different elements of our mannequin reinforce one another, and why that complexity really creates sturdiness and scale over time. As soon as we discovered buyers who actually received that, the conversations clicked — they may see the larger image we had been constructing towards.
One of many largest challenges in elevating capital has been serving to buyers actually perceive our go-to-market. It’s not a easy, single-channel mannequin — now we have a multi-pronged method that touches sufferers, suppliers, and payers. That’s intentional, as a result of healthcare doesn’t transfer via one clear distribution path. Nevertheless it additionally means our story takes a bit of extra time to clarify.
A whole lot of buyers are inclined to bucket corporations into acquainted patterns — pure B2B, or D2C, or payer-focused — and we don’t match neatly into any a type of. The problem was exhibiting how the completely different elements of our mannequin reinforce one another, and why that complexity really creates sturdiness and scale over time. As soon as we discovered buyers who actually received that, the conversations clicked — they may see the larger image we had been constructing towards.
What elements about your corporation led your buyers to put in writing the test?
Our buyers had been drawn to a couple key elements that make our enterprise uniquely positioned to guide in neurological care supply. First, we’ve developed proprietary expertise that permits scalable bandwidth extension for clinicians — permitting well being programs to increase entry to high-quality neurological care with out including employees. This expertise isn’t only a workflow device; it’s a deeply built-in platform that helps analysis, monitoring, and administration throughout the total spectrum of neurological situations.
Second, we’re the one answer out there designed to function a real bandwidth extender for a whole neurology division, not only for one or two area of interest situations. That breadth is important for big well being programs, the place neurological sufferers current with all kinds of problems — and the place operational effectivity and scientific consistency are important.
In the end, buyers noticed that we’re constructing not only a product, however the infrastructure layer that well being programs will depend upon to handle neurological care at scale.
What are the milestones you intend to realize within the subsequent six months?
For the following six months, we’re centered on forging partnerships with extra well being plans, well being programs, and clinics throughout the nation and reaching extra sufferers. We’ll additionally proceed to put money into our scientific mannequin and workforce.
Moreover, we’re constructing the inspiration for long-term scientific breakthroughs. Neura is aggregating one of many largest real-world proof datasets in neurology, centralizing outcomes, signs, and remedy knowledge which have lengthy been siloed throughout the healthcare system. This yr, we’ll proceed to construct this dataset, pushing towards our long-term objective of discovering life-changing medical options by studying from the expertise of each neurology affected person.
What recommendation are you able to supply corporations in New York that don’t have a recent injection of capital within the financial institution?
If your organization doesn’t presently have a brand new injection of capital within the financial institution, the very best plan of action is to sluggish your burn and concentrate on scaling profitably. This implies rigorously evaluating spending, extending your runway, and prioritizing actions that generate sustainable income somewhat than speedy, inefficient development.
In parallel, conduct first ideas consumer analysis — return to the basics of your buyer wants and validate whether or not your corporation or product is actually distinctive among the many competitors. Deeply understanding your customers and differentiating your providing will place you to develop extra effectively and appeal to capital below stronger phrases later.
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