emocha uses asynchronous video for medication adherence. The startup just raised $6.2 million in funding. Photo credit: emocha

A Johns Hopkins spinoff that uses asynchronous video visits to help people take their medications raised $6.2 million in funding.

Baltimore, Maryland-based emocha was started in 2016 to help healthcare workers treating patients with HIV and tuberculosis. Since then, the startup has expanded to support other conditions where medication adherence is important, such as asthma, diabetes and organ transplants.

The series A funding round was led by Claritas Health Ventures, with managing partner Theresa Sexton joining emocha’s board of directors. Other backers included Kapor Capital, PTX Capital, and Healthworx, the investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

”After 12 months of tremendous expansion, we are at an inflection point,” emocha CEO Sebastian Seiguer said in a news release. “Our new partners will enable us to help millions of infectious and chronic disease patients across the country take every dose of medication properly.”

In the last year, emocha said it has tripled its revenue. Tuberculosis is still a big part of the company’s work ?— it currently partners with more than 450 health departments on tuberculosis care.

Emocha is also striking new partnerships around other conditions. For example, it started working with a Medicaid managed care organization in Maryland, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Plan, to help members with diabetes or asthma manage their condition.

The company connects patients asynchronously with its team of nurses, pharmacists and health coaches, as well as their primary care provider. Patients submit a video of them taking their daily dose of medication, and can report side effects or other medication problems to go over with a pharmacist or nurse.

Taking its experience with infectious disease, emocha also built out an app to help healthcare workers track their temperature and record symptoms after a potential Covid-19 exposure. It works similarly, with daily check-ins with a care team, and was implemented at Johns Hopkins. 

Investors from Claritas and Healthworx cited emocha’s approach to medication adherence as part of the reason they decided to back the startup. It’s a big problem ?—  more than half of all medications are not taken as prescribed ?—  and while dozens of companies have tried approaches from sensor-embedded pills to “smart” pill dispensers, success has been limited.

“We know that establishing good health habits early significantly improves long-term outcomes and we’re looking forward to strategically supporting Sebastian and the emocha team in that effort,” Healthworx Venture Capital Director Doba Parushev said in a news release. “It’s clear this team brings the right mix of passion and empathy to drive results for people.”