Value-based kidney care company Strive Health secured $166 million in Series C funding, which it will use to expand into new markets, the company announced Wednesday.

Denver, Colorado-based Strive Health works with payers (including commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicare), health systems, primary care groups and nephrologists. The company provides at-home and virtual support for chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease, dialysis and kidney transplant. It leverages technology and analytics to identify what disease stage patients are in, what the best interventions are, and connects the patients with a care team, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, case manager and care coordinator. 

“Our goal is to slow the progression of the disease,” said Chris Riopelle, CEO and co-founder of Strive, in an interview. “Our goal is to have those patients find their way to more transplants … and ultimately, if they need to choose to be on dialysis, they have a plan and orderly transition to that therapy in the future.”

The $166 million funding round was led by NEA and included participation from CVS Health Ventures, CapitalG, Echo Health Ventures, Town Hall Ventures, Ascension Ventures and Redpoint. In total, the company has raised more than $400 million.

CVS Health Ventures chose to invest in Strive due to its commitment to value-based care.

“Strive’s focus on value-based care aligns with CVS Health’s strategy to address the challenges within the U.S. healthcare system. Their differentiated approach has improved health outcomes for patients and driven success for all their customers, including their more than 600 nephrology partners,” said Vijay Patel, managing partner of CVS Health Ventures, in a news release.

With the funding, the company is “investing in growth into new markets and expanding in existing markets,” Riopelle said. It will also invest in its technology and analytics team, he added. Strive currently serves 80,000 chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease patients in 30 states.

The value-based company gets paid based on reducing costs for kidney care, which is mostly driven by reducing hospitalizations, emergency room visits and readmission rates. By reducing the total cost of care, Strive shares in the savings that are created, Riopelle said.

The news comes at a time when 37 million adults in the U.S. are suffering from chronic kidney disease, and many are undiagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We have decades of opportunity ahead of us to identify those patients, get them diagnosed, really deliver a higher quality and standard of care earlier in the disease state and improve their care journey,” Riopelle said. “By doing that, they live longer, they have more time with their families, they cost the health insurance system a lot less money, and everybody wins.”

Other kidney care companies include Monogram Health and Somatus.

Photo: peterschreiber.media, Getty Images