Nori Health Raises New Investment in Fight for Better Chronic Bowel Disease Care
The European digital therapeutic startup will fund its ongoing clinical evidence efforts and access to market.
AMSTERDAM, December 22, 2021 (Newswire.com) - There is a 30% difference in quality of life between people with chronic conditions, such as Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis, and healthy individuals. According to startup Nori Health, this gap can be bridged by providing digital support to patients in addition to traditional care. Healthy.Capital announced today that it made a follow-up investment in Nori Health to support this mission.
Patients with Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis (IBD) currently struggle to maintain condition-related care in between doctor visits. Nori Health, a digital therapeutic startup, set out to help solve this problem by developing a patient-centric program.
The value of digital therapy apps
According to scientific research on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), digital therapy apps can significantly improve the quality of life of patients with inflammatory-like conditions.
These insights, together with current developments within IBD research, have been translated into digital companion Nori, provided as a six-week digital therapy program in close partnership with pharmaceutical companies.
Innovation driven by patients
Roeland Pater, founder of Nori Health and champion of healthcare innovation, is a Crohn's patient himself. With his drive and experience, he has a clear vision: "Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a clear effect on controlling symptoms, as well as counteracting them. At the moment, a lot of work is still being done with traditional methods such as filling in questionnaires to map out a disease. But we want to gain more insight into the course of the disease, into the drivers of symptoms, and how to counteract them. This will allow us to really reduce the 30% difference in quality of life for patients, which I have personally experienced as well."
Daniëlle van der Horst, of the Crohn & Colitis NL patient association, adds: "As a patient association, we see added value in the use of digital support for people with Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis. The Nori Health app is a good example of an accessible digital tool that can offer people personal guidance."
Investment by Dutch VC Healthy.Capital
The primary reason Healthy.Capital invests in Pater and his team is that a product such as Nori Health has the opportunity to structurally change the care for IBD patients by putting quality of life and healthy behavior change at the center of the treatment.
Douwe Jippes, co-founder and managing partner at Healthy.Capital shares: "For patients, a diagnosis of Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis means that they have to live every day with a serious condition, and this completely changes their life. We see that there is no quality treatment support available between doctor visits. For example, pharmaceutical companies do not offer digital support when taking anti-inflammatories. In our view, Nori Health will fill that gap and improve the quality of life of many people."
For more information: https://norihealth.com
Source: Nori Health