Shani Bocian, co-founder and CEO of allergy telehealth company Allermi, is a “lifelong allergy sufferer.”
“I’ve had allergies since I was a little baby … I’ve always had nasal issues and nasal congestion and eczema and asthma and the whole gamut,” Bocian said in an interview.
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But luckily for Shani, she was able to receive care from her father, Dr. Robert Bocian, who is an allergist and associate professor of allergy-immunology at Stanford. And after launching San Francisco-based Allermi in July, the two are now turning to help the 110 million other Americans who also suffer from allergies and rhinitis through its direct-to-consumer, personalized nasal spray. The company secured $3.5 million in seed funding, which it will use to grow its reach, the startup announced last week.
The funding round was led by Nelstone Ventures and included participation from FourSight Capital Partners. Nelstone Ventures chose to invest in Allermi because of its focus on personalized treatment, said Rich Nelson, founder and managing director of the investor.
“We first met the Allermi team nearly a year ago and were intrigued by their approach to improving patient care for rhinitis and allergy sufferers through their customized solutions and telemedicine offering,” Nelson said in a news release.
Allermi will use the funding to grow its presence nationally, Shani said. Its services are currently available across 28 states.
“This funding will primarily be used to expand our current business model to more people,” she said. “We’ve touched several thousand sufferers, but there are literally tens of millions of people out there who need this medication.”
Allermi customers start by filling out an online questionnaire, which is reviewed by an Allermi physician. The physician takes into account factors like symptom severity and the patient’s medical history, and then prescribes a nasal spray that is personalized to the patient’s needs. The nasal spray and a salinity spray for moisturizing the nasal passage are delivered to the patients by mail. Patients can also message the medical team for ongoing care. A one-time purchase for Allermi’s services costs $50, while a subscription is $35 a month.
“It’s their custom-made allergy formula that’s made for them and then if they’re not getting the most optimal relief, they think they can do better, we can change that formula because it’s custom,” Shani said. “We can increase an ingredient or decrease an ingredient, add one or take one away. All of that just ends up kind of like if you were to get a custom tailored suit that was made for you. Think of that, but your allergy medication.”
The customization of its nasal spray is what sets Allermi apart from other allergy medications like Flonase and Sudafed, Shani declared. These medications also don’t treat the full range of symptoms that people with allergies or rhinitis often suffer from, she said. Shani ultimately hopes to replace these medications with Allermi.
“To fully treat all of those symptoms so that you’re getting full symptom relief, you actually need several different medications that each have different physiological functions,” Shani said. “But in the current market, you can only buy those medications separately … What you end up having is people who can’t take care of their allergies the right way because it’s just too complicated.”
Photo Credit: Estradaanton, Getty Images
