MedCitizens

StartUPDATES: New Developments for Healthcare Startups

Check out new developments from Carrum Health, Strive Health, Abridge and Concerto Biosciences.

Carrum Health and AccessHope are partnering to increase access to high-quality, cost-effective cancer expertise. Self-insured employers and their employees will now have access to insights from AccessHope’s network of cancer specialists through Carrum Health’s comprehensive oncology offering. The collaboration offers remote expertise from national specialists knowledgeable in the latest cancer discoveries for review of diagnoses, treatment plans and personalized precision medicine opportunities for all forms of cancer, as well as access to experienced oncology nurses who can offer information and support. The partnership also rounds out the recently announced collaboration with City of Hope.

“We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our employer clients that are realizing significant financial savings and improved outcomes for their employees through Carrum Health’s comprehensive cancer bundles. And we have seen greater demand for even more access to top-rated oncology care across the U.S.,” said Sach Jain, CEO and founder of Carrum Health. “Our collaboration with AccessHope accelerates Carrum Health’s oncology footprint on a national scale. Now the majority of our members can benefit from the expertise of top cancer specialists, regardless of where they live.”

Through AccessHope, Carrum Health members can leverage the expertise of National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, including City of HopeDana-Farber Cancer InstituteEmory Healthcare and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Northwestern Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. AccessHope services for Carrum Health members will include Expert Advisory Review and Cancer Support Team.


Healthcare startup Abridge has inked a deal with nonprofit health plan Priority Health. As part of the deal, Priority Health includes Abridge in its list of supplemental benefits for all Individual Medicare Advantage and Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan members to help them follow through on their care plans. Abridge uses AI to structure and summarize information from spoken conversations.

“We want to make it easier for our members to take action in their personal health journey by providing the necessary tools and resources,” said Scott Norman, vice president of Medicare at Priority Health. “Abridge is a vital component of our programs designed to keep members healthy. Our partnership will support our longstanding commitment to bring our members innovative benefits that will help drive better individual health outcomes.”

To red more, click here.


Strive Heath, which developed a kidney care support framework using an integrated care delivery system to support the patient journey from chronic kidney disease to end-stage kidney disease, has agreed to a collaboration with Southern California Kidney Consultants (SCKC).

As part of the deal, Strive and SCKC share in the financial benefits, management and governance of risk contracts with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans and Independent Physician Associations (IPAs), with the goal of improving outcomes and reducing costs, according to a press release.

Strive made a similar deal earlier this year with Nephrology Associates of Northern Illinois and Indiana (NANI).

To read more, click here.


Concerto Biosciences, a biotech developing microbial communities that restore deficient microbiomes to treat disease, has raised $23 million in a Series A round led by Safar Partners and with participation from Horizons Ventures and M Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany).

The funding will be used to advance its first product through first-in-human studies, accelerate the discovery platform, and leverage the platform to expand its line of products in partnership with other companies, according to a press release.

To read more, click here.

Photo: Urupong, Getty Images