Digital health startup Sempre Health snags $15M in Series B funding to reduce medication costs for patients with chronic diseases

Sempre Health, a Silicon Valley-based health tech startup that is bringing behavior-based, dynamic pricing to healthcare, announced today it has closed $15 million in Series B funding to improve medication affordability and reduces medication costs for patients with chronic disease also expands to serve patients nationwide.

The round was led by the Blue Venture Fund – a unique collaboration among Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Sandbox, to which thirty-five BCBS companies have committed over $890 million across four funds. Other backers include UPMC Enterprises and existing investors Rethink Impact, LifeForce Capital, and Industry Ventures.

Sempre will also use the financial proceeds from this funding to advance its two-sided network of payors and pharma manufacturers nationwide and further grow the number of chronic disease patients Sempre can help better afford and access their medications. Unlike traditional coupons and cash card programs, Sempre aligns multiple healthcare stakeholders to dynamically adjust a patient’s out-of-pocket costs at the point of fill, based on individual adherence and benefit design.

Founded in 2015 by Anurati Mathur and Swaraj Banerjee, Sempre is a woman-founded company that brings dynamic pricing to healthcare. This allows patients to afford care for longer, which directly improves clinical outcomes/quality measures while reducing utilization/cost.

For example, patients receive texts like, “If you fill your prescription today, you’ll pay $10. If you wait until next week, this could go back up to $30.” Additionally, Sempre also parses millions of prescription records to identify unique patient behaviors. We use this data to predict and seamlessly deliver the right price for the right patient to every pharmacy in the country. At the same time, we’re generating the first-ever real-world dataset on patient price sensitivities and cost behaviors.

“Sempre sits at a key intersection between payors, pharma, and patients,” said Matt Downs, Managing Director of the Blue Venture Fund. “We are excited to partner with Sempre as they are uniquely positioned to tackle the challenge of patient drug affordability and adherence.”

Data from one of Sempre’s programs with a large pharmaceutical company suggest that this unique position really pays off. Patients opted into the Sempre program at industry-leading enrollment rates, with over one in three invited patients choosing to enroll. Over a two-year period, enrolled patients who were offered incentives to refill and pick up their diabetes medications on time, saved on average $300 per year on their out-of-pocket costs, and filed on time at a rate of 94 percent. These savings and on-time fill directly support improved patient health and better outcomes for Sempre’s partners.

“We are thrilled to work with this accomplished group of healthcare investors who understand our partners, our marketplace, and our commitment to helping people afford and take their medications as prescribed,” said Anurati Mathur, CEO of Sempre Health. “The significance and value of Sempre’s distinctive approach have only grown given the current economic crisis we are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to working together with Blue Venture Fund and UPMC Enterprises as we embark on our next phase of growth and continue to fundamentally change medication affordability and access in the United States.”