Biofourmis is digital health's latest unicorn, after raising $300m

Biofourmis has raised $300 million in fourth-round financing, sending its value rocketing to around $1.3 billion and injecting some fresh momentum into the digital health sector after a slowdown in fundraising in the first quarter.

The Boston-based startup – which has a business model straddling digital therapeutics (DTx), artificial intelligence-powered patient management and provision of virtual care – said the Series D will be used to fund clinical trials of its DTx candidates, scale up its virtual care business and potentially fund M&A deals.

It also announced a heavyweight appointment, naming former CEO of medical device specialist Medtronic and chair of tech giant Intel – Dr Omar Ishrak (pictured) – as chairman of its board.

Biofourmis' CEO and founder Kuldeep Singh Rajput said that Ishrak's " vast experience, which includes leading one of the world's most successful medical technology companies, will be an incredible asset as we look to take our business to the next growth phase."

The new funding round takes the total raised to date by Biofourmis to $445 million, and was led by private equity firm General Atlantic, with support from existing investors including CVS Health.

The company said the additional buy-in from CVS points to growing recognition of the importance of the at-home care market among healthcare companies.

At the core of all its activities is an AI-based data analytics and biosensor platform that can be used to monitor patients, and how they respond to treatment. The core of the Biovitals platform was approved by the FDA in 2019, and has been extended into a series of disease-specific predictive management tools.

Last year, for example, the company became the first to win breakthrough status for a DTx product in the US, claiming the designation for BiovitalsHF, which uses software algorithms and wearable sensors to help direct drug treatment for heart failure patients.

Scaling up its virtual care offerings is a key priority for Biofourmis, including an extension of the business to include chronic health conditions, in addition to its current focus on using AI to manage patients in acute and post-acute care settings.

The company bundles all its offerings together into a virtual care platform, called Care@Home and co-developed with Brigham and Women's Hospital, which it says "enables providers and payers to remotely manage patients across the entire care continuum."

Commenting on his new role, Ishrak said: "Biofourmis continues to push the boundaries as it evolves virtual care from reactive to predictive models that deliver continuous care and better health outcomes to patients while improving efficiencies and lowering costs for healthcare organisations.

"It's a win-win that is a true differentiator in the market."