citybiz+ Ryse Health Raises $6.5 Million Series A Led by Route 66 Ventures

Ryse Health, which offers hybrid treatment for Type 2 diabetes with clinics in Arlington, Va., and Baltimore, has raised $6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Alexandria, Va.-based Route 66 Ventures. Also joining the round were Boston-based W Health and Baltimore-based Healthworx, the investment unit of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Both W Health and Healthworx firms backed Ryse Health in a seed round in 2022.

“The traditional way of treating Type 2 diabetes isn’t working; it’s expensive, the patient experience is poor, and fails to provide care for millions of Americans in need,” said Ryse Health co-founder and CEO Richard Gurley, a former McKinsey executive with wide-ranging healthcare experience. “We started with a blank slate, and in only 18 months, we have built a model of care, tailored to patients’ needs and preferences, that’s raising the bar on health outcomes and delivering an unmatched patient experience.”

Arlington, Va.-based Ryse’s hybrid model combines in-person visits with tech-enabled virtual care. It accepts only users with HbA1C levels — average blood glucose levels for the last 2-3 months — higher than 8. It then equips every patient with a continuous glucose monitor and provides access to a large team of doctors, dietitians, therapists and health coaches.

This model, Ryse says, claims up to 50% better outcomes than models based solely on either traditional or virtual care. That claim is based on average 2-point decrease in HbA1c in 90 days, and a low patient size of just 440, according to Axios.

“We need new and innovative approaches to treating chronic diseases – and we are thrilled to partner with Ryse Health as they develop a next-generation model of care for Type 2 diabetes,” said Pat Wilson, a partner at Route 66 Ventures.

“We are confident that this Series A funding will help Ryse accelerate and scale its business, expand its network of partners and service area, and continue to change the lives of people with Type II diabetes,” he added.

Ryse’s Backers

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Route 66 was founded in 2012 by Ryan Katz, who serves as the firm’s managing partner. It specializes in investing in healthcare and financial services firms. For a decade until 2010, Katz served as CEO of San Diego, Calif.-based Goal Financial, a lending platform for federally backed student loans. So far, Route 66 has made over 70 portfolio investments and exited more than 10. Its recent portfolio investments include EarthOptics, Inflow, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Sensorium Therapeutics and Ordaos Bio.

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Baltimore-based Healthworx’s founder is former McKinsey executive Doba Parushev, a graduate of Harvard Business School, according to Crunchbase. The firm has made 20 investments so far. Its recent portfolio investments include Culina Health, Socially Determined, Frame Fertility and Xploro.

Boston-based W Health has made 11 portfolio investments since its founding in 2022 by IT entrepreneur Sunil Wadhwani. Its other recent investments include Elevate Now, BeatO, Wysa, Kins and Myto.