Virta Health Raises $45 Million to Expand (Low carb) Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Reversal

[ringi]

see https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...rta-Health-Raises-45-Million-Expand-Treatment and https://blog.virtahealth.com/with-45-million-of-new-capital-virta-is-ready-to-accelerate-its-growth/

Medical supported low carb for Type2 diabetes is about to go big in the USA.....

 

[bulkbiker]

Great news.. and by the looks of most of the backers certain to gain some traction in North America.

 

[ringi]

They already have thousands of clients, and they only started taking people on last year. Unlike anyone else doing lowcarb, they have the funding to pay for adverts and to send salespeople out to see doctors etc..... And in the USA as people have to pay towards their drugs, most people with Type2 can save money by taking part.

What impressed me most, is that they are taking on people who are on high doses of insulin, helping them reverse type2, yet are getting fewer cases of Hypos then with "the current standard of care".

 

[xfieldok]

Perhaps there is light at end of the tunnel. If it is a raging success in the US, perhaps it will force other governments to re-evaluate their advice.

 

[rom35]

Perhaps there is light at end of the tunnel. If it is a raging success in the US, perhaps it will force other governments to re-evaluate their advice.

At this time it’s only for-profit company action, the path to goverment is still long. LCHF has notable success, so there is “make money” potential. Saving of state money is only marketing... Sorry for my scepticism.

 

[xfieldok]

Scepticism is healthy. But if this program is a runaway success and these patients are going to save thousands of $ on their meds, it might occur to someone that the NHS might save billions.

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Diabetes Forum mobile app

 

[ringi]

At this time it’s only for-profit company action, the path to goverment is still long. LCHF has notable success, so there is “make money” potential. Saving of state money is only marketing... Sorry for my scepticism.

You need to think about the way the USA health system works, most people get health coverage from their employer. The large employers "self-insure", and hence have to pay the complete health bill. VirtaHealth is mostly targeting these employers on the bases of their services being cheaper than the drugs. This is also the reasons that VirtaHealth is setup to provide complete support (including 24/7 doctor access), so they can take on the people with the most complex needs, and hence get the highest savings.

The maths does not work in UK, as the NHS pays a lot less for drugs then the USA, hence in the UK you need to look at savings over at least 5 years, if not 10 years, as it the cost of complications that is key to justifying high-cost interventions. (In the USA a lot of the cost of complications are paid for by the state, as people are no longer working by the time they get them.)

The best long-term savings come from getting people before they developer type2 into a program like TheLowCarbProgram, but you don't get the saving for many years, hence it may increase spending for the next 10 years if you rolled it out at NHS scale.

Let's remember that VirtaHealth funds and publishes the best low carb research that the rest of us makes use of. You can think of them as being like open source software, in that the information is given away for free, but you can choose to pay for support if you wish.

 

[kokhongw]

They have been pretty conservative so far. Hopefully they will be able to push the boundary of remission nearer to HbA1c 5%.

 

[ringi]

They have been pretty conservative so far. Hopefully they will be able to push the boundary of remission nearer to HbA1c 5%.

Remember that most of their clients have had type2 for a long time, often being on very high insilin doses. Hence a greatly improved a1c while cuting insulin and other drug usage by about 80% is very impressive.

People like most of us, can learn enough about low carb from their books and blog and hence not need to sign up with them.....

 

[Stemar]

It's ok to have trials that have a good outcome, but how long does it take to get through all the red tape, before the ones who need it will even get it, years is the answer,!!!

 

[bulkbiker]

It's ok to have trials that have a good outcome, but how long does it take to get through all the red tape, before the ones who need it will even get it, years is the answer,!!!

In the US money talks and if they are saving insurers money then the news will get out there fast...

 

[Mr_Pot]

Even more cost saving if people think "what do we need Virta Health for, we can do this low carb thing on our own".

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Even more cost saving if people think "what do we need Virta Health for, we can do this low carb thing on our own".

Virta’s website reports they help their patients enter a ketogenic state “by focusing on whole, real, and satisfying foods, with a high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate intake.”

I'm not knocking Virta in any way, they seem to be doing some decent research. From what I have read employer health care schemes are happy to provide the $400 a month cost. That's probably cheaper than the drugs they can hopefully stop taking.

For your money you get:
Regularly testing biomarkers like blood glucose and ketones.
Personalized recommendations based on your biochemistry, medications, and lifestyle.
Real-time monitoring that can help you optimize your food choices.
A Virta Health doctor who can work closely with primary care physician.
An EKG and lab work to obtain medical clearance, before paying the invoice.
Personal Health Coach
Supervising Physician
Community of Peers

All sounds very interesting, we already have a wonderful NHS who could do all of that, it's just that they're not all singing from the same song book at the moment.

I thought their cartoon video was quite good, perhaps that's me because I like things explained in an idiot proof way.

 

[ringi]

Think of it like open source software, the few people who pays for surport funds the rest of us to get the information for free. But we do often refuse to help poeple who are taking lots of drugs etc, hence the need for a service like they provide.

 

[Stemar]

In the US money talks and if they are saving insurers money then the news will get out there fast...

Hi Bulkbiker, How are you doing these days? I agree with you that money talks especially in the US, but unfortunately there are people in the controlling body (FAA) who are not financially motivated and it's these people who follow all the guidelines of the progress of the medication and this is why it takes more than five years from the beginning to the approval process, as they have trials within trials so they can list all the so called side effects, except the one that matters to those who could benefit from these medications, that being the end result.