Omada Health, which just nabbed $48 million in new funding, expects to have "hundreds of thousands" of health plan enrollees using its digital health services by next year, CEO Sean Duffy says.

The San Francisco-based startup helps people with obesity-related chronic diseases get healthier. But it sells its services to health insurers and big employers, who benefit when their enrollees or employees make healthier choices.

About 20,000 patients use its platform currently, a number that's expected to jump by an additional 10,000 by year-end, Duffy told me this week. But by next year, he projects that "hundreds of thousands" of individuals will be using Omada Health to deal with chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes, in many cases before they reach the "tipping point" where they topple into experiencing the full-fledged medical condition.

Read More: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2015/09/omada-sean-duffy-digital-health.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_sanjose+%28Silicon+Valley+%2F+San+Jose+Business+Journal%29

NEW YORK and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMED), a clinical-stage company developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics, today presented preclinical data for the company's proprietary, wholly owned GITRL-Fc agent during the afternoon poster session of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference.

GITRL is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family of ligands and functions to activate the co-stimulatory receptor GITR (glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptors) to enhance T-cell modulated immune responses. OncoMed's GITRL-Fc agent is engineered using a novel single-gene linkerless GITRL trimer which enables effective GITR activation and robust anti-tumor immune response.
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"The single-gene linkerless trimer technology we have created provides a flexible platform for the design of additional immuno-oncology agents, including bispecific agents," said Austin Gurney, PhD, Senior Vice President of Molecular and Cellular Biology. "We observed improved activation of GITR and highly potent single-agent activity using our GITRL fusion protein, and also noted that GITRL-Fc shows strong additivity with other immune checkpoint blockers. These data demonstrate a powerful new class of immunotherapeutic agent."

Read More: http://investor.shareholder.com/oncomed/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=931976

Omada Health, which provides a digital program based on the landmark NIH diabetes prevention study, raised $48 million, bringing total funding to $77.5 million. The series C round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, and includes returning investors Andreessen Horowitz and US Venture Partners, among others. Accelerator-turned venture fund Rock Health which nurtured Omada in its first class of digital health startups, also reinvested.

In a significant vote of confidence, two of Omada’s customers, Humana HUM -2.29% and Providence Health & Services also joined the round. The two health plans started offering Omada’s Prevent program less than a year ago to their employees and members. Those who enrolled registered a weight loss of 4% to 6%. “It’s one if the key reasons that sparked their interest; they were thrilled with the results,” says Omada’s co-founder and CEO Sean Duffy. (Kaiser Permanente is another customer/investor.) 

Participants who are at risk of developing diabetes enroll in a 16-week program that focuses on healthy eating and exercise. They are placed in groups of 10 to 12, based on age, body mass index (BMI) and residence, and work with a “health coach” who tracks their progress and lends extra support. After completing Prevent, participants can continue to receive support.

Read More: ​http://www.forbes.com/sites/zinamoukheiber/2015/09/16/omada-health-which-pioneered-digital-therapeutics-raises-48-million-in-series-c-round/#264f592f59a7