UPMC Enterprises Invests in Predictive Analytics Startup RxAnte
Portland, Maine-based predictive analytics company RxAnte has received a growth equity investment from UPMC Enterprises, the commercialization arm of the UPMC health system in Pittsburgh.
Under the terms of the transaction closed on Sept. 30, Millennium Health sold its entire interest in RxAnte, which will continue to operate as an independent company, led by its existing management team.
Founded in 2011, RxAnte’s technology and clinical services focus on solutions to improve the use of prescription medications. The investment by UPMC Enterprises will facilitate product development in collaboration with clinical experts at UPMC and accelerate growth, according to a UPMC press release.
The UPMC Health Plan has been a customer of RxAnte for the past three years. According to UPMC officials, use of RxAnte’s solutions have optimized medication use, saving excess medical costs and directly contributing to the plan’s superior Star Rating performance on medication adherence measures by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“RxAnte’s technology and services have been a key driver of our stellar performance in ensuring that our members receive the appropriate medications for their conditions, leading to better patient outcomes and effective cost management,” William Shrank, M.D., chief medical officer for the UPMC Insurance Services Division, said in a statement. “With UPMC’s clinical expertise and the Health Plan’s strength in analytics, we look forward to supporting RxAnte’s product development and advancing our joint goal of providing the highest value from prescription medications.”
RxAnte currently manages medication use for nearly 7 million people on behalf of health insurers, providers and other stakeholders confronting the challenge of improving safe and effective prescription drug use.
RxAnte’s priorities with this new investment include expanding its offerings for Medicare, Medicaid and commercial populations, with particular focus on analytics and clinical programs that lower total cost of care. The company also intends to extend its predictive models and workflow tools to the management of high-cost specialty drugs.
“Improving medication use is increasingly recognized as one of the biggest but most challenging opportunities to improve patient outcomes while reducing health care costs,” Tal Heppenstall, president of UPMC Enterprises, said.
Josh Benner, founder and chief executive officer of RxAnte, said in a prepared statement, “This is a major milestone for RxAnte that will expand the breadth and depth of the analytics and population health management solutions we provide.”
