VeriMed secures $3 million in venture funding

VeriMed, a technology company that works to provide a secure, transparent and safe supply chain for controlled substances, today announced it has secured $3 million in venture funding. The financing was led by Fortis Capital Holdings, a private investment firm.

Through VeriMed's proprietary technology, stakeholders along the controlled substance supply chain – including doctors, wholesalers and pharmacists – may have access to HIPAA-compliant data in an effort to make the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances safer and more transparent. With VeriMed's technology, physicians can evaluate a patient's propensity to abuse and/or divert controlled substances prior to writing a prescription, as well as monitor a patient's adherence to that prescription. Additionally, VeriMed pharmacists utilize this data prior to dispensing to help, among other benefits, ensure compliance with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and to confirm the legitimacy of prescription being filled.

Funds from this financing round will be used to commercialize VeriMed's technology, which includes the VeriPak™, a blister pack for dispensing medication which records the date and time each pill is removed, so prescribing physicians can verify that patients are using the medication as directed. Additionally, funds will be used to commercialize VeriMed's Surveillance Pharmacy, a mail-shipment pharmacy which utilizes data to help mitigate the delivery of controlled substances to patients who have the potential to abuse or divert their medication.

"The abuse and diversion of opioid pain relievers now cause more deaths per year than automobile accidents, and costs the government and insurance providers billions of dollars.  VeriMed's technology will help to greatly reduce both abuse and diversion while still allowing patients who are truly in need of these medications the ability to receive them," said Philip Gaucher, founder and chief executive officer for VeriMed. "Physicians and pharmacists who prescribe and dispense these medications face serious liability if the medication ends up in the wrong hands. It is our goal to make sure that doesn't happen."

The VeriMed system begins in the pain physician's office; a patient takes the VeriMed Risk Assessment Test, which helps to identify the propensity for abuse, deception, and/or diversion. This information, along with other critical patient data, is aggregated in the VeriMed Information Portal, which uses predictive analytics to help flag at-risk patients. In addition, the physician then has the option to send a prescription to be filled at the VeriMed Surveillance Pharmacy, where the pharmacist also has access to the Information Portal data. If the patient is determined to be a risk, the provider can request the pharmacist dispense the medication in the VeriPak™, which provides a timestamp when medication is removed.  

SOURCE VeriMed