Digital behavioral health companies have raised billions of dollars, with many even becoming household names.
Most of these new companies focus on low-acuity conditions such as anxiety and moderate depression. But the serious mental illness (SMI) space may be ripe for innovation. The economic impact of SMIs is more than $300 billion each year, according to SMI Advisor.
A new nonprofit accelerator called One Mind is looking to incubate behavioral health start-ups focused on addressing some of the biggest challenges in SMI care.
“I think there are parts of digital solutions that can actually be really great for serious mental illness,” Carmine DiMaro, director of One Mind Accelerator, told Behavioral Health Business. “We’ve been talking to some startups that are providing education on peer support and family support, and the digital model is really great for that. So I think it can actually make it easier to do these high-touch solutions for people.”
Due to the nature of SMI care, there needs to be both in-person resources and a digital component, Pushkar Suresh, director of strategy and science at One Mind, told BHB.
“Given the complexity and nature of SMI, it always has to be high tech combined with high touch. It can’t be one or the other,” Suresh said. “We are going to require every tool in our arsenal to address SMI [with] digital tools, whether it’s monitoring, whether it’s participation in these online platforms, even some aspects of care delivery. But it will always be supplemented by the hands-on care that is absolutely critical to recovering from SMI.”
Several MCH-focused providers have begun to integrate new virtual modalities into care. For example, Valera Health, which offers a number of mental health services treating patients with mild to severe conditions, has both virtual and in-person options for patients.
Additionally, digital mental health company Akin is focused on bringing together caregivers of people with SMI virtually.
While most of SMI’s attention occurs in the public sector, Suresh said the private sector could offer a new perspective on innovation in the space.
“I think it can bring the speed that is required and the deployment of some of this innovation. The academy can only take it so far,” Suresh said. “But what companies bring is that agility and that pressure testing of ideas in the real world. I think that’s the key role that the private sector plays here, and we all need to act with a sense of urgency here.”
The SMI space has also seen a number of private startups enter the space. Vanna Health, an SMI-focused startup led by Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of mental health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Dr. Giovannia Colella, co-founder of OODA Health, Brightline, and Castlight, is looking to bring the industry for-profit community-based SMI care approach.
Insel previously told BHB that being able to prove cost-effectiveness could allow community-based SMI programs to scale.
The private sector may also provide new funding for MCH care that exceeds public funding.
“I think last year, adventure [firms] put almost 2 times the budget of [National Institutes of Health Mental Health] within [the sector]Suresh said. “That’s the power of adventure. The other thing it brings is new ways to reach people with SMI, new innovations and new mechanisms of…results-based approaches for companies, where you are compensated for results, not just service delivery.”
The private sector could also help scale new innovations for SMI patients. In turn, this could help companies bring their solutions to more people, DiMaro said.
One Mind Accelerator is now accepting applications for its first cohort. The accelerator will select 10 companies to participate in its program, with each of the startups receiving an investment of $100,000. The accelerator, in exchange, will obtain 5% of ordinary shares in those companies.
However, if a company has already raised a substantial amount of capital, the team is open to negotiations.
Companies are likely to focus on a number of different aspects, including artificial intelligence for targeted therapies, psychedelics, metabolic psychiatry and others.
Participating startups will be able to get critical support, such as setting key performance indicators. The accelerator will also help start-up leaders meet stakeholders within the SMI ecosystem, including patients with lived experiences, providers, and significant contributors. Lastly, it is designed to support startups with fundraising and connecting with investors.
“When you get the right treatment at the right time, the results are there for all to see,” Suresh said. “The question is, how do you democratize that? And that’s why we launched this accelerator. We believe that companies are the best way to democratize access to this gold standard approach.”
Although an increasing number of companies in the digital space are looking to deal with SMI, there have been concerns about virtual providers in the past. Following public criticism and a Justice Department investigation into its prescribing practices, digital mental health company Cerebral has doubled down on its goal of treating SMI.
“It’s not mild to moderate depression, anxiety, patients who use an app to meditate and want to see a health coach from time to time. That’s not where value-based care will really take hold,” Dr. David Mou, CEO of Cerebral, previously told BHB. “It’s going to take hold for patients who are in and out of hospitals, suicidal, in and out of emergency rooms, losing jobs, and because of this they may be disconnected from care or unable to find care. So that’s where we want to focus.”
The company came under more criticism last week when the Wall Street Journal reported that a minor treated by the company without parental consent had been prescribed an antidepressant with a warning label for teenagers. The teenager later died by suicide.
