Zest Health secures $13M for alternative treatment for inflammatory skin disease

Zest Health, a virtual care company that treats patients with inflammatory skin diseases, announced it raised $14 million in seeding funding.
The round was led by Roivant Health, which incubated and participated in the investment.
WHAT IT DOES
Patients sign up for Zest’s services via its virtual platform and are offered individualized, reactive care.
Zest’s virtual, high-touch method uses patient data to identify prescription regimens, over-the-counter medications, lifestyle changes and preventative interventions. The aim is to provide more convenient and durable relief to patients.
In a statement, the company says that patients with skin diseases, such as eczema and psoriasis, rely too heavily on “overprescribed” expensive biologic medications.
Zest will use the funds to expand upon the company’s existing partnerships with health plans and employers.
“As a psoriasis patient myself, I know that the status quo fails to deliver ongoing support and lasting relief,” Zest Health CEO Olivia Deitcher, said in a statement.
“At Zest, we have flipped traditional dermatology care on its head by providing radical access and personalized care so flaring patients get expert help during and in between flares, without overreliance on biologics.”
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Other players in this space include Dario Health, which announced in 2024, a collaboration with an unnamed pharma company that leveraged DarioConnect (formerly Twill Care) to advance its direct-to-consumer initiatives using Dario’s engagement and navigation technologies.
The aim of the alliance is to gather critical insights on patient outcomes and drug effectiveness with Dario Connect’s community-building capabilities, thereby playing a role in increasing patient engagement.
The drug company, in an attempt to strengthen and broaden connections across patient populations that are candidates for a new drug to treat psoriasis, planned to use Dario to pilot an initiative aimed to help onboard patients via the platform who will engage with the drug.
Sidekick Health joined forces with pharma giant Pfizer in 2022 to launch an integrated digital therapeutics solution for Atopic Dermatitis (AD). The tool was initially rolled-out in the UK followed by Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Ireland and Japan. One of the challenges of treating AD is that patients’ adherence to treatment can be low.
Sidekick’s digital therapeutics platform aims to address this using gamification principles and behavioral economics to deliver treatment through care pathways that help inspire lasting behavioral change.
In 2021, Zerigo Health, maker of a connected phototherapy device for skin conditions, announced a $43 million Series B round led by 7wireVentures.
Investors in the round included General Catalyst, Dragoneer, Cigna Ventures, Leverage Health Solutions and Leaps by Bayer. Existing investors also participated, including SV Health Investors, H.I.G. Capital and Bluestem Capital. The company used the new funds to expand, particularly among payers.
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