Enara Health, the holistic weight management platform that is building a healthcare network to scale medical obesity treatment announced today $6M in seed funding led by Offline.VC and with Charge.VC, Crossover.VC, Continuum.VC, VSC Ventures, and notable angels including Raj Kapoor, Kevin Mahaffey, and Matt Brezina. Combined, these investors bring experience in top companies such as Tonal, Lyft, ClassPass, and FitMob. The funds will be used to scale Enara's medical obesity treatment and expand its current network of 30 healthcare providers and specialists.
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Obesity is a silent epidemic that, despite being a top health issue around the world, is consistently neglected and stigmatized in the medical field. More than 110 million American adults have obesity. Obesity-related conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes are among the leading causes of 2.8 million preventable deaths annually. Obesity was one of the leading risk factors for COVID 19 hospitalizations and death. CDC models estimate that, between March and November of 2020, 30.2% of Covid-related hospitalizations were attributed to obesity.
Designed to be judgment-free, without diets, fads, or surgery, Enara's program intervenes at precision moments in a patient's weight loss journey to find the right therapy at the right time. It uses data and emerging science to custom design user programs, focusing on the whole person and considering factors such as sleep, stress, mood, metabolic profiles, and physical activity.
“I was desperate after I was fat-shamed by two healthcare professionals,'' says Enara user Rose Payán. “Although I had maintained a 40lb weight loss for four years, and an overall 80lb weight loss for over 10 years, it was not considered enough by my medical specialist. Fortunately, my search for a weight loss program led me to Enara. I listened to Dr. Bailony's Ted Talk on the many factors contributing to weight loss and new medical advances in weight management and cried as I saw there was hope. Enara's holistic approach made me feel seen as a complete person and supported in my health journey. They immediately connected me to a slew of resources to help me build healthy habits, which helped me lose and keep off 40 pounds, and most importantly get my diabetes under control.”
Unlike other weight loss digital health programs, Enara partners with healthcare systems and clinics to run their own obesity programs. With Enara, clinics can equip their patients, who may otherwise experience fragmented care, with a full-service ecosystem of care from medication, nutrition guides, lifestyle changes, behavioral health, exercise regimen, stress management practices, and much more. By integrating obesity treatment at the point of care, medical providers can reach high-risk patients, such as those at risk of heart disease, and those left behind by the direct-to-consumer weight loss market. Enara aims to change the culture within medical clinics to address obesity in a holistic, shame-free way.
“Weight management journeys shouldn't be so isolating, Enara understands this intimately,” says Dr. Hassan Kafri, Cardiovascular Specialist and founder of Kafri Hearth and Vascular Clinic near San Diego, CA. “Their holistic, network-led approach takes into account so much more than the average weight loss program, they're focused on long-term results, and from what I've seen with my patients, they're exceeding expectations.”
Of the more than 2,400 people that have gone through Enara's program, the average patient has had 41 pounds or more sustained weight loss 18 months into the program and beyond.
“Society continues to believe that obesity is a lifestyle choice and people spend hundreds of millions of dollars on new diets, supplements, and programs trying to lose weight,” said Rami Bailony, co-founder and CEO of Enara. “When people regain weight or fail to lose weight this leads to a cycle of frustration, self-blame, and guilt. This cycle needs to stop. That's why Enara is building a platform to help clinics offer multidisciplinary obesity programs that are data-driven, stigma-free, and accessible.”
Bailony began his career as an internal medicine physician where he witnessed firsthand the gap in obesity care and the inadvertent shame healthcare inflicts on its patients. He set out to create an alternative model that was evidence-based and shame-free.
Until recently, bariatric, or weight loss, surgery was considered the most effective way to lose significant weight. Non-surgical methods, from prescription medication to fad diets, often prescribed and practiced in isolation, do not holistically treat patients to create sustainable habits and yield long-lasting results. Enara has been able to build a multi-disciplinary program that combines different non-surgical interventions. By doing so, it has been able to produce long-term weight loss results that previously had only been seen with sleeve gastrectomy (commonly referred to as stomach stapling).
After developing a multi disciplinary-program, Bailony teamed up with Felipe Baytelman (former lead engineer at Classpass) and Lydia Alexander (VP of Obesity Medicine Association) to build a platform and network to scale.
Within 12 months, the team built a platform that helps medical groups and health partners launch insurance-covered obesity programs that offer a network of caring medical providers, nutritionists, and exercise specialists to users. Enara's partner clinics and medical providers work with insurance to cover the cost of the program. The platform accepts a wide array of options, including Anthem BlueCross, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
About Enara
Enara Health is a multi disciplinary-platform that offers 360-degree care to members struggling with obesity. The all-in-one platform caters to physicians and provides personalized weight loss to patients. Their “doctor in the loop” method, combined with precision weight loss management, helps users lose weight and keep it off.
