Ieso Digital Health Raises £18 Million Funding from Draper Esprit and Touchstone Innovations, Completing Europe's Largest Investment in Online Evidence-Based Behavioral Health

CAMBRIDGE, England, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Video link: https://vimeo.com/233362703

Ieso Digital Health, the UK's largest provider of online mental healthcare, today announces the successful closure of an £18 million funding round to accelerate growth in its home market and the commercialisation of its transformative technology platform in the US. The funding round is the largest amount raised by a digital behavioural health business in Europe.

To watch the full video, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0zC7hBi65M&feature=youtu.be

Ieso is already transforming mental health delivery in the UK, by making high quality, evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) available to more than 9 million people. Ieso is available through the NHS as part of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT).  Relative to international duration of treatment, Ieso is able to increase the speed at which people recover in treatment by as much as 50%.^[1] By the end of 2017, more than 100,000 therapy hours will have been delivered, making Ieso the UK's largest provider of online CBT.  Ieso's published and auditable outcomes have been consistently superior to NHS averages in the most commonly presenting mental health conditions. Ieso's breakthrough service has recently been introduced in the US. The business has assembled one of the most experienced mental healthcare management teams to drive adoption in both markets comprising world class data scientists, renowned Artificial Intelligence development experts, first class clinicians, outstanding therapists and highly experienced executive leadership.  

Speaking about this announcement CEO Dan Clark commented:

"This financing is a great vote of confidence in Ieso's ability to become a global leader in mental health delivery and our technology which lies at the intersection of online evidence-based CBT, dynamic artificial intelligence learning, real time therapist support and mobile accessibility, ultimately creating high quality, accessible CBT therapy. Up to 60% of people in the US alone have unmet behavioral health needs. This presents a major opportunity for Ieso to make a radical impact on healthcare outcomes and costs. With our technology and clinical data science we are simultaneously improving patient outcomes and reducing costs to the healthcare system." 

This funding round introduces leading venture capital investor Draper Esprit to the company, who co-led this round, committing £7.5 million alongside existing investor Touchstone Innovations, who invested £8 million.

The round will have two closes to permit investment from other current investors including a number of significant UK business angels and the Ananda Social Venture Fund, whose Investment Director, Lennart Hergel added "The Ieso story is a textbook example of social impact investment working in partnership with commercial technology funding as the company scales."

Commenting on the partnership with Draper, Ieso CEO Dan Clark notes:

"Draper Esprit's reputation in digital health is second to none and we are delighted to have them on board with us at this pivotal stage in our development.  As one of Europe's most active sector investors, their experience and track record in developing growth stage businesses mean that they will contribute as true partners for the journey ahead."  

Dr Vishal Gulati, VC Partner at Draper Esprit said:

"Ieso is a perfect example of the kind of company we like to invest in in the digital health space.  It has a proven and experienced management team; a strong clinical platform; strict adherence to the evidence base; and a scalable model that is delivering strong outcomes with high levels of quality control. We have been watching their progress for some time and their data science approach is very impressive.  We are really pleased to be working with Dan and his team and with Touchstone and Ananda our co-investors in this round." 

Inga Deakin, Principal at Touchstone Innovation commented:

"Since our first investment in 2013, Touchstone has supported the company from early traction in the NHS, which has a world-leading CBT delivery infrastructure and ambitious targets for delivery of treatment to patients. The Company has outstanding clinical quality and, with over 16,700 patients treated, has built ground breaking data science and artificial intelligence capabilities to leverage that clinical experience and continue to improve health outcomes.  We are delighted our initial faith and investment thesis has been confirmed by an experienced investor such as Draper to join us in the next phase of growth." 

This is a significant milestone for Ieso Digital Health and allows it to accelerate commercialisation and product development activities to better serve the millions of patients currently unable to access high quality, clinically - proven mental health care in the community.

About Ieso Digital Health: 

• Cambridge, UK based, Ieso Digital Health's breakthrough technology, is transforming the way mental health is delivered. https://UK.IesoHealth.com
• Ieso provides patients with access to secure, one-on-one, real-time, evidence based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programmes, delivered by accredited therapists, at a time that is convenient for patients.
• Ieso's intelligent technology platform is both cost effective and removes many of the significant barriers preventing treatment, including stigma and accessibility, whilst also giving its therapist network computing assisted guides and insights to continually enhance their performance and clinical outcomes.
• More than 16,700 patients have been treated to date and Ieso now leads the way in digital therapy as the number one provider of on-line CBT in the UK and has also recently expanded into the USA.  
• Unlike many other online or digital services Ieso's method was validated in a randomised clinical trial published in The Lancet in 2009.
• With innovation at the heart of Ieso's patient-centred approach, Ieso is continuously improving its service by applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to constantly enhance its therapist support and feedback, ensuring best in class treatment for patient and therapist now and into the future.  

About Draper Esprit:  

• Draper Esprit was founded in 2006, and is one of the largest and most active VC firms in Europe, helping entrepreneurs to build global ground-breaking technology companies. In 2016 it moved its primary funds into a listed PLC model (LSE: GROW.L) in order to take a longer term, multi-stage, patient capital approach. In recent years, Draper Esprit's exits have generated more than $3 billion in combined enterprise value.
• For more information visit: http://www.draperesprit.com/

About Touchstone Innovations: 

• Touchstone Innovations is a leading UK technology commercialisation company. It champions outstanding science by commercialising innovative research. We create, build and invest in pioneering technology companies and licensing opportunities developed from outstanding scientific research focusing on the 'Golden Triangle' of London, Cambridge and Oxford.  www.https://www.touchstoneinnovations.com/

References 

1. Typical number of CBT sessions 10-20 (Mayo Clinic USA) whereas Ieso average treatment duration is 5.29 sessions (Ieso Digital Health data Q2 2017)

For further information or interview requests with Ieso CEO Dan Clark, or Dr Vishal Gulati, Draper Esprit, please contact:    

Ieso Digital Health:
C: Simon Merritt
E: [email protected]
M: +44(0)7967-251850

Rachel Dalton Communications:  
C: Rachel Dalton
E: [email protected]
M: +353-863825895