March 24, 2021 – AppliedVR, a provider of virtual reality (VR) therapeutics and immersive treatments, has announced USD $29 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funds raised to date to USD $35 million. The company stated that the funding round, which included investors F-Prime Capital, JAZZ Venture Partners, Sway Ventures, GSR Ventures, Magnetic Ventures and Cedars-Sinai, will help to fuel AppliedVR’s growth as it pursues full FDA approval over the next year.
AppliedVR provides VR-based treatments aimed at treating chronic pain. Combining cognitive behavioral therapies with mindfulness exercises, the company’s EaseVRx solution recently received ‘Breakthrough Device’ designation from the FDA for treatment-resistant fibromyalgia and chronic intractable lower back pain. The company also just released results from its clinical trial, which found that the EaseVRx device produced “clinically meaningful” improvement in multiple pain outcomes, according to the company.
“Chronic pain is one of the most common medical conditions in the world, yet it still is incredibly debilitating to patients, costly to the system and complex to treat. While our mission has always been to demonstrate that VR can be a powerful analgesic in any setting, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in demand for digital medicines like VR that can be delivered safely to patients in their own homes,” said Matthew Stoudt, co-founder and CEO of AppliedVR. “As a leading evidence-backed VR therapeutics provider in healthcare, we’re committed to meaningfully improving the lives of people suffering from chronic pain by making VR the standard of care for treating chronic pain in a provider-prescribed, payer-reimbursed model.”
AppliedVR noted that chronic pain affects approximately one-third of all American and is estimated to cost as much as USD $635 billion each year, making it more expensive than cancer, heart disease and diabetes combined. While many people rely on pharmacological interventions to treat their pain, digital therapeutics like VR have emerged as an effective, safe, and potentially cost-saving solution. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated a need for more digital therapeutic treatments that can be delivered safely in patients’ homes.
“We’re big believers in the potential for digital therapeutics to transform outcomes for patients with challenging conditions, and we have been closely evaluating the market for solutions for some time. AppliedVR stood out as a great choice for our first prescription digital therapeutics investment,” said Jon Lim, partner at F-Prime. “With its market potential, solid executive team, and commitment to providing evidence-based therapies, we’re confident that AppliedVR will become a leader in digital medicine.”
AppliedVR states that its technology is already trusted by more than 200 healthcare provider organizations and has been used to help more than 60,000 patients around the world as a cost-effective solution for treating chronic pain. In 2020, the company partnered with University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) to study how digital therapeutic platforms, including virtual and augmented reality, can be used to improve care access for underserved populations.
With this latest investment, the company plans to continue EaseVRx’s FDA approval pathway, conduct more payer pilots, develop its product pipeline, and build out its clinical, marketing and sales teams.
For more information on AppliedVR and its digital therapeutics offerings, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: AppliedVR / Twitter
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.