Building a Holistic Pharmacy Platform with Foundation Health

Why We're Investing in Foundation Health

We're thrilled to announce our lead investment in Foundation Health's $20 million Series A financing. Founded by Umar Afridi, a veteran in the digital pharmacy space, Foundation Health is improving the pharmacy experience for patients, health systems, and pharma manufactures by building a deeply horizontal platform to improve navigation and integration across a complex ecosystem.

The Challenge: A Fragmented Pharmacy Ecosystem

A majority of Americans, over 60%, rely on at least one prescription medication, with more than a quarter taking four or more. This widespread use means that most people will need to navigate the pharmacy system for a significant part of their lives. Despite its critical role, the current system is complex and disjointed, often leaving patients confused and frustrated about basic details like when and where to pick up their prescriptions or how much they will cost. Similarly, healthcare providers, who are writing the scripts, struggle with determining patient eligibility, in-network coverage, and co-pays, creating a lack of clarity that frequently leaves patients in the dark about potential issues. 

The current system's fragmentation extends to the professionals who manage it. Pharmacists and administrators are burdened with a high volume of manual, time-consuming tasks and frequent communication with various parties—including patients, payers, providers, and manufacturers. These operations are necessary because pharmacy can represent up to 20-25% of a health system's total revenue. However, these systemic inefficiencies not only drive up costs but also hinder patient access to and adherence with critical, potentially life-saving medications.

Foundation Health’s Solution: An AI-Native Pharmacy Platform

To simplify the process, Foundation Health has developed a comprehensive, AI-native, and modular platform that acts as a "Non-Dispensing Virtual Pharmacy", bridging the disparate players in the pharmacy ecosystem. Their product suite is designed to address common pharmacy pain points by providing a unified software platform for patients, health systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The core of their offering centers around the patient. Introduced at the point of prescription, Paige AI, an AI pharmacy assistant, automates patient connection and communication. It keeps patients informed on prescription status, eligibility and copay checks, refill reminders, and adherence outreach.

By starting with the patient, Foundation can automate downstream workflows, ensuring a seamless and transparent end-to-end experience for both patients and administrators. Early use cases include prescription routing and copay estimates to prior authorizations and compliance management. By offering a comprehensive platform, Foundation Health creates cohesion within a health system’s pharmacy operations to deliver a better patient experience. We are excited to see this approach resonate with the market and look forward to publishing early results from our partnerships with Intermountain Health and Hackensack Meridian Health.

Why Now? Why This Team?

Health systems and pharmaceutical manufacturers are under a multitude of financial pressures. The rise of prescription volume represents an opportunity for them to invest in solutions that bring them closer to their patients and build brand loyalty. Prescriptions are one of the most common and consistent long-term touchpoints with patients. By transforming this experience from a point of friction into a seamless journey, these organizations can generate yields that return far more than just filling a prescription.

The pharmacy ecosystem is complex and challenging; assembling the pieces requires true industry knowledge: CEO and Founder Umar Afridi brings unparalleled, firsthand experience to the table. As a pharmacist by training and a veteran leader who previously co-founded Truepill, a pioneer in the digital pharmacy space, Umar has an unrivaled understanding of the industry's pain points. We knew we wanted to work with Umar after he described the impact of a fully-integrated platform. His attention to detail and knowledge of all the stakeholders is instrumental in creating a seamless and unified experience.

“Define Ventures has a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape, and their conviction in our vision for a comprehensive, AI-native, pharmacy infrastructure was immediate. We're incredibly excited to partner with a team that not only brings strategic guidance but shares our passion for solving the industry's most complex challenges” Umar Afridi, Founder and CEO of Foundation Health.

We couldn't be more excited to partner with Umar and the entire Foundation Health team on their mission to redefine how patients and healthcare organizations interact with the pharmacy value chain. We are confident that their comprehensive platform will enable more efficient, effective healthcare delivery and unlock significant value for all stakeholders in the ecosystem.

To learn more about Foundation Health, please visit www.foundationhealth.com.

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