Zest Health Announces $13M in Funding to Curb Unnecessary Pharmaceutical Spend through High-Touch Care

Zest is initially focused on treating the millions of Americans with inflammatory skin diseases who are currently overprescribed expensive biologics

/EIN News/ -- NEW YORK, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zest Health, the first value-based virtual care company focused on treating patients with inflammatory skin diseases, today announced $13 million in seed funding. Zest Health’s platform provides personalized dermatology care that minimizes unnecessary pharmaceutical utilization while producing sustainable clinical outcomes.

The roughly 40 million Americans with eczema and psoriasis face average wait times of over a month and rushed visits as dermatologists increasingly turn to cash-pay models that prioritize aesthetics. To minimize and expedite office visits, prescribers rely on systemic medications to quickly achieve clear skin. Overreliance on these medications has led to rapid growth in associated spend. Biologics for these conditions are being used earlier and more chronically, growing at 15% annually and driving over $40B in annual US spend.

Zest provides patients with more personalized, responsive care. Zest’s virtual, high-touch approach is bolstered by patient data to identify optimal prescription regimens, over-the-counter medications, lifestyle changes, and preventative interventions for more convenient, durable relief.

Zest’s approach reduces pharmacy spend by thousands of dollars per enrollee annually without sacrificing outcomes:

• Over 80% of patients see disease improvement as measured by Body Surface Area (BSA) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)
• Over 90% of patients prefer Zest to their prior dermatology experiences
• Zest has a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 83
  

“As a psoriasis patient myself, I know that the status quo fails to deliver ongoing support and lasting relief,” said Zest Health CEO Olivia Deitcher. “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.”

Roivant Health incubated and made this investment in Zest, bringing their historic expertise in inflammatory disease innovation and transformative health technologies. The funds will be used to scale Zest’s existing partnerships with health plans and employers seeking to address this growing cost pool.

“Many problems in healthcare involve challenging tradeoffs between quality and cost. This is an exception where higher quality simultaneously reduces unnecessary expense,” said Alex Gasner, EVP of Roivant Health. “We are excited at Roivant to support Zest as they use technology to bring dermatology into the 21st century.”

About Zest Health
Zest delivers more effective, accessible, and compassionate solutions for patients with chronic skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema. Through its virtual platform, Zest achieves better outcomes at a lower cost for the thousands of patients who have signed up for Zest’s services to date. Zest currently partners with health plans and employers in value-based arrangements to improve the lives of members. To learn more, please visit www.zesthealth.com.

Contact Information
press@zesthealth.com