Health care tech firm raises $23 million

TAMPA — Aspen RxHealth, which created a mobile-based application that connects health plan members with pharmacists, has completed a capital raise, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, that generated $23 million the company intends to use to expand into new markets and create other strategic opportunities.

The funding comes as Aspen and many other health care providers have had to switch to more digital and online methods of connecting with customers and providing care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aspen officials, in a statement, say the cash will allow it to “capitalize on the demand for its highly diverse community of pharmacists and poise the company for successful entrance into new markets which present exponential opportunities.”

In addition to Bessemer, Takeda Digital Ventures, Novartis’ Digital Venture Fund dRx Capital, McKesson Ventures, Humana and Flare Capital Partners also participated in Aspen’s Series B round of funding.

“With a strong bench of investors and strategic partners supporting our vision of developing a new clinical pharmacy services model to deliver tangible value to health plans and risk-bearing providers, we are prepared for the next stage of growth,” says David Medvedeff, Aspen’s CEO, in the statement. “This capital will help us deliver on our promise to create a true marketplace for pharmacists, rapidly scale our business at a time when pharmacy is ripe for disruption, and aggressively pursue newer, broader markets such as specialty pharmacy support and medication reconciliation.”

Steve Kraus, a Bessemer partner, says that Aspen is poised to “revolutionize an industry hungry for change.”

San Francisco-based Bessemer is one of the nation’s leading early-stage venture capital firms. Previously, the company has been involved in financially supporting Yelp, Shopify, LinkedIn, LifeLock, Fiverr and DocuSign, among others.