Virtual MAT Provider Bicycle Scores Additional $5M from BCBS of KC’s Venture Arm

Bicycle Health, a virtual medication assisted treatment (MAT) provider, added an additional $5 million to its $50 million Series B raise.

This brings the Boston-based provider’s total raise to $83 million. Cobalt Ventures, the strategic venture arm of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, invested the additional funding.

Bicycle Health was founded in 2017 and is focused on virtually caring for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). During a patient’s first telehealth visit, a provider will set up a treatment plan. If a patient is eligible, a Bicycle provider can then prescribe Suboxone, a control substance made up of buprenorphine and naloxone, which is used to treat patients with OUD.

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Bicycle’s services are available in 28 states. The company works with a number of major payers including Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Medicaid and United Healthcare. It plans on using the new cash to help it expand its geographical footprint and treatment scope.

“In the U.S., nearly 10 million people are struggling with opioid use disorder, but only 10% are diagnosed or in treatment,” Ankit Gupta, Bicycle Health founder and CEO, said in a statement. “From a lack of geographical access to high financial and social costs, in-person treatment is not designed for the majority of Americans.”

Bicycle Health isn’t the only telehealth provider working in the MAT space. Ophelia Health, a digital opioid use disorder treatment provider, scored $50 million in Series B funding last December.

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Digital health unicorn Cerebral expanded its scope into virtual MAT treatment in April. Although it is important to note that Cerebral has faced public criticism and a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation over its prescribing practices of another controlled substance, Adderall.

While virtual MAT providers have thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic, unresolved federal regulations could make their future uncertain.

In 2020, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration loosened federal regulations allowing suboxone and a slew of other controlled substances to be prescribed without an in-person visit. However, it is still unclear whether or not this waiver will continue after the public health emergency has ended.

Despite these uncertainties, Bicycle is bullish on its future and its ability to play a leading role in combating the nation’s opioid crisis.

“Over the past three years, Bicycle Health has proven that there is another way to treat addiction through our evidence-backed telehealth treatment model,” Gupta continued. “This additional funding from Cobalt Ventures will enable us to expand our treatment to even more patients across the country, and ultimately help more people live addiction-free lives.”

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