Healios Lands $16M Investment To Grow US Pediatric Behavioral Health Subsidiary Meliora Health

London-based digital pediatric behavioral health company Healios Ltd. has landed $16 million to fund its expansion in the U.S.

The funding will pay for a multi-state expansion of Healios’ wholly-owned startup Meliora Health. Both companies offer digital behavioral health services to people aged 25 and younger.

Some specific conditions it treats include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, autism and ADHD.

How Healios will use the funding

The new funding is expected to help the company build from the inside out, Healios CEO and founder Rich Andrews told Behavioral Health Business. It will help Meliora Health secure more health plan partnerships. The company will also build up its business systems and grow its employee base.

Meliora Health employs all of its providers because “we believe in investing in great people that deliver great services,” Andrews said.

Meliora Health already operates in New York and Pennsylvania. In sum, Healios employs about 500 people. The company will expand to all 50 states “as quickly as possible,” Andrews said. He declined to estimate when Meliora will complete its expansion or how many people it will employ in the next year.

Healios landed an $8 million Series A funding round in 2021. Andrews considers the $16 million investment to be part of its Series A round, totaling $24 million.

AlbionVC and InHealth Ventures, London-based existing investors in Healios, participated in the round. Orlando, Florida-based Autism Impact Fund (AIF) became an investor with this round. AIF provides venture capital investment for all things autism related. This includes health care services, pharmaceuticals and technology.

“We brought on board a U.S. investor which is really important as part of our commitment to continue to build an incredible service for the U.S.,” Andrews said of AIF. He added that AIF’s investment lent “critical validation” to Meliora Health and Healios.

Healios launched Meliora Health in 2022. Jim Sefcik, Healios senior vice president and U.S. lead, handles the daily management of Meliora Health.

Its services include clinical assessments, care planning, therapy and support programs. Meliora Health also offers multidisciplinary care via video and text chat as well as self-management tools. It offers services through a family-focused process.

Healios launched in the United Kingdom in 2013. Since then, Healios has partnered with 62% of the mental health providers, called trusts, within the National Health Service.

“What’s really important is that the home environment is conducive to supporting that child through their particular needs,” Andrews said. “If you can optimize the skills [of] parents or caregivers … then you increase your likelihood of a better outcome, not only in the near term.

“You improve the opportunity of having long-term recovery and building towards long-term resilience.”

Meliora Health’s expansion plan

Meliora Health represents Healios’ first expansion out of the UK. The company chose the U.S. because it expects its model to beget swift growth in this market, Andrews said. He noted the huge demand for behavioral health services, especially for pediatric services.

Meloria Health intends to expand to European Union countries at some point in the future.

In the U.S., many face long wait times to see pediatric behavioral health specialists, if they are able to access behavioral health services at all. As many as 70% of U.S. counties had no child psychiatrists in 2007 to 2016, according to a 2019 study.

This is especially true for autism services. A 2016 study found that, on average, families wait 3.5 months to see a mental health specialist while acknowledging that some areas see longer waits. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some wait times last as long as 18 months.

Several startups have moved into the pediatric behavioral health space. Several have had success pitching investors.

Across just three companies — Hazel Health, Brightline and InStride Health — investors have shoveled $192 million in 2022 alone into expanding digital behavioral health services for children.