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September 2, 2021 Tech 25

Healthtech firm Wellinks predicts ‘hockey stick trajectory’ growth

Alex Waldron, CEO
By Norm Bell

Back in Jan. 2020, when Convexity Scientific of Fairfield acquired Wellinks of New Haven, the deal appeared to be an ideal tech marriage.

Wellinks had developed internet-connected software to manage its brace for scoliosis patients but was struggling to manufacture its product called Cinch.

Convexity had a popular product in its Flyp nebulizer for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — COPD — but wanted to develop its digital capabilities.

Fast-forward to today and the combined company is thriving in New Haven under the Wellinks name. Flyp has pivoted from a consumer-facing product sold at CVS to a complete internet-driven care methodology with marketing redirected to insurers.

And Cinch? It’s been “moved to the back burner,” says Wellinks CEO Alex Waldron, who came aboard earlier this year

A look at Wellinks' user interface.

Wellinks’ focus is now on respiratory products that can drive down the frequency — and thus cost — of “incidents” that require medical interventions. That’s good news for the nation’s estimated 16 million COPD patients and even better news for the insurers that pay their bills.

Next up for Wellinks is a similar push to attack asthma on behalf of the 25 million patients and their insurers.

Whether for COPD or asthma, the concept is focused on education and an internet-driven system of helping the patient manage their disease at home. There are personal coaches and technology that monitor the patient’s progress — or lack of — and warn of problems.

And it's all being overseen by Ellen Su, CEO of the old Wellinks and chief product officer of the new Wellinks.

But the immediate challenge is to convince private insurers of Wellinks’ savings potential. To that end, Waldron says a pilot program with Hartford HealthCare is an important showcase. He sees a two-year campaign to win wide acceptance among private insurers and three or four years to win acceptance from Medicare and the Veterans Administration.

He credits the COVID pandemic with accelerating the acceptance of digital technology in health care, both among patients and insurers.

Waldron sidesteps a question about revenue but predicts a hockey stick trajectory once all the approvals are in place. He does acknowledge it will take more funding to get there and is looking to raise $25 million.

He sees the Wellinks staff growing from 22 to 25 this year and toward 100 next year as the firm doubles its real estate footprint to about 4,000 square feet.

Selecting New Haven as a headquarters was a strategic choice to leverage both the Elm City's entrepreneurial ecosystem and the Yale talent pool, he explains. Su and other members of the founding team at Wellinks are Yale graduates.

Geoff Matous, president of Convexity at the time of the Wellinks acquisition, remains as president and chief commercial officer of the new Wellinks.

And Levi DeLuke, co-founder of the original Wellinks and inspiration for the Cinch, is working with the new firm as a consultant.

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