Category: Press release

Berlin/Hamburg, den 22.10.2020: Sorea is the name of the new app of the Charité spin-off Nia Health. After the release of the eczema medical app Nia at the end of 2019, the Berlin based startup launched its second product. Sorea offers psoriasis patients digital support.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Scaly skin lesions (also known as ‘plaques’) are typical features of the most common form of this disease. Patients with psoriasis suffer from plaques that are often visible to outsiders, especially when a flare-up breaks out. These large plaques often cause feelings of shame or exclusion.

Nia Health co-founder, Dr. Reem Alneebari (39), board certified dermatologist, knows the already existing and effective treatment methods for psoriasis patients: “However, the fastest way to get there is often unclear to patients. Documentation is extremely important in order to better identify the highly individualized triggers for relapses and the optimal treatment.” This is exactly how the Sorea App is intended to support psoriasis patients and doctors. Intelligent recording of the skin’s appearance using textual and photographic records helps patients and physicians to recognize patterns during the course of the disease over time. Based on clinically validated metrics such as the so-called PASI-Score, the Sorea App objectifies subjective perceptions of patients.

Technologically, Nia Health uses its platform, which has been developed for two and a half years and is already used by more than 6,000 eczema patients. Oliver Welter (36), CTO and co-founder of Nia Health, is well aware of the importance of scalable platforms due to his many years of experience in the industry (most recently as CTO for the company caresyntax):

„We have developed our AI-based technology from the very beginning in a way that allows us to achieve synergy effects in many fields of indication. The end result should always be a product that brings direct added value to patients and physicians“

The basic version of the Sorea App is now available in the Google Play- and Apple App Store.
Further information about the Sorea app: www.sorea-health.de

More about the disease psoriasis

October 29 is World Psoriasis Day. Worldwide 100 million people suffer from psoriasis. Psoriasis is associated with other comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders and depression. Genetics play an essential role in the development of the disease. However, it has not yet been possible to clarify which genetic information is responsible for psoriasis in detail.

Contact person
Tobias Seidl

Berlin, 01.07.2020: The medical product, the Eczema App Nia (risk class I), is from now on available to DAK customers free of charge in the fully comprehensive premium version.

The Berlin-based medical device manufacturer Nia Health is starting a cooperation with DAK on July 1, 2020. The Nia App enables eczema patients to document their health history, create a report for their doctors’ appointment and receive clinically validated tips for dealing with the disease.

The founders of the Charité Spin-Off Nia Health are enthusiastic about the rapid implementation of the cooperation – especially considering the complex processes and lead times in the healthcare system. Nia Health CEO Tobias Seidl is therefore delighted about the quick start of the cooperation: “The lead times for NHI cooperations are a challenge for the often short-lived start-up industry. With DAK as the first cooperation partner among the large national health insurance companies, we have reached an enormously important milestone for our young company. Together with health insurance companies, we can help even more affected people.” Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK, sees the Nia App as an important extension to existing forms of treatment for the skin disease: “With Nia, we are the first health insurance company to use the latest scientific findings to help patients understand eczema better and classify symptoms quickly. The app provides certainty when questions arise and complements medical treatment with personalized information.”

Atopic eczema is the largest chronic skin disease. In Germany 4.5 million people suffer from the disease. In June, Nia Health received the €50,000 EIT Health Headstart Award for its innovative Nia App. Nia Health is currently in talks with other health insurance companies and will announce new cooperations in the near future.

The cooperation with DAK Health is initially designed for a pilot phase of six months. Insured persons with children up to eight years of age suffering from eczema can use the Nia App free of charge.

Nia users who are not insured with DAK can continue to use the free basic functions of the app.

About the health insurance DAK
With 5.6 million insured persons, DAK is the third largest health insurance company in Germany. DAK offers a wide range of services to young families in particular (“best health insurance for families” according to Focus Money, 21/20).

Ansprechpartner
Tobias Seidl

Berlin, 24.06.2020: The Berlin-based medical device manufacturer Nia Health wins the EIT Health Headstart Award worth €50,000.

The prize is awarded by the EU institution EIT Health to highly innovative early stage startups. In addition to the prize money, the EIT Health Headstart programme gives young companies particularly valuable access to a large European network of industrial companies and investors.

In a multi-stage application process, Nia Health was able to prevail over 50 other talented young companies from the biotech, medtech and digital health industry from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Nia Health’s medical product (risc class I), the Eczema App Nia, also convinced the top-class jury in the final round of the pitch competition of the last 15 start-ups. The jury included John Butler, VP External Innovation at Bayer and Dr. Klaus Suwelack, New Venture Lead Germany at Johnson & Johnson.

About EIT Health Headstart Funding

The EIT Health Headstart Awards are part of EIT Health’s extensive portfolio of support programmes for emerging companies and SMEs from across Europe. The purpose of these awards is to accelerate market entry and adoption of new products and services, thus creating new economic activity.

You can find more information here: https://eit-health.de/

Contact person
Tobias Seidl