A leading Kansas City health tech startup is the latest company to join Spencer Fane’s three-month startup lab aimed at addressing the young venture’s legal needs as it develops a digital platform and app to improve asthma outcomes.
“I deal with adult asthma every day of my life,” said Sunti Wathanacharoen, founder of Pulmonaer Analytics. “My son has dealt with the same breathing issues, and I knew there had to be a better way to allow him to enjoy school while reducing the disruptions caused by his asthma. Everyone that has touched the company or technology throughout its development has been impacted by asthma, starting with me and extending outward.
“We want to provide resources to asthma sufferers that will improve disease competence and self-care management to de-stigmatizing asthma and ultimately improve outcomes and quality of life,” he continued.
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Pulmonaer Analytics’ goal of asthma care is to help patients achieve asthma control, enabling them to reduce their overall risk level and live without limitations of poor lung function, impairment to quality of life, high costs and risk of adverse events.
[/pullquote]Pulmonaer Analytics — a 2019 Digital Sandbox KC recipient led by 2020 Pipeline Entrepreneurs fellow Wathanacharoen — is expected to work with the law firm’s attorneys to enhance the patient experience, building physician loyalty and improving patient and community engagement to control asthma and extend the ecosystem of care, according to Spencer Fane.
The startup is expanding the reach of its product, Asthma Insight, a mobile platform centered around a synchronized collaboration “Action Plan” — a built in partnership between a patient and his or her doctor that can be shared with other care team and family members, and even school nurses.
Pulmonaer Analytics is the fifth company to enter the Spencer Fane Startup Lab. The program — which focuses on the development of a diverse local economy — is currently limited to Kansas City, but the firm’s leadership is considering expanding to other cities where it has offices.
“Kansas City continues to be a leader in developing successful products and ideas from local entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Patrick McAndrews, Spencer Fane partner and chair of the startup lab. “What a wonderful opportunity to work with Sunti and his team on Asthma Insight, which will undoubtedly help change and shape the future for those suffering with asthma.
“We have enjoyed the opportunity to work with all Startup Lab participants, and we can’t wait to track the success of Asthma Insight in helping patients better track and manage symptoms while ultimately saving people time and money related to the number of visits needed to see medical professionals,” he continued.
With the potential widespread use of the Asthma Insight app, Spencer Fane plans to provide resources on compliance with a litany of state and federal regulations along with counsel related to user agreements, contracts, data privacy and security and marketing and distribution, the firm said.
“We have a significant opportunity to extend the reach of Asthma Insight,” Wathanacharoen said. “Pulmonaer Analytics always expected an upward trajectory for the product, and there will not be a better time to benefit from not only the legal counsel and service of attorneys at Spencer Fane but also from mentorship within the thriving tech business community in Kansas City.”
Click here to learn more about the Spencer Fane Startup Lab.
Previous participants in the program include:
- Helix Health — Clinical business intelligence solutions to payers and providers to improve health outcomes for patients and lower care costs
- TravelHive — Local developer of a social, online travel bookmarking and planning tool
- Biin — online, peer-to-peer storage space sharing platform
- Highploom — a flexible, collaborative, rapid-to-deploy interface for credit and financial service
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
