ViuHealth (formerly DrugViu) is a real world evidence (RWE) company and clinical research platform focused on improving diverse patient representation in autoimmune disease (AID) clinical trials for research and drug development. In addition to recruiting diverse patients for clinical trial sponsors, DrugViu collects healthcare data both to help educate communities of color about different medications and to empower them to make the best healthcare decisions possible.

 CEO: Kwaku Owusu

Headquarters: New York City, NY

Year Founded: 2018

Year Avestria First Invested: 2021 (Fund I)

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Recent Press:

January 17, 2024: The Leaders Rheum aims to elevate independent rheumatology providers and its new partnership with ViuHealth can help achieve that goal. Together, the two companies can improve rheumatologists’ ability serve their patients, increase their virtual care capacity, uncover new reimbursements to increase revenue, and see clinical and financial success. Rheumatology focuses on disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs and disproportionately affects women: from female-to-male ratios from 3:1 (for rheumatoid arthritis) to 7:1 or more (for lupus and Sjögren's syndrome).

October 10, 2022: After launching the ViuHealth care platform in early 2022, the company formally known as DrugViu will now be ViuHealth. The company is moving away from just recruiting diverse patients for autoimmune drug clinical trials and is, instead, helping its members find personalized digital care solutions, not just pharmaceutical treatments. The name “ViuHealth” reflects that move towards a whole-minded approach to autoimmune diseases.

August 19, 2021: Next Wave Impact, a global impact investor syndicate that includes more than 200 women, announced its investment in three 2021 Founders of Color Showcase winners: change:WATER Labs, Boddle Learning, and DrugViu. Next Wave Impact invested $500,000 collectively: $300,000 to change:WATER Labs, which claimed the most investable company title, and $100,000 each to Boddle Learning and DrugViu.

July 23, 2021: Three MATTER startups - DrugViu, Candelit Therapy, and NowPow - joined Accenture for a conversation about diversity in clinical trials and in healthcare as a whole. 40% of the population is a minority, and diverse representation in clinical trials will ensure that health solutions will benefit everyone not just those who are in the majority.

July 16, 2021: Melanie Igwe, DrugViu’s Co-Founder and COO, and Elyse Mackenzie, DrugViu’s Patient Community and Advocacy Manager, have launched the Autoimm[you]ne Podcast. In this podcast, avaliable on Spotify and Stitcher, the two co-hosts will feature research and news about autoimmune disease as well as those who are living with AID and/or who are looking to find treatments and cures.

April 20, 2021: DrugViu is one of the six finalists in Next Wave Impact’s Founder of Color Showcase. The finalists, which were culled from the list of 12 semifinalists, were chosen based on several criteria, including their team diversity, focus on impact, ability to demonstrate proof-of-market, scalability, and valuation.

April 14, 2021: DrugViu is one of 12 semifinalists in Next Wave Impact’s Founders of Color Showcase, chosen out of more than 50 applicants. This virtual event not only highlights each companies' product but also the historically-underfunded founders behind it. Each semifinalist will be present on May 3.

March 24, 2021: Coral Genomics, a biotech firm, is partnering with DrugViu to help fill the gap in diverse patient data, develop diagnostics, and, subsequently, improve outcomes for minority patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The initial results for the 100-patient pilot study will be available by the summer of 2021 but will continue over the next two years with the goal of expanding to over 1,000 patients.

March 23, 2021: Riverflow Investments, a new seed-stage venture fund, co-led DrugViu’s latest round alongside Metrodora Ventures. Other investors in the round include TechStars, the Virginia Venture Fund, and Avestria Ventures among others.

March 2, 2021: To be close to the BioHealth Capital Region, the patient advocacy organizations and clinical researchers there, and several of its investors, DrugViu is moving its headquarters from New York to Virginia. Once the company has chosen a location, it is planning to scale both its workforce and the patient advocacy side of its business.

February 18, 2021: DrugViu began when Kwaku Owusu was a JLABS @ NYC resident. In this article, JLABS catches up with him to talk about how DrugViu has expanded, how diverse teams increase ROIs, and what Black History month means for him.

January 17, 2021: In this podcast, Kwaku Owusu sits down with podcast host, Dr. Sophia Ononye-Onyia, Founder and CEO of The Sophia Consulting Firm, about DrugViu, his goals for the company, and his own unique experiences as a Ghanaian-American leader.

December 29, 2020: As part of MedCity INVEST Precision Medicine healthcare conference, five startups had the opportunity to pitch in front of judges Siddarth Sridhar, corporate development associate, Centene’s global M&A group, and Aron Starosta, VP of Commercialization and New Ventures, University City Science Center. Watch DrugViu pitch alongside fellow healthcare startups Destroke, Backdrop Health Inc., Parallel Profile, and Siris Medical

October 7, 2020: DrugViu was one of five startups chosen out of more than 200 that applied to be part of gBETA Medtech’s fall cohort. The other startups selected include CoraVie Medical, GRIP Molecular, HUED, and Medical Ingenuitie.

December 12, 2019: PM360, a resource for pharma marketers, featured DrugViu in its 8th Annual Innovations Issue. Industry leaders nominated across six categories: Companies, Divisions, Startups, Products, Services, Strategies. DrugViu was named as an innovative startup.

November 11, 2019: DrugViu emerged the winner of the Urban Resilience Challenge, which was brought together by QBE, an insurance firm, and Ashoka, a collaborative network aiming to help entrepreneurs addressing social issues. Entries were judged on innovation/social impact, organizational sustainability, and relevance to the insurance industry. Selected from nearly 100 startups, DrugViu took away the title of The Urban Champion and a cash prize of $75,000.

October 24, 2019: As Kwaku Owusu notes, 94% of participants in clinical trials are white - exposing people of color to harm because they might have different experiences with the same medication. DrugViu offers a platform for people of color to share their own experiences in order both to educate others and to help them make the best and safest choices for their healthcare.

October 9, 2019: This article features all 10 startups that pitched at TechStars Impact Demo Day in Austin, including DrugViu. The other companies that participated include Cowtribe, AgHelp, VitalFlo, R3 Score, Wellahealth, Don’tGetMadGetPaid, Creation Crate, and Omaiven Health.

June 19, 2019: Kwaku Owusu talks to MATTER about the importance of diversity in clinical trials: currently, NIH-funded research trials must meet a percentage of minority enrollment - but NIH-funded research trials make up only 6% of all clinical trials. DrugViu is helping to close that gap.

May 1, 2019: After hearing about the lack of diversity in clinical trials, Kwaku Owusu, a 2016 Arch Grant recipient, co-founded DrugViu with Melanie Igwe, a 2019 Arch Grant recipient. On the DrugViu website, users can share their experiences with common medications, thus educating communities of color and allowing them to improve their healthcare.

Prior page: Uqora (a Fund I investment)