Virta Health, a San Francisco-based startup that brands itself as an online clinic to "safely and sustainably reverse Type 2 diabetes," released one-year results of a study into its treatment model Feb. 7.
Virta Health, which launched in March 2017, aims to reverse Type 2 diabetes by lowering hemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood sugar, through continuous remote care and medication management. The startup uses a smartphone app to connect users with physicians, health coaches, biomarker tracking and personalized nutrition plans.
For the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Therapy in February, a team of researchers enrolled 349 adults with Type 2 diabetes into an ongoing clinical trial. The majority of the participants, or 262 individuals, received Virta Health's continuous care intervention, while the remaining 87 participants received standard diabetes care.
Sixty percent of participants who completed the continuous care intervention had Type 2 diabetes reversed one year after enrolling in the study, according to Virta Health, meaning their hemoglobin A1c was less than 6.5 percent while taking no glycemic control medications or while only taking metformin. Ninety-four percent of insulin users had also reduced or stopped usage altogether.
By contrast, participants who completed standard care did not experience any significant changes to their hemoglobin A1c, weight or medication use, according to the researchers.
"Our approach is actually changing the diabetes care model," said Sarah Hallberg, DO, the study's principal investigator and medical director at Virta Health. "With continuous remote care, we provide patients ongoing and immediate access to our clinical team, which is critical for both safe and effective reversal of Type 2 diabetes, especially for patients taking medications."