Carna Health Names Leadership Team and Presents Strong Results from Bermuda CKD Screening Program

Digital health startup transforming kidney care prepares for year of growth

Carna Health, a digital health company transforming kidney care, today named its leadership team and released results from a chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening program in Bermuda as the first international recipient of a grant from the Bermuda Health Council Innovation Program. Launched in 2021, Boston-based Carna Health’s mission is to help slow the global progression of CKD, which is projected to be the fifth highest cause of death globally by 2040.ⁱ Carna Health provides integrated point-of-care testing solutions with its medical device partner Nova Biomedical and an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software platform to improve CKD screening, monitoring, and care management.

“Our shared commitment with Carna Health to develop new screening and monitoring programs for CKD at sites outside the hospital is essential to our partnership. Our complementary skills of chemistry measurement and data analytics allows us to provide a total system to healthcare providers,” said Dr. Bogdan Milojkovic, Chief Medical Officer, Nova Biomedical Corporation.

Co-founder Salvatore Viscomi, MD Named CEO

As Chief Executive Officer, Salvatore Viscomi, MD will oversee Carna Health’s strategic growth and partnerships as the company expands its international population screening program, builds capabilities for outpatient kidney care monitoring, and develops predictive analytics for precision management of CKD. Formerly on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Viscomi also previously co-founded Brigham NightWatch, the world’s first academic teleradiology network.

“The urgency of prioritizing preventative health is undeniable – it just makes sense given its potential to enhance patient quality of life, public health, and healthcare economics. However, the roadmap to achieving preventative healthcare is not always straightforward,” said Dr. Viscomi. “I co-founded Carna Health to turn the tide on the global burden of chronic kidney disease, which remains largely overlooked despite its rising prevalence and mortality worldwide. Carna Health’s mission is simple yet revolutionary: to provide cost-effective, accessible screening so more people with kidney disease don’t end up needing dialysis or a kidney transplant, which are unpleasant for the patient and extremely costly for healthcare systems. Our approach also helps address significant global disparities in kidney disease treatment by delivering a solution that can be implemented in any part of the world within any existing healthcare infrastructure.”

Proven Leadership Team

In addition to Dr. Viscomi, Carna Health has built a leadership team including executives with extensive experience in business development, digital innovation, public health and transforming health services:

• Boris Berat, co-founder of Carna Health and co-founder and CEO of software development company BrightMarbles, serves as Chief Technology and Product Officer
• Shika Pappoe, MD, MPH, MBA, formerly on the founding executive team of Strive Health and an expert in value-based kidney care, joins as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer
• Elvis Ndansi, MS, MPH, an Obama Foundation Scholar and consultant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, serves as Chief of Global Population Health
• Mary Miller Salah, MHA, a leader in health service transformation, joins as Chief Growth Officer
• Tom Dolan, former IBM corporate development executive, serves as Chief Financial Officer
• Aran Ron, MD, MBA, MPH, co-founder of Oscar Health and former Bessemer Venture partner, boards as Chief Innovation Officer
• John Brooks, MSBA, BBA, co-founder of eight life sciences companies including Insulet and former president and CEO of Joslin Diabetes Center, serves as Chief Strategy Officer

Promising Screening Results

In 2023, the Ministry of Health in Bermuda developed a Chronic Kidney Disease Integrated Care Pathway initiative following a needs assessment showing CKD has a disproportionate impact on Bermuda’s health burden.ⁱⁱ As part of the initiative, Bermuda launched a pilot screening program with Carna Health to identify patients in need of care and to enable future care management. The program is ahead of schedule and has demonstrated a strong need for earlier disease identification of high-risk individuals, with more than 49% of those screened identified with CKD. Nearly all (94%) of those diagnosed were unaware they had CKD and about 20% of those screened had CKD at a stage that required a nephrology referral so an early intervention could be initiated.

“The results from the screening program in Bermuda demonstrate the feasibility of cost-effective, large-scale population screening and monitoring for CKD – and the high rate of undiagnosed CKD that needs to be addressed so we can prioritize prevention and earlier disease management,” said Carna Health CMO and COO Shika Pappoe, MD, MPH, MBA. “As we continue conversations with global public health groups, we are excited about additional opportunities to pilot screening programs in areas including the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, Africa and the United States to further demonstrate the potential of Carna Health’s model to transform kidney care around the world.”

Following the success of the Bermuda screening program, in April Carna Health launched a pilot in Cameroon with leading nephrologist Dr. Ronald Gobina. In just three days the program surpassed its screening target, drawing more than 550 participants.

About Carna Health

Carna Health is a digital health company transforming kidney care. Founded in 2021, Carna Health’s mission is to slow the global progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Carna Health provides integrated point-of-care testing solutions and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software to improve CKD screening, monitoring, and care management. For more information, visit the company’s website www.carna.health.

ⁱ https://bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-023-03391-z

ⁱⁱ https://bernews.com/2023/06/ministry-invites-participation-ckd-survey/

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