Startup Founded by Israeli Cybersecurity Experts Could Revolutionize Medical Research

A new health technology platform is seeking to reshape how medical professionals access and harness data to improve patient outcomes.

Briya, a startup with offices in New York, Nashville, Tenn., and Tel Aviv, Israel, is now securing partnerships with healthcare and research institutions to expand across the United States. Built by former Israeli cybersecurity experts, Briya relies on blockchain, the same technology that enables cryptocurrency transactions, to securely transfer longitudinal health data.

“Briya uses blockchain to decentralize data retrieval, allowing medical professionals and researchers to access high-quality data exactly when they need it, without risking patient privacy,” said David Lazerson, CEO and co-founder of Briya.

“Our novel approach to health care data exchange could help researchers and scientists access information 10-times faster than platforms currently on the market. The faster data comes together, the faster we can achieve medical breakthroughs, and the faster people receive the care they need,” Lazerson continued.

Briya says that data accessed through the platform is live, allowing medical researchers to view and interact with relevant data immediately. This could reduce the wait times to download and study healthcare information, the company said.

Briya says that data accessed through the platform is live, allowing medical researchers to view and interact with relevant data immediately. This could reduce the wait times to download and study healthcare information, the company said.

Lazerson pointed to COVID-19 as a prime example of how synthesizing diverse data sources can help medical researchers combat public health challenges. The coronavirus vaccine, Lazerson said, demonstrates how expanded access to securely transmitted data can increase collaboration and advance innovation in the medical field.

Lazerson says that Briya has the potential to drive medical breakthroughs, and investors seem to agree.

Last month, the startup announced that it had completed a $5.5 million seed fundraising round, a sign from American and Israeli investors that its mission to deliver easily accessible healthcare data to industry professionals while upholding HIPAA compliance could be impactful.

This fundraising haul comes as Briya emerged from stealth, a term used in the startup and venture capital spaces to characterize a firm that developed its operational model before seeking attention from investors and the public.

Amiti Ventures led the campaign, which solicited investments from a range of global software and fintech investment firms, including Insight Partners. Insight Partners often contributes to Series B fundraising rounds. Its consideration of Briya, which has not yet embarked on a Series B funding campaign, highlights the excitement around the healthcare startup.

“This investment is a vote of confidence in Briya’s ability to deploy technology that will dramatically reduce time-to-medicine or a vaccine at every step of development along the way,” said Briya advisor Fabio Lievano M.D. A former official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lievano sees the value in data exchange platforms to standardize data.

Standardized data can improve patient care, he said. With a secure data exchange platform, even a small hospital can punch above its weight in offering patients treatment options based on a wider knowledge of a disease. Treatment centers may be able to allow sick patients to participate in a clinical trial that would otherwise be off-limits.

“Easy-to-access data can advance health equity by offering more personalized care and ensuring that data sets better reflect the diversity of Americans,” said Pam Holt, U.S. General Manager at Briya.

Holt notes that including more data sources in a data set—people of a wider variety of nationalities, geographies, and ages—increases representation for minorities and can lead to greater health equity.

The benefits with data exchange only apply if sensitive healthcare data is both secure and compliant. Briya’s leadership team said that this fact informed the creation of their platform, which is fully HIPAA compliant. The company says its use of blockchain technology may even help strengthen patient privacy protections when compared to typical data retrieval methods.

Briya noted that its data exchange platform could help advance treatments in the medical field and one day lead to accelerated research for diseases without a cure.