Lund, Sweden – October 14, 2022 – Fåhraeus Startup & Growth (FSG) and SmiLe Inject Capital are investing in Yazen Health, which offers people with overweight digital care combined with medication, to help them change their lifestyle and achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss. Together with existing owners and business angels, the company is raising SEK 11.2 million to expand in the Swedish market.
Magnus Nyhlén, physician and co-founder of Yazen Health, with long experience of digital care as a founder of Min Doktor, explains:
“We will focus on marketing Yazen so that more people who need help find us. We want Sweden to notice us. We will also keep developing the service, for example with automation, support functions and diagnostic systems for our clinicians – things we benefited from while building Min Doktor. But our primary focus is to build awareness of Yazen and trust in the service,” said Magnus Nyhlén.
Health startups are still hot among investors despite the subdued market, says Christer Fåhraeus, who is convinced of Yazen’s potential:
“This is a solution that is needed and works, and when it comes to health there is a willingness to pay. The team has solid experience: they were the pioneers behind Sweden’s first digital care provider and know how digital care is best delivered by clinicians and received by patients. Sweden alone is a big market for Yazen, and I believe this will grow quickly,” said Christer Fåhraeus, Partner at Fåhraeus Startup & Growth.
The complete solution means that, after tests and assessment, the patient gets help from a team of dietitians, psychologists, personal trainers and physicians, alongside a medication that reduces hunger. Yazen’s services and the medication are paid for entirely by the patient, without public funding or drug subsidies, even though weight loss that leads to better health for this group brings large savings for society.
“Healthcare queues are long in Sweden, and unfortunately people only get sicker while they wait for help. The public sector talks about investing in preventive care, but the Swedish people have not seen the effects of that talk. That is why patients need alternatives to choose from, and when it comes to health, people spend a lot of money on different methods with varying success. It is a shame that the public sector does not prioritise this, and one may ask what a kilo is worth. Studies show that a person with overweight who goes through this treatment can lose 16% of their weight in a year, which in turn gives lower blood pressure, improved blood lipids and a greatly reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. So there is a lot of money for society to save,” said Magnus Nyhlén, physician and founder of Yazen Health.
About Yazen Health
Yazen Health was founded in Lund in 2021 and is a registered healthcare provider. The company offers support for long-term weight loss through digital care from physicians, dietitians, psychologists and personal trainers, combined with modern drug treatment. The founding team consists of Magnus Nyhlén, physician and entrepreneur; Otto Bretz, CTO; Fredrik Meurling, CEO; and Martin Carlsson, associate professor and specialist physician in endocrinology. www.yazen.com
About Fåhraeus Startup & Growth (FSG)
Fåhraeus Startup & Growth (FSG) is a venture capital fund founded in 2021 by Christer Fåhraeus and Emanuel Stihl and managed together with Linus Wiebe. FSG invests in life science and tech companies with groundbreaking, innovative solutions. The starting point is that every investment begins with the people behind the company: realising a company’s true potential requires a dedicated and sharp management team. FSG works with the founders, management and board to realise the potential in the company, and is an active owner with a broad industrial network to support its portfolio companies.
