Pittsburgh (June 1, 2022) – Infectious Disease (ID) Connect, an Infectious Disease telehealth and decision support healthcare technology company spun out of UPMC, raised an additional $5.45 million in May 2022. First Trust Capital Partners, LLC joins UPMC Enterprises and the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund investments to improve access and enable world-class specialized ID expertise to enrich lives and improve outcomes.
The severe shortage of ID experts throughout the U.S. has left more than 208 million individuals without access to an ID specialist – leaving 80% of U.S. counties with minimal to no ID physician coverage.1 ID physician and pharmacist shortages, coupled with incomplete information about patients’ ID histories, has contributed to inappropriate antibiotic selection. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 50% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary, significantly increasing the rate of resistance.2