Meet The Startups Helping People Manage Their Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that affects millions of people around the world. It’s an autoimmune condition that causes the skin to become inflamed, leading to thick, flaky patches.

For many, psoriasis is very stressful to manage. Not only is the cause of it unknown, but flare-ups can be caused by a variety of environmental factors.

But now, a new generation of startups is changing the world of psoriasis care. These companies are making it easier to manage (and potentially cure) than ever before.

How Many People Suffer From Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is actually a lot more common than you’d think. According to the World Health Organisation, it affects around 125 million people, which is around 2-3% of the global population.

Whilst it can appear at any age, it most commonly begins between ages 15-35. And when it does flare up, it can be unpleasant, causing itching and pain. Not to mention it also looks sore, which can affect people’s mental health and self-confidence.

What Causes Psoriasis?

Psoriasis happens when the body’s immune system produces an excess of skin cells. Instead of the standard skin cycle which takes around 28 days, new cells are created much faster, leading to red, scaly patches.

And although it’s not 100% known what causes psoriasis, genetics can play a big role, alongside environmental factors. For example, stress, cold weather and some medications are known to be triggers for the condition.

This mix of factors makes it a difficult condition to manage, which is why so many startups are setting out to help. Here, we take a look at some of them:

Cosi Care

Cosi Care has created a suite of safe scratching medical devices, helping people suffering from skin conditions get the relief they need without damaging their skin.

With a combination of cold and ridged devices, they provide instant relief for itchy skin, without breaking or damaging it. This can help manage conditions like psoriasis by preventing them from getting worse when a flare up does occur.

Piction Health

Piction Health allows people to get an expert skin assessment in just a few minutes, meaning they can get  a full diagnosis and any recommended treatment quickly.

With the ability to speak to dermatologists quickly, Piction Health is making specialised skin care more accessible to the masses.

Symphony

Symphony is described as a ‘personal skin coach’ helping people understand trends and patterns when it comes to their skin health and potential flare ups.

With over 5,000 research papers and 100,000 community notes, the app is able to offer up recommendations that have worked for others. If specialist support is needed, the app routes people to vetted dermatology specialists.

Arcutis

Arcutis is a medical dermatology development platform that is setting out to work out how to treat chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin.

The company is working on developing a number of treatments to help with disease management and improve the current standard of care.

MiBiome

MiBiome is a pharmaceutical company that has created a patented skin care product, designed to have a probiotic effect on the skin’s microbiome.

Based on the belief that the microbiome of unhealthy skin differs from that of healthy skin, MiBiome has set out to help people rebalance their dermalogical ecosystem.

Popit

Finnish digital health startup Popit has recently partnered with Almirall, SA to remind people suffering from plaque psoriasis to take their Skilarence® medication.

This is designed to make sure that patients don’t miss their medications, allowing them to improve the condition more quickly.