SAN FRANCISCO – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Virta Health, the leading provider of type 2 diabetes reversal, today announced several new additions to its leadership team, including the appointment of Cybele Bjorklund as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Policy and Government Affairs. In addition to Bjorklund’s appointment, Divya Bhat was promoted to Chief Product Officer and Amit Shah to Chief Clinical Operations Officer.
Bjorklund, a Capitol Hill veteran, joins Virta to help reverse type 2 diabetes (T2D) for nearly 50% of Americans who receive medical care through a government program.
Your addition comes at a critical moment. More than 1 in 10 Americans have T2D. That number rises to 1 in 3 for adults covered by Medicare and 1 in 4 for VA patients. Of the $ 327 billion spent annually on diabetes, two-thirds is provided by state insurance, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Virta has already shown the ability to reverse this growing epidemic. In clinical and commercial settings, Virta’s T2D reversal treatment reduces or eliminates insulin prescriptions in over 90% of patients. It accounts for more than 60% of all diabetes prescriptions. Many paying customers save up to $ 5,000 per patient per year, and results are consistent across populations.
“Virta’s results are groundbreaking as they categorically improve health outcomes while reducing expenses. Rarely do we see anything so powerful in healthcare, ”said Cybele Bjorklund, SVP of Policy and Government Affairs at Virta Health. “I am joining Virta to help make diabetes reversal available to all who can benefit from it.”
Prior to Virta, Bjorklund was Vice President of Federal Strategy at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine and prior to that, Head of Global Policy for Sanofi. She also held senior leadership positions in Congress, including 14 years as Human Resources Director of the Subcommittee on Health, where she played a key role in drafting and shaping the Affordable Care Act and Medicare policy.
In her new role, Bjorklund will work to expand Virta’s presence with federal, state and city authorities. This will build on the company’s existing partnerships with groups such as the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the state of Alabama, and several other state and local aid programs.
“There is no greater chance of making massive health and economic impacts than through government partnerships,” said Sami Inkinen, co-founder and CEO of Virta Health. “Reversing diabetes should be an option for every American in need. Cybele’s leadership will help us get there. ”
In addition, Virta has promoted Divya Bhat to Chief Product Officer and Amit Shah to Chief Clinical Operations Officer. Bhat joined Virta in 2018 as Vice President of Product and now leads the product, engineering and data science functions that unify Virta’s technology-driven vision to scale diabetes reversal. Shah, formerly Vice President of Operations, was hired as the company’s first operations manager in 2016. Today he leads all of the care teams responsible for delivering world-class health outcomes to patients in each US state.
Together with Bjorklund, they will work to expand Virta’s reach to millions of people with type 2 diabetes who receive healthcare from government agencies.
About Virta Health:
Virta Health helps people reverse type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Current approaches control the progression of the disease through increased drug consumption and infrequent visits to the doctor. Virta reverses type 2 diabetes through innovations in technology, nutritional science, and ongoing remote care from doctors and behavioral experts. In clinical trials, 94% of patients reduced or eliminated insulin consumption, and weight loss exceeded FDA benchmarks by 150%. Virta works with the largest health insurance companies, employers and government organizations and risks 100% of its fees based on clinical and financial results. To learn more about how Virta is changing lives by reversing type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, visit www.virtahealth.com or follow us on Twitter @virtahealth.
