PatientsLikeMe

What PatientsLikeMe does

PatientsLikeMe is a digital health platform that combines a large-scale patient community with health data tracking and real-world data analytics. Founded in 2005 by brothers Jamie and Ben Heywood following their brother Stephen's ALS diagnosis in 1998, the company operates a free-to-member platform serving patients with chronic, rare, and complex health conditions, along with caregivers and authorized healthcare professionals. Members use validated clinical outcome measures (including ALSFRS-R, MSRS, PDRS, FVC, PFRS, DailyMe, and MonthlyMe) to track symptoms, treatments, and outcomes over time, while connecting with peers across more than 2,800 conditions in a community of over 850,000 members.

The platform's underlying technology integrates patient-reported outcome tracking with peer community features and AI-driven health assistance. In November 2024, the company launched Ella, an AI-powered health assistant focused on women's wellness that processes text-based health queries to deliver personalized guidance. Recent technology integrations include a strategic partnership with SEQSTER (announced September 2024) to incorporate real-time electronic health record data, and a partnership with Ubie (announced November 2024) to embed AI-powered symptom checking into the patient journey. The platform maintains SOC 2 Type II accreditation covering security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy controls through 2026.

PatientsLikeMe generates revenue primarily through data licensing, providing de-identified, aggregated patient-reported outcomes and real-world evidence to biopharmaceutical companies, medical device firms, hospital systems, insurance companies, and regulatory bodies including the FDA. A secondary revenue stream comes from managed patient communities operated on behalf of nonprofit and healthcare organizations. Membership remains free for individual users, though the company's user agreement reserves the right to introduce paid services in the future. The company also operates WomenLikeMe, a sub-brand focused on women's health conditions. To date, PatientsLikeMe has raised over $150 million across multiple funding rounds, with the most recent being a $26 million round in February 2021 led by Alta Partners and Optum Ventures.

Name

PatientsLikeMe

Legal name

PatientsLikeMe LLC

Website

https://patientslikeme.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PatientsLikeMe is a digital health platform connecting 850,000+ patients across 2,800+ conditions through community features, validated health tracking, and real-world data licensed to pharmaceutical and healthcare partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Health Platform

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Patient Education, Content & Personalized Journey Orchestration (HLACAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Healthcare Master Data Management (MDM) & Patient/Provider Identity Data (HLACAIAB)

Keywords

• Patient community platform
• Real-world health data
• Patient-reported outcomes
• Health data licensing
• Patient engagement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Data Licensing to Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Partners: PatientsLikeMe generates revenue by providing de-identified, aggregated patient data and health outcomes to pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, hospitals, insurance companies, and research institutions. The data helps partners understand patient experiences, inform drug development, and improve treatment options. Members' identifying information is removed before sharing, and partners are contractually forbidden from attempting re-identification.
2. Managed Patient Communities: PatientsLikeMe hosts tailored communities for nonprofit organizations and health management programs. These managed communities provide partner organizations with access to engaged patient populations for research, patient support, and health education initiatives.
3. Optional Future Fee-Based Services: Currently membership is free, but the company reserves the right to charge for membership and/or provide additional optional services for a fee in the future.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PatientsLikeMe operates a personalized health network that combines an integrated patient community, health management tools, and a real-world data platform. Patients track symptoms, treatments, and outcomes using validated clinical measures, connect with peers across 2,800+ conditions, and contribute de-identified data that is licensed to pharmaceutical and healthcare partners. The platform is free for individual members, while revenue is generated through data licensing and managed community services for industry partners.

Product overview

PatientsLikeMe operates as a unified digital health platform centered around its core patient community and health management platform. The flagship platform connects patients with over 2,800 conditions, enabling health tracking, peer support, and data-driven insights. Ella AI Health Assistant (launched November 2024) is an AI-powered add-on module providing conversational women's wellness guidance. WomenLikeMe serves as a sub-brand focused on women's health. The ecosystem also includes managed communities for partner organizations and research collaboration tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PatientsLikeMe Platform A digital health management and community platform enabling patients with chronic, rare, or complex conditions to track health data, share treatment experiences, connect with peers managing similar conditions, and contribute to research. Used by 850,000+ members across 2,800+ conditions.
• Ella AI Health Assistant An AI-powered conversational assistant specifically designed for women's wellness, providing personalized health guidance, symptom analysis, and wellness recommendations through natural language interactions for women navigating their health journeys.
• WomenLikeMe A companion sub-brand platform to PatientsLikeMe focused specifically on women's health conditions and wellness, operated by PatientsLikeMe LLC.

Quantifiable outcome

• 850,000+ members managing over 2,800 health conditions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UbiecoreTechnology or Integration · 13 November 2024Partnership to improve patient journeys with AI-powered symptom checking. The collaboration enhances patient awareness, education, and support from pre-diagnosis through treatment by integrating Ubie's AI symptom checker with PatientsLikeMe's patient community and health data platform.
• SEQSTERcoreTechnology or Integration · 5 September 2024Strategic partnership to power a connected patient health hub with real-time electronic health record (EHR) data. The integration allows PatientsLikeMe members to aggregate their complete health information from multiple sources, providing a more comprehensive view of their health journey for better decision-making and research contributions.
• Biopharmaceutical and Healthcare Industry Partners (80+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatientsLikeMe has partnered with over 80 biopharmaceutical and healthcare industry innovators including pharmaceutical companies, hospital systems, value-based care providers, insurance companies, and regulatory bodies (including FDA) to advance research, manage patient communities, and improve health outcomes.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Patients Know Best: Patients Know Best is a patient-controlled personal health record platform that integrates EHR data and supports research, comparable to PatientsLikeMe's patient empowerment and data aggregation approach.
• Inspire: Inspire hosts online health communities and partners with life sciences companies for patient engagement and real-world evidence, closely matching PatientsLikeMe's patient community + pharma data licensing model.
• HealthUnlocked: HealthUnlocked runs a large network of patient communities and offers insights and research services to healthcare organizations, directly competing with PatientsLikeMe in the patient community and health data space.
• MyHealthTeams: MyHealthTeams operates condition-specific social networks for people living with chronic conditions, directly comparable to PatientsLikeMe's community-and-data platform. Both monetize through data and partnerships with life sciences companies.
• Evidation Health: Evidation aggregates consented health data from individuals and partners with life sciences companies on real-world evidence, sharing PatientsLikeMe's patient-centric data monetization model.

Emerging players

• Medisafe: Medisafe offers a digital patient engagement platform for medication adherence and chronic condition management, comparable to PatientsLikeMe's patient engagement and self-tracking capabilities.
• Clarify Health: Clarify provides real-world data and analytics to life sciences and providers, partially overlapping with PatientsLikeMe's data licensing value proposition while focusing more on claims and clinical data.
• Savvy Cooperative: Savvy is a patient-owned cooperative that connects life sciences companies with patients for insights and co-creation, competing with PatientsLikeMe's patient insights and research offerings.

Broad incumbents

• IQVIA: IQVIA is a global leader in real-world evidence and clinical research, competing for the same pharma data and research budgets that PatientsLikeMe sells into via its data licensing business.
• WebMD: WebMD is a leading consumer health information and engagement platform that monetizes via advertising and pharma partnerships, overlapping with PatientsLikeMe's patient engagement and education use cases at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/patientslikeme
• YouTubeyoutube.com/PatientsLikeMe
• Facebookfacebook.com/PatientsLikeMe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/patientslikeme
• Instagraminstagram.com/patientslikemeinc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PatientsLikeMe