Florida Institute Funds Gainesville-based TAO Connect
Gainesville and Boca Raton, FL –December 8, 2014 - The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with TAO Connect, a Gainesville-based company that provides a seven-to-ten week online treatment program for anxiety and other related disorders. The Institute supports new company creation based on publicly-funded research, and bridges early funding gaps for companies spinning out of Florida-based universities and research institutions.
Anxiety and mood disorders are among the top ten most expensive medical conditions to treat, costing approximately $42 billion annually. Over 41 million people in the U.S. have an anxiety or mood disorder, while only 15 million receive treatment each year. With technology licensed from the University of Florida, TAO (Therapist Assisted Online) Connect has developed an integrated software system for providing mental health treatment at half the cost of traditional face-to-face psychotherapy, potentially saving the US health care system $262 million annually.
TAO allows patients to work on behavioral change with clinicians who monitor progress on treatment tasks and symptom change over time. TAO treatment includes online education modules, weekly 10-12 minute videoconferencing with a counselor, daily text messages for support and encouragement, treatment assignment reminders and daily homework that can be completed on a smart phone or a tablet.
“The goal of TAO is to decrease mental health care costs, reduce health disparities, and improve access to effective treatment,” said company President and Founder Sherry Benton. “TAO is an effective treatment, with outcomes from our initial year-long pilot study at the University of Florida indicating that clients using TAO improved more than with traditional face-to-face therapy by itself. The improvement in outcomes stems from greater daily patient engagement with the treatment materials, combined with the therapeutic relationship between the patient and therapist.”
“TAO Connect is addressing serious mental health issues that are commonly overlooked,” said Jamie Grooms, Institute Chief Executive Officer. “They are developing a product that will allow clinicians to monitor progress on treatment, with one-third counselor time and a fraction of the overall costs of traditional treatment, resulting in increasing the number of people who receive help.”
About the Institute
Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida’s state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. Over 100 new company projects have been identified across the state, and the Institute deploys company building and funding programs to promising Florida startups. Thirty-five companies have been funded since the program’s inception.
About TAO Connect
TAO Connect TAO (Therapist Assisted Online) platform is an effective treatment that allows the patient or client to proactively work on behavioral change and the clinician to monitor progress on treatment tasks and symptom change over time. The result is effective treatment with one-third the counselor time and half the overall cost of traditional face-to-face individual treatment. College and university counseling centers, employee assistance programs, outpatient mental health clinics, VA medical centers, community mental health centers, and private practitioners will purchase a license for TAO, receive training in providing the treatment, and pay a small fee per patient per module.