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13. Okt. 202116 Min. Lesezeit

Meet Edupression a Vienna-Based App on Prescription

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This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.


Meet Edupression A Vienna-based App on Prescription

A friend of mine suffered from depression and committed suicide. That is what got me started with EdupressionDaniel Amann, Co-Founder and CEO Edupression

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The Founder

In this interview, we talk to Daniel Amann (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-amann-4a1b0711a/), the CEO and Co-Founder of Edupression (https://edupression.com/). Edupression is an anti-depression app from the greater Vienna area. Daniel has a background in financial services, where he held a lot of different positions with companies like Allianz or Raiffeisen International. One of his friends committed suicide, which drew his attention to depression.

So, he co-founded Edupression.

When you have a depressive episode, there is a 50% probability, that you will have another depressive episode.Daniel Amann, Co-Founder and CEO Edupression

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The Startup

In total the founding team of Edupression (https://edupression.com/) are 4 co-founders, which spent approx. three years working on Edupression before the interview, including advice from the Medical University Vienna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_University_of_Vienna).

Edupression is a certified medical product, as a stand-alone therapy for mild to medium depression symptoms, stand alone or in combination with drugs or psychotherapy. The company plans to have the app available on prescription in January 2022 in Germany and Austria.

In the German-speaking area (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) there are approx. 8 million people suffering from depression. … It is also the same in the US, Canada or developing countries, around 7–8%.Daniel Amann, Co-Founder and CEO Edupression

App Download


PHQ-9 Questionaire

There are a number of different depression questionnaires that can be used. The PHQ-9 patient questionnaire is effective, as it not only evaluates the severity of depression but also identifies whether a patient is actually suffering from depression in the first place. You can find the questionnaire here https://edupression.com/phq-test-complete/

We also want to expand internationally, we are looking at the US expansion for the end of 2022.Daniel Amann, Co-Founder and CEO Edupression

Venture Capital Funding

Depression is currently looking to raise Series A funding for its international expansion in 2022. They would like to close the round end of 2021 or early in 2022.


The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, 14th of October 2021, at 17.00 CET


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The Interviewer

This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:


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Transcript

[0:00] Music.


[0:08] That I owe you were podcast and YouTube blog covering the German startup scene with News interviews and Live Eventshello and welcome everybody this is Joe from startupradio Deo your startup podcast and you to block from Germany this isask the audience on YouTube may already see short sleeves this is still a recording with it in July but nonetheless we will publish itin fall but we did it for a very simple reason that I wanted to take some time off and we justhad to edit everythingbefore that so nonetheless I would like to work um a start-up from Austria from the greater Vienna area in the person of Daniel hey how you doing.


[1:01] Hi Joe I’m very glad to be with you here I’m fine and really looking for a great interview now andactually you doing so great advertisement for Austria as of vacation location we just talked about it before we started this recording because behind you it looks very beautifulbut you are one of the founders of a startup calledhe do pression will sink acted as but first let’s talk a little bit about you and what you’ve been doing in the past I’ve been lookingat your LinkedIn profile and of course everybody would like to reach out to you directly they can go down here in the show notes and they arewe will have your LinkedIn profile and and I’ve seen you did a lot of.


[1:51] Um if you’ve been working a lot of different positions in insurance companies how did this happen and how did you get from,being a Project Lead.In a globally leading insurance company to a startup entrepreneur how did this happen can you tell us take us along the journey.


[2:13] Yes of course it was really a great journey yeah I was actually I was born in dambe induction near the lake of constants and Ferrari back in Austria.In the den I studied in Vienna anddid some law studies when they also to England curves and law studies so I’m actually from the background a lawyer and I started then in the bank for a bank I went to the insurance company to onions Austriablind audience he’s learned to audience Germany sec in Munich.And then finally I went to UNI car is head of claims and state therefore run about 10 years.And then one of my one of my friends committed suicide and in that in that case then I will lieokay me the context is Professor Peter service Professor bit service is our you would call him our brain young I wouldpraying in regard of depression he’s Professor maybe in medical advisor.


[3:20] Exactly medical advisory I think that’s the right word here and and and he actuallytold me a lot about depression and problems patients are facing this depression actually that patients don’t really find the right treatment options32 kind of Channel there actually are in you know there are so many different groups who are doing treatment for depression.Just think about the general practitioners think about the psychiatrist think about the neurologist think about psychologists think about psychotherapist.So that’s really very difficult for them so who actually is my first Contact here.And then the second question is when you don’t make drug therapy then the second question is you have what kind of psychotherapy you actually would make her you would you would performso these are really very very very big questions and then.The second Point your Venue when you just see how patients are actually.


[4:30] Facing problems you have been when they are confronted peacewe see this depression problem map then then they don’t know they don’t know we haven’t been actually did they really they really back again when they are recovered yes so manypeople many patients only receive some kind of treatment which is not enough and then they fall back again and you knowwhen you have actually the first depressive episode you have a 50% probability that you will get another depressive episode.And then you had the second depressive episode you actually have it.


[5:11] Probability to get not a depressive episode with 70% that’s going up to 90% And then it’s really a long-term treatment you need.So there are really a lot of different issues patients are facingand from that state is actually yeah we set and we decided yet to go to to start with our starter Pia to to change that yet to make it will diferencia and the treatment of depressive patients.Um I always wanted actually and always have in mind yet to to start to go on this startup and so we really decided to do that yeahwe found another two others here are two friends of mine yeah and so we started together we are now for in the company of four Founders at the end of the day and and really working since round about three years.On the project.


[6:06] Hmm I see can you tell us first a little bit how depression usually evolves because first I think many people have problem to reallydifferentiate if they’re just down if they’re just exhausted or if they’re really in depression,disclaimer what do you hear here in this interview is just a hint it’s not medical advice and then secondly how actually it depression is.


[6:35] Let’s say play now turning out because you talked about a depression of phases is it that you’re down all the time or that you havesome highs and some lows how does this usually look like well well Joe first of all depression can can look quite differentdifferent years so you know there are some some some children having depressions there are some elderlies having depressions and this will of course look a little bit different here from the overall picture.


[7:10] But in general what you can say it’s about concentration problems you are facing very often it’s about that you are tired so in the german-speaking world we are also talking about burnout.So the means that you just can’t can’t really go on with your daily life you don’t feel that you can go on.You feel kind of fatigue what we use to measure depression is actually phq-9.If you excuse nine is a measurement of nine questions which helps you to evaluate whether you have a depression so this score.Is starting from 0 to 27 and when you have from 0 to on the five,that is more or less you have some depressive symptoms but you are not really having a real depression,but when you’re scoring about five you really have a depression and you should seek advice first of all this a general practitioner because you have to see whether there are some physical problems you might have.So this is the first step you have to do and then.


[8:20] You can go on Twisted terapy the doctor actually.Tells you how which one would fit best to you that can be a medical treatment is drugs or could be exact of therapy or a combination of that and here exactly at repression is also coming in.So I depression is a certified medical product as a monotherapy.The means that you can use a depression for mild to moderate depression.Symptoms all over alone as a stand-alone therapy or you can also combine it is a drug treatment or visit Psychotherapy particular treatment both actually fine.


[9:09] How is so let’s say I’m filling out this.Phq-9 questionnaire which you can by the way find down here in the link in the show notes.And what our world would be my next steps that I download a depression that I seek medical advice what would be like the next step.


[9:33] It’s very easy we are actually helping our patients here for the next steps.So what you would do your downloading a depression as an app or you just use it over your browser both is perfectly fine.Then you have a free trial phase where you’re just can experiment a little bit here so you will see videos you can see interviews you will see some other post post just think about social mediait’s an activity feed value will get individualized posts of for yourself.And then after his pretrial you are actually open yet to go on and then you go onone of the first post of that will be the informationif you should first of all go to a general practitioner take some some water samples of of yourself and then see veteran you have a physical illness maybe and not a mental illnessJustice is the firstdecision actually which has to be taken before you then really should go on further antibiotic therapy so or attack up there.


[10:45] Of course most most patients are suffering indeed from a depression.Because then you just see how many people per year are suffering from depression.This is a year-round about eight percent of the whole population which is in the dark areas in Germany Austria and Switzerland.Round about 8 million people and from these eight million people around about five million people are seeking really help with doctors.So this is really a lot of people are suffering from this illness.


[11:23] This is same in the US and Canada yeah it’s also the same actually developing countries.It’s almost round about seven to eight percent of them was suffering from depression once a year.


[11:37] Mmm that’s quite a high number and basically you you help them in first step.To get connected to Medical Professional.And my understanding is that the first thing is that you taken plot samples just to make sure that you don’t have a hormonal disorder which you can justcorrect what the some shots or if it’s really a medical depression and how did you choose will then come in to help with in the process.One question because we had like this you guys are one of the apps you can get on prescription.


[12:18] Well we control we are working on that you will get us some prescription arm from the beginning of turn right hopefully.So we are doing a dig at the we talking January 2020 to write exactly exactly also starting GeneralJanuary 27th of June so that’s these are our plans actually and about we seen Phil will achieve that thereour whole Medical Teams working on that and we are doing the clinical studies right now is the medical University of Vienna so that when you should work out fine.Well and then when you when you would sit beside oppression and when you get it then for free abide by your insurance companythen just go on the set of Prussian I think that’s perfectly fine we are doing the whole personalization for you in the background.


[13:11] That means that you’re filling in for example you just mentioned phq-9 we have our medical chart you have his true test we have n back tests which aremeasuring concentration problems for example and out of these data we are actually actually profiling,the patient’s yeah and on this profile we are then we’ll be playing outposts which might help you.


[13:37] That could be for example when you’re doing the medical chart you know we have all the substances you right now have antidepressantsthe background and then we know for example you are getting a lithium.Then we will give you some information about this substance about this medicine you’re taking and this of course helps.Enormously yeah you have to say depression it’s a little it’s a little bit like when me and you haveproblems with your with your with your sugar yes so then you also have to learn how to give injections how to deal with certain things what to eat and this depression it’s actually the sameyou have to know what positive activities mean for you you have to know which activities you should avoid you should avoid for examplealcohol the object sheets normally not very good for patients suffering from depression yet they are taking very often alcohol you have because it’s kind of substitute instead of going to a doctor and getting some antidepressantsyeah positive activities Sports IAM team sports that would be something great and we are showing this to the patients and also telling him andhow to see and find connections of behavior and depression.


[15:01] And also for example connection to also self-help groups to supplement the professional Aidwell we don’t we don’t show links to self-help groups for example they are what we are doing is that we are having a list of depression Specialists when our platform where the patient can link tobut the patient is also a between bites his own depression specialist maybe just something for the word compression specialist yet yetbranding this word because we are sinkingthere are so many groups here treating depression as I mentioned before so the doctors did psychotherapists the psychologists that we try really to to be very open here.So they can invite the depression specialist their doctor Deb psychologist their their potentialside twist and then work on on on on the treatment together andgreat seeing you have a little platform normally no depression is really a black box so you can tell to someone how you feel how it’s working what you can’t do but this hour.


[16:16] How is our platform you are actually able to seehow you’re feeling you are able to see how you’re progressing and that’s the big difference here so we are taking really what you normally have in all parts of medicine now that your.Having a look on blood measures that you that you were doing doing some kind of of.


[16:43] Both of us.Well um you’re looking at this DC magnetic resonance or business with mr. Marty Miller MRT sensoryou’re actually looking into into the patient yeah and inside depression this is just not common yeah so it’s it’s a lot about only feelings it’s a lot about talking but not will measurements and that’s something you’re really changing.So that’s it will firmament and you one patients and depression specialist can talk together and see how they are progressing.



[17:20] And is that the piece we cooperating with the University of Vienna.


[17:29] Yes we are cooperating with the University of Vienna actually in a lot of fields hereso at the end of the day for depression you always have to two parts the other one is the treatment part and the other part is the is the diagnostic part rightand for the treatment part we developed the self-help program and the self-help program has elements of behavioral therapy psycho education and is really extremely effectiveit’s effective as face-to-face therapy at the end of the day.


[18:00] On the other side the Diagnostics you know we just mentioned the different tests we have the phq-9 medical charts to fine and back but this will be only the first step.You’re going into the direction of so-called digital phenotyping.Digital phenotyping means that everyone you and nature we both have kind of digital phenotype.


[18:22] You know we are using the using the smartphones in Shea and there are so many data therefor Boise State how how you are actually typing in the things how fast are you typing how many interactions we have n so on and on this basis you are able to have a digital phenotype.This digital phenotype actually gives you an indication whether a new depressive episode.Will be in the near future and that’s our let’s say mid to long-term talk to ya to have no.Let’s say forms you have to fill out but the patient only has our app on their mobile and from this mobile data we are able to predict whether the patient is going to have a new depressive episode in the near future.So that’s the really cool and that’s a real game changer for mental health.Because right now you don’t have all these possibilities now it’s a black box for most people and that’s what we are changing step by step.First step is really now we are that we are having this different testing systems and then going into digital filter.


[19:38] I am basically the idea is that you just have to type like one paragraph of text and you can make a forecast with some certainty with would that be the goal and how far are you down the road.Well not really not really yeah it’s going much deeperfor example for example what you’re building algorithms and already built some algorithms yeah let’s let’s let’s take a very nice example yeah but we already built the other when you when we have the GPS data.We for example can can predict on the basis of GPS data where does someone is going to have some changes in life we are that might affect depression.So for example the Avenue of walkingover a lot of green spaces you have Parks or you’re going just for some nice walks out outdoor to the green then this will affect.Press depression if you have depressive or it will prevent maybe that you get a new depression but what we have right now is an algorithm we have based on GPS data.And that’s going on basem inaugurating Malzahn boys pleasing our group algorithms on other measurable data you get from the smartphone.


[20:59] And then putting that together into this digital profile and out from this profile beam onto the predict then,whether a patient will get a new depressive episode actually actually eat this is not really.I’m the person you yeah it’s a summer working on that for several years on that.The big problem here is that you need for medical diagnosis diagnosis roundabout 99 9.Percent probability that this is really the right diagnosis you are doingright now I would say it might be 90% yeah accuracy but not moreand that’s the problem and we don’t actually see that you will gain this this the rest of this nearly 10% accuracy in the next one or two years so it’s really made to learn from I would say.It will take five to ten years at least to get this really done but then it will be an absolute Game Changer in the medical depression treatment.M and as we said you guys are working.


[22:12] Some of the parts together with the medical school University of Vienna I just looked it up before the interview and it just want you to not to go more work to waste this is one of the oldest universities.In Europe It’s associated with 21 Nobel Prize winners and it was founded 13,56 for the Americans that’s more than 250 years before the first settlement in Jamestown.And now that we have this piece of trivia out of the way.I was wondering would you like to plant of you guys right now with you and you’ll be available on prescription.In Europe in Germany in Austria beginning of 2022 weather the next steps you guys are doing and how you currently finance and how will you finance your expansion.


[23:09] Yeah it’s the same show that that’s a really really good question yeah well we.


[23:15] We built our platform and our to Medical certified productsin two languages so it’s German and celso Englishand as we have facilities to two languages we also would like to expand of course in the into the u.s. yeah I think that’s really that would be really a great opportunity we are planning to do thatby the end of next year so 22.For that expansion will still looking for investors are looking for a serious a actually and for Germany we are looking for cooperation partners.The means you know when we are doing thisthis is a pain prescription we actually need a really great sales force who is which is approaching the doctors so that directlyjust think about normal medicines here so you have the farmer to Farmer guys going to the doctor and telling them please have a look at this antidepressant it’s better than this fun and so on Nia and that’s exactly.But we are looking for a corporation in Germany so in the german-speaking world yeah in regard of salesand for the u.s. supports Ellison from also some kind of Corporations but else has some Investments.


[24:40] And you’re already hinted you guys are looking at at at a series a this year next year something like this.


[24:51] Well they look Beyond looking right now and we are talking to some investors about it and we would like to start the new year with some new Investments.


[25:03] Hmm so-so end of this year beginning of 2022 everybody would like to learn more they can go down here in the show notesand well we said to go so basically you guys are in an early stage you have great cooperation partnersand you are looking at to expand in u.s.End of 2020 two guys as we do in Germany we don’t cross fingers with press the thumbs so thumbs press for you and best of luck it was a pleasure having you as a guest here.


[25:37] Jose thank you very much it was a pleasure being with you here and have a great day thank you bye bye.


[25:48] Music.


[25:55] Www dot start a friend that I oh remember sharing is caring.


[26:02] Music.

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