Digital health news, funding roundup in the prior week; September 12, 2022

Verily raised $1 billion; Headspace Health bought Shine; Walmart partnered with UnitedHealth Group 

Top Health News

• Data from the Health Care Cost Institute found that close to 30% of all hospital admissions in 2020 for non-newborn children were for mental health issues, compared to just 8% for adults. That is, by far, the high percentage for any disease category. The other big ones were respiratory illnesses, with 11%; digestive and nervous system illnesses, both with 9%; and muscoskeletal problems, with 7%. In fact, from 2019 to 2020, mental health admissions spiked in pediatric hospitals, while they fell for numerous other conditions, especially respiratory conditions.
• Walmart and UnitedHealth Group announced that they are entering a 10-year long relationship to promote preventative care for seniors through value-based care arrangements. The partnership will kick off next year, with 15 Walmart Health locations in Florida and Georgia, serving seniors and Medicare beneficiaries in value-based arrangements through multiple Medicare Advantage plans; these locations are expected to open in 2023, with promises of expansion into new geographies over time, with the goal of eventually reaching hundreds of thousands of MA members. As per the arrangement, Optum will assist Walmart Health clinicians serving these populations by providing them with analytics and decision support tools. The collaboration will also include a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan in Georgia, called UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage Walmart Flex, which will be available starting in January 2023; at the same time, those enrolls in UnitedHealthcare’s Choice Plus PPO plan will have access to Walmart Health Virtual Care.
• Medable entered a four-year enterprise contract with global biopharma company GSK, which will use Medable to enable decentralized clinical trials across its portfolio; the company selected to accelerate the delivery of new medicines and enable their clinical trials to be more inclusive and representative of all patient populations. GSK has developed cancer medicines for patients including ovarian and endometrial cancer and multiple myeloma and it has developed a monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19; the company delivered three product approvals in 2021 for endometrial cancer, COVID-19, and HIV. The company's vaccines portfolio includes meningitis, shingles, flu, polio, and measles.
• The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing Amazon's acquisition of One Medical, and requested "additional information and documentary materials," from both companies at the end of last week, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission from One Medical's parent company 1Life. There was no additional details about what information or documents were requested. As a result, this will extend the mandatory waiting period for 30 days after One Medical and Amazon comply with the request. The deal, which was first announced in late July, involves Amazon acquiring One Medical for $18 per share in all cash deal, including One Medical’s net debt, a 28.5% increase from One Medical's $14 IPO price.
• Memora Health, a platform for virtual care delivery and complex care management, announced a partnership with UP Medical, a multi-specialty medical group dedicated to raising standards and experience for chronically ill patients, so they can live their best lives. This partnership will leverage Memora’s clinical intelligence platform to engage UP Medical patients between visits and reduce the burden of repetitive manual communication on UP Medical’s care teams. UP Medical’s care teams will be able to practice at the top of their license with the support of Memora’s natural language processing and artificial intelligence technology, which triages patient-reported symptoms and concerns while automating repetitive tasks, such as answering frequently asked questions and setting up recurring reminders and check-ins. In addition, UP Medical’s patients using Memora’s SMS-based platform will receive proactive outreach to ensure adherence to care plans, resulting in earlier interventions, more frequent touch points with their care teams, and ultimately, better health outcomes.
• Arieli Capital, a holding and investment company, joined NGT Healthcare2, a health-tech venture capital fund based in Nazareth, as a Partner. The second fund will allow NGT to invest around $100 million in breakthrough technologies from academic and medical institutions, with an emphasis on promoting entrepreneurship within the Arab community. The firm will invest in approximately 25 additional early-stage start-up companies and 16 'year zero' projects.
• Iodine Software, an enterprise AI software provider in healthcare, and TruCode, a CPSI company that provides encoder technology solutions that maximize coding efficiency, announced a partnership that enables health systems and hospitals to more effectively perform clinical documentation improvement. Iodine Software will integrate TruCode Encoder Essentials directly into its AwareCDI suite. The combined solutions will provide CDI teams with easy access to detailed diagnosis and procedure code reference information directly in their workflows, in addition to access to complete official code books.
• Vera Whole Health, an Advanced primary care provider and health navigation platform Castlight Health, which completed their merger in February, announced a new company brand called apree health. The new company's mission is to build the first end-to-end healthcare solution that redefines the care experience and transforms the way patients access and engage with care, the way providers deliver care, and the way employers and other purchasers pay for care. apree health does this by combining navigation and data-driven insights, a primary care model, and value-based risk models to unlock health outcomes and make life better for those it serves.
• Global investment firm Carlyle announced the formation of Atmas Health in partnership with long-time healthcare executives Kieran Gallahue, Jim Hinrichs, and Jim Prutow and Carlyle’s Global Healthcare team. Atmas Health will focus on acquiring healthcare assets within the medical technology and products, life science tools and diagnostics sectors as part of its strategy to build a market-leading healthcare business. Atmas Health will receive investment from funds managed by Carlyle alongside investment from Kieran Gallahue, Jim Hinrichs, and Jim Prutow. The formation of Atmas Health is a continuation of Carlyle’s long-term global commitment to the global healthcare sector, in which it has deployed over $22 billion of capital.
• Gradian Health Systems, a nonprofit medical technology company, announced a strategic relationship with Canon Virginia to address disparities within healthcare globally. CVI will assume manufacturing operations for Gradian's flagship product, the UAM, an anesthesia machine designed to work in the absence of electricity and medical oxygen and establish manufacturing operations for Gradian's newest product – the K-O2. CVI plans to be in full scale production of both products by the end of 2022. The UAM and K-O2 are specifically designed to better enable access to anesthesia and oxygen therapy, respectively, by addressing resource constraints that often prevent medical providers from being able to deliver continuous care for patients.
• WizeCare, a health technology company providing enterprise-wide virtual physical rehabilitation and remote monitoring solutions for healthcare providers, entered into a know-how and research agreement with Mayo Clinic to collaborate on the development of a home-based cardiac rehabilitation program. The new program aims to set a new standard of care by harnessing Mayo Clinic's know-how with WizeCare’s groundbreaking AI-driven technology to advance remote cardiac rehabilitation monitoring capabilities for better adherence and improved patient outcomes. WizeCare’s cloud-based solution consists of an interactive patient application that delivers virtual reality video sessions while using MoveAI technology to detect movement and provide real-time feedback for an intuitive, personalized and engaging rehabilitation experience. Future program developments will also look to integrate blood pressure, sleep, and physical activity monitoring with automated alerts in response to abnormal events to further support clinical decision making and optimization of treatment plans.
• VBA, a provider of solutions to the insurance industry, partnered with Healthcare Bluebook, which seeks to protect consumers and companies nationwide from overpriced, low-quality healthcare, to incorporate Quantros quality scores for over half a million physicians and hospitals into its VBAnalytics reporting solution. With VBAnalytics Value-Based Care Reporting, powered by Quantros, health plans can easily combine cost and quality data to determine which providers are performing the best under their value-based care arrangements. Equipped with this information, payers can make adjustments to their provider networks to ensure that patients have access to the best providers. VBA has also integrated Healthcare Bluebook’s online shopping tool within its VBAGateway member portal to make it simple for members to access cost and quality information they need.
• BIOTRONIK, a medical device company that has developed cardiovascular and endovascular solutions, partnered with AliveCor, a provider of personal electrocardiogram technology and services. This partnership will combine the strengths of BIOTRONIK's BIOMONITOR Injectable Cardiac Monitor with AliveCor's AI-enabled, clinically validated, medical-grade KardiaMobile 6L and KardiaMobile Card ECG technology. Through this pilot collaboration, healthcare providers will be able to access clinically relevant heart rhythm analyses and actionable reports to monitor at-risk patients; identify underlying arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation; and assess means to drive improvements to patient care and clinical outcomes.
• Koning, a company focused on improving the breast imaging industry, announced a new partnership with 11TEN Innovation Partners, a consulting firm that powers innovation, venture, and strategy for healthcare and technology Fortune 1000 companies, and DocPanel, a network of US-based academic and subspecialty radiologists. This strategic alliance will be used to bring Koning's Breast Computerized Tomography to the masses through retail health channels. With the help of DocPanel, this new offering will allow for remote reading of scans and will assist in the growth and expansion of Breast CT as a comparable alternative to mammograms.
• Axon, a connected public safety technologies company, announced today that Wellstar Health will equip hospital security officers across their network of Georgia hospital campuses with de-escalation tools and training, as well as TASER 7 energy devices. With more than a dozen facilities across the state of Georgia, Wellstar Health serves one out of six Georgians and has more than 24,000 employees. Wellstar's commitment to protecting their patients and team members has led their focus on workplace violence prevention, de-escalation tactics, and providing a safe environment for patients, staff and visitors. The system has provided security team members with TASER 7 devices to enhance those de-escalation and violence prevention efforts.
• German medical device company Siemens Healthineers announced partnerships with the Indian Institute of Science , HealthCare Global Enterprises, and Narayana Health hospital network, to bring advanced technology innovation at its innovation centre in Bengaluru. The collaboration with IISc aims to drive research and co-creation of technologies that improve imaging, and address access to care; Narayana Health’s partnership with Siemens Healthineers will focus on advancing cardiovascular care and digital transformation in healthcare by building on the capabilities from both organisations; the  partnership with HCG will drive research and development in cancer care, as well as developing fellowship programs to advance research and academics in the oncology space.
• Prime Healthcare, a national health system, and Steer Health, an AI-enabled growth and automation platform, announced a strategic enterprise partnership to create a next-generation consumer engagement experience for Prime's 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states. Prime Healthcare has launched PrimeHealthNow, a platform designed to address new and evolving healthcare needs of consumers, focusing on creating easy access to convenient, affordable, and patient-centric care. The key strategies include utilizing state-of-the-art technology to improve access to care, enabling real-time feedback on patient experience, staff empowerment with simplified patient communication tools, and optimizing care delivery.
• Privia Health, a technology-driven, national physician enablement company and OhioHealth, not-for-profit health system, announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership and launch a medical group for independent providers throughout the state of Ohio. The partnership is subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements by both parties. The partnership is expected to support the growth and enhance the performance of OhioHealth’s existing clinically integrated network. Privia Health and OhioHealth are expected to provide a new alternative for Ohio physicians and provider groups that choose to remain independent and care for patients across all payment models as they move into value-based care arrangements.
• Sleep Number Corporation, a sleep and wellness technology company, announced a renewed three-year commitment with the Los Angeles Rams. Sleep Number will continue to be the "Official Sleep + Wellness Partner" for the LA Rams through the 2024 season. The two organizations initially partnered during the 2021 season and nearly 80% of Rams' players use their 360 smart beds. Through the renewed collaboration, Sleep Number sleep experts will continue to guide Rams' players, coaches and athletic trainers on their path to improved performance and recovery. This includes educating them about the health and wellness benefits delivered through the smart beds' effortless adjustability, sleep health features and individualized insights.
• Manchester United and Therabody, developer of products and services that optimise human performance and unlock the body’s natural ability to achieve health and well-being, deepened their relationship by becoming global partners in a multi-year agreement. The partnership will expand Manchester United’s use of Therabody products and solutions as part of the training and recovery regimes of both the men’s and women’s teams – and showcase their benefits to the club’s global fan base. Manchester United will have access to Theraguns in their training facilities to help improve their athletic performance and prevent injury during practices and matches.
• Preverity, an nalytics firm focused on improving risk prediction for medical malpractice insurance carriers and healthcare systems, and Positive Physicians Insurance Company, a medical professional liability insurer serving healthcare providers, announced a partnership that will see Positive implement Preverity's Enterprise product to significantly enhance its underwriting, pricing and operational efficiency capabilities. The partnership will allow Positive to focus on risk selection and evaluation, pricing integrity and improving underwriting efficiencies, all while growing responsibly and attracting top talent.
• TripSpark Technologies’ NEMT business, provider of solutions to enable Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Operations to deliver care for Medicaid, Medicare, and other Health and Human Services providers, and Uber Health entered into an agreement that will provide TripSpark clients access to Uber Health’s API integration through its NovusMED platform. The integration enables clients on behalf of their members to request rides with Uber. Beginning in the fall, clients of TripSpark Technologies interested in the offering will be able to request access to Uber Health, through a seamless API integration within NovusMED. Clients will be able to request rides with Uber Health through existing TripSpark workflows.
• Responsive Respiratory, provider of high pressure oxygen products and solutions, entered into a partnership agreement for the distribution of Boost Oxygen products into the homecare market. Boost canisters are stocked for same‐day shipment from RRI’s central United States’ warehouse and are available in five liter medium and 10 liter large canisters in the natural scent. RRI plans to expand on‐hand stock to include additional Boost aromas by the end of the year.
• PixCell Medical, devleoper of rapid hematology testing solutions at the point-of-care, announced a partnership with Insight Medical, a medical supply and service company based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Insight Medical will serve as the exclusive distributor of PixCell's HemoScreen, a hematology analyzer designed for use at the point of care, across Papua New Guinea.
• Limbix, provider of digital therapeutics for adolescent mental health, announced a partnership with Children's Hospital Los Angeles for a research study to evaluate SparkRx, an adjunct treatment for adolescents with symptoms of depression, in specialty medical care settings. SparkRx is a self-guided, cognitive behavioral therapy based digital therapeutic intervention for adolescents, aged 13-22 years old. Limbix and CHLA are testing SparkRx's feasibility and efficacy among adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms that are being treated in the Cardiology and Gastroenterology programs at CHLA. Teens that have chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, are often at higher risk for depression. Finding behavioral health care can be difficult and when left untreated, symptoms of depression can worsen other health conditions.
• Imagine360, a provider of employer-sponsored health plan solutions, announced that it has partnered with Quantum Health, a healthcare navigation and care coordination company, to provide greater support for Imagine360's growing base of enterprise clients. The partnership will give large employers the power of deep, sustainable savings from Imagine360, and participants will be supported by expert and empathetic healthcare navigation from Quantum Health.
• JCPenney partnered with Revieve, a personalized digital brand experience company working with global brands, retailers, and digital services providers in the beauty, skin, health, and wellness categories. As a part of this collaboration, JCPenney launched an AI-powered skincare advisor experience and true-to-life AR-powered makeup try-on capabilities. JCPenney's Skincare Advisor leverages Revieve's proprietary Skin Diagnostics technology and AI-powered product recommendations as a seamless, end-to-end experience in which consumers can find a personalized skincare routine with a simple selfie. To receive an in-depth skincare analysis and customized product recommendations, visitors to JCPenney's website can take or upload a selfie and answer a quick questionnaire about their skin type and concerns. Revieve's proprietary Skin Diagnostics technology then analyzes more than 120 skin metrics to provide users with an in-depth analysis of their skin and offer JCPenney Beauty product recommendations and skincare education tailored to their needs.
• Optimis Services, a provider of cloud-based rehab therapy practice management and EMR technology, and Kareo, a provider of cloud-based clinical and practice management software solutions for independent healthcare practices and billing companies,  announced a software integration and channel partnership intended for private practice rehab clinics. The integrated offering by Optimis and Kareo delivers a best-in-class solution designed for independent rehab practices. The streamlined workflows and robust business intelligence will create efficiencies that allow staff to spend less time on tedious tasks and more time generating revenue, while also gaining crucial insight into how their practice is performing.
• Recora, provider of cardiac recovery program for health systems, medical groups and health plans, announced that it is partnering with the Tampa General Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute for its Cardiac Recovery Program. This program will be the first of its kind in Florida's Tampa Bay region, expanding Tampa General Hospital's outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program to more eligible patients in the academic medical center's 23-county service area. Through virtual tools provided to patients and on-demand access to care teams and other resources, the program empowers patients to manage their heart health from home while enabling providers and plans to provide comprehensive cardiac care and strengthen patient relationships. Recora currently serves more than 30,000 cardiac patients in the U.S. across health systems, health plans and medical groups in urban, suburban and rural communities.
• Tangent90, a provider of digital solutions to help pharmaceutical companies improve their engagement with healthcare professionals, entered into a strategic collaboration with NEJM Group publications. NEJM will use Tangent90's Trustrack links to support digital rights management and seamless access to content for its pharmaceutical clients looking to reach HCPs. Trustrack links deliver an optimized HCP experience across all channels and provide insights into content utilization, which helps support the identification of 'next best action' with 'next best scientific content' to deliver the most appropriate content to the HCP.
• VoxNeuro, a commercial stage Software-as-a-Medical-Device brain health company that analyzes brain biomarkers to assess cognitive function, announced a new partnership with Boston University. In partnership with BU, VoxNeuro has launched two studies that will evaluate its cognitive health assessment platform in an outpatient setting to assess diagnostic accuracy. The studies will focus on patients suffering from mild-Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)/Concussion and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively.
• Uwill, a teletherapy solution for colleges and students, announced a partnership with Gettysburg College to support the counseling services available on campus and increase capacity. As the need for mental health support increases nationwide, Uwill's solution utilizes need and preferences to immediately match students with a diverse team of licensed and available counselors. Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions worldwide including the UC Santa Barbara, Berklee Online, Xavier University, and Morgan State University to ensure their mental health and wellness environment meets student needs.
• Accuray, designer of radiotherapy solutions, announced that it is joining forces with Genolier Innovation Hub, a scientific and medical platform focusing on translational research, development and presentation of innovations and education, in support of a unique new approach to improving patient care. Genolier Innovation Hub will unite companies from the medtech, pharma and biosciences sectors, physicians and scientists, under one roof, with the goal of bringing medical and technological advances to patients faster. The Hub is expected to open in early 2024. Genolier Innovation Hub will be located in the heart of the Genolier Healthcare Campus in Genolier, Switzerland. The facility will offer different workspaces to meet the varied requirements of the participants including operating rooms to support simulation-based training, bunkers with radiation therapy systems for training, R&D and demonstration, and meeting rooms equipped with the most advanced technologies to host seminars, workshops and events. Accuray will leverage the Hub as a global training center where customers will have the opportunity to obtain hands-on training and learn about advanced radiation therapy techniques, using its CyberKnife and Radixact Systems, from renowned faculty.
• Artemis Health, a benefits analytics platform, announced a partnership with Zerigo Health, which delivers a connected light therapy solution for treating chronic skin conditions at home or on the go. This partnership helps employers, advisors, and health plans evaluate and manage benefits for their members with chronic autoimmune skin conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (eczema). As part of the partnership, Artemis clients will have the ability to evaluate their specialty drug spend and trend for chronic skin conditions, and seamlessly add the Zerigo Solution to their benefits offering through their existing agreement with Artemis. Additionally, clients who choose to add Zerigo will gain no-cost access to Artemis’ newest product, Console, a first-of-its-kind point solution evaluation tool that empowers benefits leaders and advisors to better access and evaluate outcomes, insights and key performance metrics for their benefits programs against five key pillars: engagement, care & utilization, financial impact, consumer satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. Clients will be able to use Artemis Console analytics to help identify candidates for the Zerigo Solution and easily evaluating the program’s impact on member satisfaction, clinical outcomes, quality of life, and costs.
• Stayhealthy, a company at the intersection of health and entertainment empowering families and kids to learn, entered into a partnership with Young Minds Inspired, a provider of free educational outreach programs for learners of all ages, to develop a range of educational mobile games for children. YMI will partner with Stayhealthy to create educational programs and games for their YMI Educator Network.
• DearDoc, a cloud-based growth platform for practice owners, announced a partnership with WebMD Care and Vitals Directories to enable direct patient-to-practitioner communication through DearDoc’s AI Chatbot technology. With this partnership and technology integration, medical practitioners in the WebMD Care and Vitals Directories can now add a “Chat Now” button that takes patients to DearDoc’s AI Chat feature. The AI Chat directs patients to book an appointment and get frequently asked questions answered, such as services offered or insurance accepted. In addition, the technology enables 24/7 accessible communication between doctors and patients with one simple click.
• Akido Labs, which collaborates with healthcare, government, and non-profit institutions to implement programs that tackle inequities in public health, announced the launch of its medical network through a partnership with Chaparral Medical Group; this launch marks a new phase in the company’s growth strategy as it works to redefine the healthcare experience from the ground up. Akido’s medical network is powered by its Care Delivery Platform – human-centered technology designed to create a frictionless experience for patients and care providers. The predictive capabilities of its Care Delivery Platform will enable Akido to develop scalable prevention-focused programs informed by social determinants of health.

M&A

• Headspace Health, a provider of on-demand mental health support, acquired Shine, an app dedicated to inclusive mental health and wellness support
• Datavant, an organization that helps organizations securely connect health data, acquired Convenet, a health technology infrastructure company
• Contigo Health, a provider of comprehensive services that optimize employee health benefits, agreed to acquire assets from TRPN Direct Pay, a claims payment process company, and Devon Health, a Preferred Provider Organization network service provider
• DCC Healthcare, a provider of products and services to healthcare providers and health and beauty brand owners, agreed to acquire Medi-Globe Technologies GmbH, an international medical devices business focused on minimally invasive procedures
• Alira Health, a patient-centric, global health care advisory, clinical research and technology company, acquired Artisan Healthcare Consulting, a consulting firm that provides strategic insights to healthcare companies
• headversity, a provider of preventative mental health solutions for employers, acquired the assets of Health Improvement Solutions, an evidence-based provider of health and wellness program planning evaluation and related program services
• Walgreens Boots Alliance completed its majority share acquisition of CareCentrix, an independent home-centered platform that coordinates care to the home for health plans, patients and providers
• RQM+, a MedTech service provider, acquired Jordi Labs, a provider of chemical characterization and complex product deformulation as well as contaminant and failure investigations to MedTech manufacturers
• W. L. Gore & Associates, a global material science company, acquired InnAVasc Medical, a medical technology company focused on easing the treatment of dialysis patients
• PrepMD RMS, a cardiac clinical solutions company, acquired the intellectual property and technology assets of LindaCare, a digital health company specializing in remote monitoring
• Velocity Clinical Research, an integrated research site organization, acquired MedPharmics, a clinical research consortium 
• Prime Healthcare, a for-profit health system, acquired 11 facilities from Medical Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust that acquires and develops net-leased hospital facilities
• ClearCourse, a software and payments company, acquired Blue Zinc, which develops and supplies software to manage patient referrals, clinical pathways, and clinics for both physical and mental health
• Roche acquired Good Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the generation of a new class of drugs that offer potent activity only where it is needed
• Marken, part of global business UPS Healthcare, acquired medical courier company Cedra Express
• Sapphiros, a computational biology company, acquired Flexotronix, a company focused on developing high volume manufacturing technologies and flexoprinted electronics
• Lesaffre, a French yeast manufacturer, acquired Recombia Biosciences, a company with the goal of unlocking the full power of biology to make sustainable products
• Zuora, a cloud-based subscription management platform provider, completed its acquisition of Zephr, a subscription experience platform

Funding Roundup

• Verily, Alphabet's research organization devoted to the study of life sciences, raised $1 billion
• LetsGetChecked, a full service digital health platform, raised $20 million
• Inherent Biosciences, which looks to expand fertility care though epigenetics, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• Upfront, a patient engagement and access platform, raised $10.5 million
• TCARE, an evidence-based family caregiver support solution, raised $17 million
• xWave Technologie, whichs uses technology and data analytics to allow patients to receive the correct medical tests and scans in hospital, raised €1.3 million
• CertifyOS, a provider intelligence platform that delivers API-first credentialing, licensing, enrollment, and network monitoring to payors, providers, health systems and digital health companies, raised $14.5 million
• Transdermal Diagnostics, a developer of technology to monitor glucose levels non-invasively, raised £1.1 million
• Millie, a virtual maternity clinic, raised $4 million
• Cuéntame, a mental health technology platform that supports companies in generating mentally healthy environments through technology and data analysis, raised $1.1 million
• Nutromics, a continuous diagnostic monitoring company, raised $14 million
• Otolith Labs, maker of a headband wearable that aims to treat chronic vertigo, raised $20 million
• ILiAD Biotechnologies, a clinical stage biotech company developing the world’s most advanced next generation pertussis vaccine, raised $42.8 million

(Image source: healthcareitnews.com)