Digital health news, funding roundup in the prior week; April 25, 2022

Mount Sinai's new fund; DOJ appealed lifting of mask mandate; Amwell expanded to MSK and dermatology

Top Health News

• Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the commercialization arm of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, launched i3 Prism, a technology commercialization fund focused on women and Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) health care innovators. Participating innovators can receive up to $33,000 in funding, based on their work’s milestone achievements, in an effort to bring innovations to life and improve health and well-being for all people.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of nearly $90 million in American Rescue Plan funding to support new data-driven efforts for HRSA Health Center Program-supported health centers and look-alikes to identify and reduce health disparities. The data collection and reporting initiative, called Uniform Data System Patient-Level Submission, is designed to collect more and better data on social determinants of health, while also streamlining and improving data quality reporting for health centers. 
• Emeritus, a microlearning platform with a library of over 5,000 lessons, launched Emeritus Healthcare. In partnership with world-class universities including Emory Executive Education, Columbia Business School and MIT xPRO, Emeritus Healthcare will offer a healthcare workforce development curriculum to address the global shortage. Initial offerings will include Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer programs.
• Amwell announced the expansion of its virtual specialty provider and clinical program portfolio by adding Amwell Musculoskeletal and Dermatology programs. These new programs are designed to address some of the most pervasive and costly areas of healthcare and are part of Amwell efforts to enable health plans to better care for members across a wide breadth of specialty care areas and provide a holistic member experience. 
• Phyto Partners, a venture capital fund, launched its fourth private equity fund, Phyto IV, LP, focused on businesses operating in and around neurowellness and brain health and the use of psychedelic compounds for the improvement of mental well-being.
• The Justice Department filed an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. A federal judge in Florida had struck down the national mask mandate for mass transit, and the Transportation Security Administration said that it would it will no longer enforce the mask requirement.

M&A

• Software investor Main Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in VideoVisit, a provider of software services for virtual healthcare and online consultations
• Laborie, a diagnostic and therapeutic medical technology company, completed its acquisition of GI Supply, a developer of specialty endoscopy and paracentesis products for gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, and interventional radiologists
• Bonafide, a women's healthcare company focused on menopause symptoms, acquired  patented formulation of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e), a naturally occurring substance that is a key nutrient, widely used by the body
• Carbon Health, a national healthcare provider of in-person and virtual care, acquired MedPost Urgent Care’s California clinics, spanning Orange County, Palm Desert, and Paso Robles
• Quipt, a home medical equipment company focused on end-to-end respiratory care, acquired Good Night Medical, a sleep medicine and home ventilation company
• Fulgent Genetics, a technology-based genetic testing company focused on transforming patient care in oncology, infectious and rare diseases, and reproductive health, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Inform Diagnostics, an independent pathology laboratory
• Blackrock Neurotech, an implantable brain-computer interface technology, acquired spatial computing software firm MindX
• ArchiMed, an investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Natus Medical Incorporated, a provider of medical device solutions to screen, diagnose, and treat disorders affecting the brain, neural pathways, and eight sensory nervous systems
• Core Health & Fitness, a global manufacturer of fitness equipment, acquired digital fitness company Wexer
• Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a multinational pharmaceutical company, completed its acquisition of Custopharm, a generic injectable drug services company
• Wallaby Medical, a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing neurovascular interventional products for treating stroke, acquired phenox GmbH, a developer of neurovascular devices for the interventional treatment of strokes
• Infab, producers of radiation protection aprons and accessories, acquired the division of International Biomedical that produces gloves designed to reduce the amount of radiation exposure during surgical procedures
• quip, a designer of personal oral care products and professional dental care services through a digital platform, acquired Toothpic, a provider of teledental services 
• Synergy Health Partners, a hospital services company that improves access to patient care through custom orthopedic and general surgeon staffing programs, acquired anesthesiology provider SoCal Anesthesia Solutions

Funding Roundup

• Spinal surgery technology company Carlsmed raised $30 million
• Healthcare staffing company Clipboard Health raised $80 million
• Blue Spark Technologies, developer of a real-time body temperature monitoring patch, raised $40 million
• Levels, a software company that gives real-time feedback on how food affects health, raised $38 million
• Mylo, a platform for expecting and new mothers, raised $17 million
• Free Market Health, a company transforming the specialty pharmacy ecosystem with a care-driven marketplace platform, raised $13.5 million
• Nue Life Health, a telehealth platform for mental wellness, raised $23 million
• Briya, a healthcare data exchange network, raised $5.5 million
• NexHealth, a startup focused on the patient experience, raised $125 million
• COPE Health Solutions, a healthcare consulting company, raised $7.5 million
• Unlearn, a developer of machine-learning technology that creates digital twins of patients in clinical trials to enable smaller, faster studies, raised $50 million
• Reify Health, a provider of solutions that empower the clinical trial ecosystem, raised $220 million
• Intus Care, a predictive analytics platform designed for geriatric health, raised $3.1 million
• Rology, an on-demand teleradiology platform, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• Pathware, a MedTech company developing hardware and software to bring digital pathology from the central lab to the point-of-care, raised $7 million
• Mendel, which uses AI to absorb clinical data in medical literature and patient health records to unlock data applications, raised $40 million
• SaveIN, a buy now pay later platform for healthcare, raised $4 million
• Tessera Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach in genetic medicine known as GENE WRITING technology, raised over $300 million

(Image source: staticflickr.com)