Digital health news, funding round up in the prior week; November 21, 2022

DispatchHealth raised $330M; Sondermind bought Total Brain; Elizabeth Holmes gets 11 years in prison

Top Health News

• Highmark Health, Google Cloud, and League unveiled their collaboration on an interoperable, digital health platform that makes it simple for individuals to navigate health care and connect to the right tools and resources when and where they need them. The navigation technology can be envisioned as a "digital front door" to a holistic customer experience and will initially be integrated into a new My Highmark health insurance member portal and mobile application. Via one username and password, My Highmark will provide seamless care navigation, shared care plans, virtual and digital health, simplified bill payment, and cost transparency to Highmark's 6.8 million members.
• MDLIVE, an Evernorth company and one of the nation's leading virtual care providers, announced the next evolution of its rapidly growing virtual primary care program to enhance support for patients with chronic conditions. The program is part of Evernorth's long-term effort to build new models of care delivery to provide patients with seamless, convenient access to care while reducing costs and improving health outcomes. Beginning in 2023, millions of people with MDLIVE Virtual Primary Care as a covered benefit through their health plan or employer will have access to this chronic condition management program. It will initially be available for patients with hypertension and expand throughout the year to other common chronic conditions. Among patients who had wellness screenings through MDLIVE's primary care services, 68 percent were identified as having at least one chronic condition.
• BioIntelliSense, a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company, announced its partnership with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health to further understanding of human health in space. The BioButton medical grade wearable device will be used for commercial spaceflight research programs and notably during the upcoming five-day Polaris Dawn mission. This historic mission will be flown by SpaceX and is scheduled to launch after March 2023. Medical and scientific research on human health in space promotes the advancement of translational technologies by adapting known technology for space applications, and by using space-based insights to improve healthcare at home.
• Ellipsis Health, an AI-generated vocal biomarker technology provider, and Tiatros, a digital health company that helps employers, provider systems and payers equitably increase the availability of effective mental health, addiction care and wellbeing services, announced a partnership that will integrate Ellipsis Health's vocal biomarker technology into Tiatros' behavioral health and social support platform. Specifically, Ellipsis Health's technology will enable providers on Tiatros' platform to triage patients, check care needs between sessions, inform treatment plans and monitor results.
• Particle Health, a user-friendly API platform for advanced healthcare data exchange, announced that Jasper Health has chosen Particle’s FHIR-based solution to provide a secure access point to retrieve clinical data in order to enhance their existing clinical data integrations. Under the terms of the agreement, Jasper Health, a digital oncology platform, will leverage Particle Health’s modern API platform to generate meaningful patient data and uncover advanced clinical insights that can elevate the delivery and experience of cancer support for patients.
• BioT Medical, a company providing a validated cloud-native platform for building new care models based on Internet of Medical Things medical devices, announced a strategic agreement with NTT DATA, a digital business and IT services leader. The partnership enables health systems to overcome the six primary challenges associated with a Hospital at Home service: clinical, regulatory, financial, staffing, social and technological.
• LG Electronics announced its first joint solution with digital healthcare enablement company Amwell, designed to expand the boundaries of digital health innovation and address a major issue faced by hospitals across the country – workforce shortages. the Carepoint TV Kit, by LG and powered by the Amwell Converge platform, leverages existing LG healthcare TVs, a leading brand of TVs in hospitals and healthcare facilities, in patient rooms to allow providers to remotely engage, monitor and discharge patients, thereby reducing healthcare professionals' workload.
• Redox and Smile Digital Health, two healthcare interoperability companies, announced a partnership to make healthcare data exchange easier for payers, providers, and any other organization engaging healthcare products and/or services. With Redox's Smile Digital Health Connector, providers can simplify the process of transforming clinical and administrative data from legacy systems into FHIR R4 for easy ingestion to Smile Digital Health. Further, payers can take control of member experiences, streamline prior authorization, close gaps in care, modernize risk adjustment, and much more.
• Revitalist, a ketamine focused clinic operations, and WAKE Network, a psilocybin bioscience company focused on advancing the field of psychedelic and fungi-based therapeutics, announced a joint venture partnership opening psychedelic clinics and retreats with vertical offerings with a personalized medicine and therapy approach.
• IRRAS, a commercial-stage medical technology company with a portfolio of products for neurocritical care, announced it has signed a Sales Agency Agreement to promote its IRRAflow system in the United States with Medtronic, a global leader in healthcare technology. During the initial pilot phase of the agreement, Medtronic shall have the exclusive right to promote IRRAflow in a select number of its territories in the United States. The IRRAS neurocritical education team will closely support the Medtronic sales professionals to train new customers, fulfill customer orders, and support patient treatments within these designated territories.
• COTA,  an oncology real-world data and analytics company, announced a new partnership with Google Cloud to develop algorithms that will extract and make sense of unstructured data from electronic health records. The companies will apply machine learning and natural language processing to curate text fields like clinician notes, transforming them into structured fields that can be used for research and analytics.In collaboration with Google Cloud, COTA will look to augment manual, human-led abstraction with technology-first abstraction and curation best practices. This approach will, over time, provide access to even more advanced data elements that may be buried in unstructured notes.
• Urovant Sciences, a subsidiary of Sumitovant Biopharma, announced the launch of Time To GoTM, a multi-channel educational campaign in partnership with Thinx Inc., the leading period and incontinence underwear brand. This campaign highlights the impact of overactive bladder and introduces options for managing symptoms of OAB, which may make those suffering from OAB feel more comfortable leaving their home this travel season. OAB patients are encouraged to discuss their symptoms with their doctor to determine their best treatment options to help manage the condition.
• UC Davis Health and General Catalyst announced a new collaboration to develop a digital transformation strategy, bolstering the prominent academic medical center’s status as one of America's leaders in digital medicine. As part of this partnership, UC Davis Health will utilize the General Catalyst ecosystem of companies to drive artificial intelligence and digital health innovations in several areas. These will include health care delivery, research, education, and public service, as well as the medical center's ongoing transformational efforts in operations, care and outcomes.
• BrightInsight, a provider of a platform for biopharma and medtech regulated digital health solutions, announced an enterprise agreement with CSL Behring, a leading biotechnology company. Following the swift and successful launch of CSL Behring’s Hizentra® app, BrightInsight will help CSL Behring build, launch, and maintain digital solutions for its late stage and marketed rare disease therapies. The expanded partnership includes plans for additional apps and geographic expansion. BrightInsight will also serve as legal manufacturer of record.
• SleepScore Labs, a global health and wellness company focused on sleep, announced its expansion into Germany with the launch of the world's first digital sleep improvement program to be certified by a government body for up to 100% reimbursement by health insurers. The program will be made available to tens of millions of insured people in Germany and opens the door for expansion across the European Union. Delivery of this program comes via a newly formed partnership between SleepScore's EU headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and ResMed Germany, bringing together SleepScore's sleep science and technology expertise with ResMed's unrivaled expertise in clinical sleep diagnostics and therapies as well as their vast reach through their established "Dein Schlaf. Dein Tag." brand.
• Mediclinic Middle East agreed to a partnership with BUDDI AI, provider of AI-powered healthcare solutions, and its UAE operating partner Digi7, a digital health care company with specific expertise in health-tech, digital medicine and AI, to integrate the CODING.AI solution across all MCME hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. For MCME, this is the first step in an automation journey, using a platform which is fueled by an unmatched patented ‘contextual lake’ and deep learning algorithms to simplify workflows by making sense of unstructured EMR data.
• Nuance Communications and NVIDIA announced a partnership that puts AI-based diagnostic tools directly into the hands of radiologists and other clinicians at scale, enabling the delivery of improved patient care at lower costs. The partnership brings together the nationwide scale of the Nuance Precision Imaging Network, an AI-powered cloud platform that delivers patient insights from diagnostic imaging into clinical and administrative workflows, and MONAI, an open-source and domain-specialized medical-imaging AI framework co-founded and accelerated by NVIDIA. Together, they enable the safe and effective validation, deployment and evaluation of medical imaging AI models.
• MEDIMAPS GROUP, a med-tech company specializing in image processing software for assessing bone health, announced that its novel method for enhancing osteoporotic fracture risk assessment, Trabecular Bone Score (TBS iNsight), a surrogate of bone microarchitecture boosted by AI, is now available on diagnostic platforms from OsteoSys, a Bone Mineral Densitometer brand in Korea and the third largest supplier of DXA scanning equipment worldwide.
• nfant unveiled the nfant Thrive Feeding System, its parent-focused connected home nursery product line that applies technology to take the guesswork out of baby feeding. The company also announced a strategic alliance with two health platforms – SimpliFed and bttn. The partnership with SimpliFed, a maternal telehealth platform dedicated to infant nutrition and parental support, will deliver professional virtual lactation and feeding support to parents to optimize growth and development. The partnership with bttn, the world's largest online medical supply store, will expand nfant’s eCommerce to both healthcare professionals and parents.
• Wolters Kluwer, Health announced it is partnering with Microsoft to enable healthcare organizations to unleash innovation through the combination of Wolters Kluwer’s market-leading solutions and the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The first phase of the partnership focuses on Wolters Kluwer’s expert solutions for healthcare and ranges from the integration of current products to new solutions and applications built on Azure. One of those new solutions is Digital Health Architect, which integrates Azure DevOps, Azure Active Directory and Azure Cosmos DB. The solutions are available today in the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace for virtual care companies and payer care management using the same evidence-based, technology-enabled content and tools that currently power UpToDate, Lexicomp, and Emmi.
• GenieMD, a provider of a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based, mobile-first, virtual care platform and Lifestyle Health RX, an integrative health and wellness solution provider targeting the 55+ community, announced a partnership that leverages GenieMD’s easy to use award winning virtual care platform to increase access to care to the active residents of the largest retirement community in the US – all in the comfort of their home.
• GenieMD and Hurdle, a bio-infrastructure platform that powers end-to-end diagnostics for health and wellness providers, announced a new at-home heart health panel offering to streamline the testing experience for patients and improve health outcomes. GenieMD’s collaboration with Hurdle’s bio-infrastructure platform provides patients with access to hundreds of biomarkers via lab services from the convenience of home. This capability can increase patient engagement, providing actionable information to encourage preventive health behaviors, improving both individual health and creating healthier communities.
• Andor Health, a company that harnesses machine and human intelligence to configure and orchestrate the way care teams connect and collaborate, announced a partnership with Vidyo, an Enghouse Company. Enriching people’s lives, Vidyo provides solutions that are flexible and easy to use, delivering the reliability, interoperability, and scalability needed for today’s healthcare environment. This partnership between Andor Health and Vidyo will give healthcare organizations the ability to combine and extend Vidyo’s real-time video with ThinkAndor’s robust digital front door capabilities providing a concierge approach to digital encounters and improving patients' access to the right care environment. Vidyo customers Group can now easily create pathways to virtual lines of care by leveraging the power of ThinkAndor.
• Quit Genius, a digital clinic for treating multiple substance addictions, announced today that it has partnered with Alight, a cloud-based provider of integrated digital human capital and business solutions, to provide smoking and vaping cessation through Alight’s proprietary Alight Worklife platform.
• Rhinostics announced an expanded partnership with LVL technologies GmbH, which includes Rhinostics’ reselling of LVL’s decapper instrument and LVL’s distribution of Rhinostics’ automated collection devices in Germany and Austria. By combining the Rhinostics’ sample collection device ingenuity with decapper technology, laboratories can benefit from an instantly scalable automated swab and small volume blood collection processing workflow. Automation breaks through manual bottlenecks during capping and recapping steps so that laboratories can increase throughput and consistency while also decreasing cumbersome steps as well as reagent and labor costs.
• Amazon launched Amazon Clinic, a virtual care platform that allows customers to select a third-party telehealth provider that best meets their timeline and budget, then connect directly with a licensed clinician. Customers start out by choosing their condition, then choosing their preferred provider, after which they complete a short intake questionnaire. Customers and clinicians then directly connect through a secure message-based portal. After the consultation, the clinician will send a personalized treatment plan via the portal, including any necessary prescriptions to the customer’s preferred pharmacy. Consultations include ongoing follow-up messages for customers with their clinician for up to two weeks. To start, Amazon Clinic will operate in 32 states and will provide virtual care for more than 20 conditions, including acne, asthma refills, birth control, cold sores, conjunctivitis, dandruff, eczema, erectile dysfunction, eyelash growth, genital herpes, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hyperlipidemia refills, hypertension refills, hypothyroidism refills, men's hair loss, migraines, motion sickness, rosacea, seasonal allergies, sinusitis, smoking cessation, urinary tract infections, and yeast infections.
• Medication adherence platform Medisafe announced integration of the Salesforce CRM into its Care Connector platform, which automates engagement communication between support teams and their patients. By adding Salesforce, it will allow manage patient support and HUB services to be conducted from a single central system. In addition, it also creates a fully integrated ecosystem with a suite of CRM managed packages of components that aren’t limited to a singular pharmaceutical brand or drug.
• DermTech, a precision dermatology company enabled by a non-invasive skin genomics platform, announced an agreement with Sonora Quest Laboratories, a diagnostic laboratory, to expand access to enhanced melanoma detection. As a result of the agreement, Sonora Quest will be the exclusive laboratory in Arizona to offer the DermTech Melanoma Test to its vast network of healthcare providers.
• Primasun, an end-to-end, clinically-supported solution for addressing complex sleep disorders, launched at HLTH 2022. Formed as a joint venture between ResMed, a global leader in digital health and sleep technology, and Verily, an Alphabet precision health company, Primasun's offering combines cutting-edge healthcare technology and advanced healthcare research into one comprehensive digital health platform. Through its preventive care model, Primasun works with employers and healthcare providers to identify populations at risk and connects patients to certified sleep physicians who guide them from diagnosis to treatment in a matter of weeks.
• Medline, a medical product distributor and manufacturer, together with Hologenix, a materials science innovator, launched a new line of CURAD Performance Series orthopedic products powered by CELLIANT infrared technology. CELLIANT, the flagship innovation of Hologenix, is a proprietary blend of natural minerals that allows textiles to convert body heat into infrared energy, returning it to the body and temporarily increasing local blood flow and cellular oxygenation. This has been clinically demonstrated to support recovery from physical activity and fatigue, increase endurance and stamina, and boost overall performance in healthy individuals, among other benefits.
• Quantum Health, a healthcare navigation and care coordination company, announced Quantum Health Access, its new offering that provides self-insured employers a flexible entry point into the company's industry-leading consumer healthcare navigation experience. Employers everywhere face escalating challenges, and Quantum Health Access provides healthcare navigation and member services that enable them to meet their growing employee healthcare experience needs. The new solution also provides the flexibility employers need to design and manage their own comprehensive benefits programs, integrating with multiple carriers and digital point solutions to drive better member engagement, utilization and satisfaction.
• Redirect Health, a platform that creates and manages healthcare solutions for businesses and employees nationwide, announced its partnership with Pearl Health, a leading technology company focused on physician enablement and risk-bearing in value-based care. Redirect Health has developed an end-to-end healthcare solution, simplifying and streamlining the patient experience with technology and providing access to virtual and in-office visits, chiropractic care, and more. Pearl Health brings provider-enablement and risk-bearing technology and expertise to help Redirect Health take the next step in its transition to value-based care through Medicare's ACO REACH model.
• Quartet Health, a mental health care technology and services company, announced the launch of its behavioral health care clinic. In light of the mental health capacity shortage seen nationwide, the clinic's aim is to fill in care gaps and deliver speed to quality behavioral healthcare for all, especially those with moderate to severe mental illness. Treatment from the clinic is provided by a dedicated, full-time multidisciplinary care team with experience delivering high-quality, evidence-based care to complex patient populations. The care team will coordinate care with primary care and community resources for comprehensive quality care. The team is led by board-certified psychiatrists and composed of psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, nurse care managers, and patient care coordinators. Clinic services include biopsychosocial assessments, comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, medication management, follow-up visits, and ongoing psychotherapy. In addition, nurse care managers assist patients with food, housing, job training and placement, access to medical health care, and other crucial areas that can contribute to and exacerbate mental health challenges.
• Asante, a local, community-owned and governed not-for-profit organization, announced a partnership with Edgility to improve patient throughput and increase capacity across its three hospitals. This partnership creates new and advanced cognitive capabilities, from activating system-ness to reducing waste. Edgility has been engaged to help Asante frame the necessary infrastructure that puts in place effective methodologies for training caregivers and maintaining accountability for various KPI metrics.
• ekincare, an AI integrated OPD benefits and well-being platform, and Stanplus, India’s largest medical response company, pledged to provide industry-leading emergency services to India’s corporates. ekincare’s 500+ corporate customers will now have access to Stanplus’ network of 6000+ ambulances in over 550+ cities across India with a 24/7 emergency support helpline, an ambulance support at doorstep SLA in under 30 minutes and hospital admission support across 300+ hospitals across India.
• Lightning Step Technologies announced its integration with Hatch Compliance, a software preconfigured with all state, Joint Commission and CARF standards to manage all compliance and operational needs for behavioral healthcare organizations. Aligning with Lightning Step’s mission to provide organizations with one software solution for all their clinical and operational needs, Hatch Compliance’s integration will allow clients to utilize their features within the same platform—eliminating the need for multiple logins. This will enable facilities to save even more time and make it easier for staff to adhere to their state and accrediting body standards without having to leave the Lightning Step platform.
• physIQ, a continuous remote patient monitoring and data analytics company, announced that OncoBay Clinical, an oncology-focused Contract Research Organization, has joined the Intrepid Partner Program. OncoBay will use physIQ’s technology to monitor and evaluate the health and safety of cancer patients and treatment effectiveness in near real-time during the clinical trial process. The Intrepid™ Partner Program uniquely enables CROs, such as OncoBay, Academic Research Organization, and other technology solution companies to deliver physIQ’s next generation, near real time patient insights powered by high-fidelity medical grade biosensor data streams to their pharmaceutical customers.
• ElevateBio, a company focused on powering transformative cell and gene therapies, and Affini-T Therapeutics, a biotechnology company unlocking the power of T cells against oncogenic driver mutations, announced a partnership to advance Affini-T's engineered TCR-T therapies focused on KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog), one of the most prevalent oncogenic driver mutations in solid tumor cancers. Affini-T will leverage ElevateBio BaseCamp’s LentiPeak TM lentiviral vector technology platform and cell therapy production capabilities to advance its investigational oncogenic driver programs into clinical development. ElevateBio BaseCamp is a purpose-built viral vector and cell therapy center of excellence with end-to-end process development and current Good Manufacturing Practice manufacturing capabilities for research, clinical and commercial cell and gene therapies, and regenerative medicines.
• OpenLoop, a provider of white-label telehealth support services powering virtual care across the country, announced a partnership with BlueJeans by Verizon to propel anytime, anywhere virtual care delivery. OpenLoop Health has signed a teaming agreement with BlueJeans to provide its clients access to BlueJeans Telehealth, an intuitive, HIPAA-ready virtual care platform designed to to help drive better patient interactions from beginning to end.
• UnitedHealthcare is now administering AARP Hearing Solutions, helping make it easier and more affordable for millions of Americans to purchase prescription and over-the-counter hearing aids. Under the new relationship, AARP members can now purchase prescription hearing aids through UnitedHealthcare Hearing starting as low as $699 per hearing aid. This price is significantly lower than prescription hearing aids available through traditional provider or retail channels1 and includes professional support from a licensed hearing professional, plus personalized assistance from UnitedHealthcare Hearing during and after purchase. AARP members also have access to UnitedHealthcare Hearing’s national provider network of thousands of hearing health care professionals for no-cost hearing tests and in-person assistance for fittings, adjustments and support, plus direct delivery and virtual care options.
• Edifecs, a health information technology solutions company, and Empowered-Home, a digital healthcare ecosystems company, announced a partnership to provide automated prior authorization to medical associations, Accountable Care Organizations, Independent Physician Associations, medical groups, and home health care agencies. Empowered-Home has added Edifecs’ prior authorization solution to its unique partner ecosystem using virtual care management at its core to help ACOs, IPAs, and health plans achieve clinical and financial success as the industry transitions to remote value-based care.
• ProofPilot, the digital protocol automation platform for clinical trials, and Savvy Cooperative, a patient-owned public benefit co-op delivering patient insights, partnered to create a turnkey model for clinical trial sponsors to pressure test protocol designs with Savvy Cooperative patients through ProofPilot's digital protocol interface. Through a flexible engagement model, sponsors can now create one-off or unlimited protocol workflows through ProofPilot's platform, allowing patients and sites to collaborate on optimizing research designs. ProofPilot offers a revolutionary model to affordably scale and incentivize collaborative design with patients and sites for clinical research, seamlessly leveraging the Savvy Cooperative community for feedback.
• Vironix Health announced it is supporting CURE's wellness & Concierge services with AI-software that monitors and enables early intervention on patient health deterioration. Vironix's remote therapeutic monitoring program is nationally recognized for its ability to deliver personalized health benefit to chronically ill and anxious individuals. CURE medical center, under the leadership of renowned medical expert Dr. Lisa Benya, has grown into one of the largest Southern California treatment centers supporting over 2,000 patients with primary care, chronic care, nutrition, mental health, fitness, skin care, and other services. Concierge members receive personalized, comprehensive healthcare plans based on the 11-organ system which thoroughly examine each area of the body and mind. In partnering with Vironix, CURE is incorporating AI-precision monitoring into its preventative care arsenal.
• Cipher Skin, a hardware-enabled monitoring platform that delivers hybrid recovery for musculoskeletal care, announced it launched a pilot program with Parker Health to make Cipher Skin Biosleeve technology available to clinics that use Parker Suite Health Management System. Select orthopedic clinics in Austin, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco will deploy Cipher Skin Biosleeve devices for Medicare and Medicaid patients as part of the program.
• IMPLANET, a medical technology company specializing in vertebral implants, announced the signing of a distribution agreement for its JAZZ range in China and a technology partnership with Sanyou Medical. In accordance with the partnership plan communicated on June 29, 2022 and following the success of the capital increase carried out with the support of Sanyou Medical, the collaboration between the two groups is taking shape with the signature of two agreements, the first commercial and the second technological.
• BioHarvest Sciences, a biotech company focused on plant bio-cells growth for the nutraceutical and the medicinal cannabis markets, announced the signing of a binding Letter of Intent with Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals, one of only seven Drug Enforcement Administration bulk manufacturing registration holders permitted to grow marijuana in the United States for drug related studies approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This follows BioHarvest's October 25th announcement that it could produce unique compositions based on a CBD hemp plant that dramatically increase cannabinoid concentrations (by weight) versus the original plant.
• The Eureka Clinical AI platform, from ConcertAI's TeraRecon, now provides clinicians with key quantitative insights and standardized metrics to make MR imaging analysis simple and fast with the addition of IB Clinic from Imaging Biometrics. Backed by more than 25 years of focused research in neuro-oncology, the IB Clinic applications for advanced MR image analysis provide clinical decision support via enhanced standard anatomical imaging with key physiological information like true regions of contrast enhancement (void of post-surgical blood products), and tumor blood volume and flow.
• Streamline Scientific announced a new partnership today with UroGPO, a pairing that will support urologists and their in-house PCR testing labs with the goals of improving clinical insights, enhancing patient experience, and optimizing reimbursement for privately-owned urology practices. UroGPO is a group purchasing organization that provides purchasing and educational services to urology professionals, connecting them with top manufacturers and service organizations to improve operations, enhance revenue, and reduce costs in their practice. Members of the organization also have the opportunity to network with other members, which includes urology group practice leaders, administrators, medical directors, CEOs, and more.
• GigXR, a provider of holographic healthcare training, announced the availability of the Insight Series by ANIMA RES to provide hyper-realistic 3D anatomy learning for medical schools, nursing schools, healthcare providers and government and defense agencies worldwide. The Insight Series by ANIMA RES features accurately structured 3D models of the lung (Insight Lung), heart (Insight Heart) and kidney (Insight Kidney) to enable learners to see the impacts of conditions and diseases on the affected organs. Delivered on the Gig Immersive Learning Platform – GigXR’s centralized hub for institution-wide immersive learning across all levels, programs and departments – the applications provide institutions and instructors globally with holographic anatomy content that is true-to-life, resource-effective and scalable, according to the company.
• Marpai, an AI-technology company transforming self-funded employer health plans, announced the addition of Virta Health as a Premium Health Partner to improve health outcomes for health plan members with diabetes. Virta offers a breakthrough approach that has proven to reverse type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic diseases safely and sustainably and without the risks, costs, or side effects of medications or surgery.
• Paige, an end-to-end digital pathology solution and clinical AI application, announced it has entered into a multi-stage research agreement with the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht in the Netherlands. UMC Utrecht will deploy Paige AI applications for routine clinical use and conduct a clinical health economics study to support the adoption and reimbursement of AI applications in pathology.
• YourCoach.Health, an operating system for behavior change powered by health coaches, announced a partnership with Feel Therapeutics, a company developing digital biomarkers and therapeutics to bring objective measurement and data in mental health. YourCoach will leverage its verified cohort of cross-specialty coaches to power Feel's live health coaching offerings within Feel's digital health and therapeutics programs.
• Triple Hair is, a Canadian biotechnology company that specializes in developing treatments for men and women suffering from alopecia, launched its asynchronous telehealth service, called Hair Loss Rx Consult. To use Hair Loss Rx Consult, the patient fills out a platform questionnaire and then selects a consulting plan based on review time by a clinician. The company currently offers two plans: the Express, which cost $60 and allows a patient to obtain a diagnosis and treatment plan within three days, and Regular, which cost $30 and takes five days. After payment, the clinician will ask additional questions if needed before coming up with a diagnostic and a personalized treatment plan. After the consultation, a prescription would then be sent to Triple Hair's partnered compounding pharmacy, which will contact the patient to fulfill the prescription, and then send it directly to their home. The Hair Loss Rx Consult service, which is powered by technology from Oro Health, a provider of asynchronous medicine solutions for medical specialists, is currently available for most Canadian province citizens and should be available for US state residents next year.
• Qmed Asia, which assists both public and private healthcare providers with their digital health transformation, announced regional expansion into Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia to introduce value-added services to healthcare segments and patients in the form of innovative digital health solutions that are accessible, affordable, and reliable.
• Hayylo, a tool to help keep up to date with the latest information from a care provider, and Umps, a personal alarm and wellbeing monitoring over a single smart home platform, partnered to integrate their offerings and enable providers to adapt to home aged care reforms. The integration will combine Hayylo's care service platform with Umps Link, a smart home and personal alarm technology currently being used by around 300,000 Australians. Through this, care insights generated through the Umps Link are made available on the Hayylo platform. Hayylo users can also engage clients directly through the Umps Link Hub without having to rely on people to answer calls or check an SMS.
• HeartVista, a pioneer in AI-assisted MRI solutions, and Siemens Healthineers, a global leader in magnetic resonance, announced that they have entered a joint commercial agreement to co-market an integrated offering that brings best-in-class MRI scan sequences into one automated exam protocol. This new product offering will allow customers to combine HeartVista's built-in sequences and Siemens Healthineers' native sequences, to their individual clinical practices.
• Clinical healthcare company K Health announced that the remote Primary Care program available on its platform now includes online medical weight management to treat obesity and help prevent related chronic conditions like hypertension and type 2 diabetes. K Health has partnered with leaders in the healthcare space to tackle chronic disease, most recently through its collaboration with Mayo Clinic Platform on the development of an artificial intelligence predictive model that uses Mayo Clinic data to help doctors optimize hypertension treatment. Its expansion into medical weight management is its next step in creating a first-in-kind Primary Care comprehensive solution to improve health in the U.S. and give millions access to high-quality, affordable doctors and care.
• Calyx, an eClinical and Regulatory solutions and services provider relied on for solving complex data challenges in clinical research, announced a strategic partnership with Neosoma, a medical technology company focused on advancing brain cancer treatment. Through this partnership, Calyx Medical Imaging extends Neosoma HGG (High-Grade Glioma), a novel AI-based neuro-oncology software device to its worldwide customers who are developing treatments for glioblastoma, the most common and challenging, malignant primary brain cancer.
• Brex, a financial stack designed to serve the next generation of growing businesses, announced the launch of Catharsis, a new program designed to support startup founders’ mental health. According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health, 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues. With 1 in 4 startups in the US using Brex today, the company is focused on helping this community navigate the unique challenges often experienced by startup founders.
• The number of people who signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov jumped by 40% compared to last year. More than 13.6 million people were enrolled in health insurance coverage through HealthCare.gov in 2021. At the time, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that a record number of people — more than 9.7 million — enrolled in coverage across 33 states. Enrollment for health insurance in the federal marketplace is expected to reach record highs again this year.
• Asa Ren Pte, a consumer DNA data company, announced a strategic partnership with Artificial Intelligence technology company G42 Healthcare. This collaboration is intended to develop and enhance the genomic sequencing and bioinformatics capability in Indonesia in preparation for the Biomedical Genome Science Initiatives, with the use of microarray methods and whole genome sequencing in the context of laboratory activities.
• LuxSci, a provider of HIPAA-compliant email services, announced a new partnership with StepAhead, a software company focused on protecting healthcare data. By partnering with LuxSci, StepAhead helps healthcare technology organizations protect sensitive data so they can utilize it in ways that do not compromise patient privacy.
• Elizabeth Holmes, the former chief executive of the blood-testing startup Theranos, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for her role in defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Holmes, once seen as a Silicon Valley wunderkind, was ordered to begin her prison sentence on April 27, 2023, in a case U.S. District Judge Edward Davila described as "troubling on so many levels." Before Davila handed down his sentence, a sobbing Holmes stood up and addressed the judge directly. Holmes' defense lawyers had hoped for a short prison sentence, or even home confinement. Now Holmes, 38 and pregnant with her second child, is expected to report to prison in five months. After her release, she is to spend three years under supervision.
• Aloe Care Health, creators of an medical alert and communication service for eldercare, announced a partnership with TruBlue Total House Care, a home services franchise. TruBlue, which provides senior safety home services for aging adults, will now make Aloe Care systems available directly to their customers. TruBlue and Aloe Care are dedicated to empowering aging adults with the tools they need to age in place. Aloe Care's advanced technology fills critical voids for both older adults and caregivers with tools for care collaboration, communication, and safety.
• Henry Ford Innovations, a healthcare innovation program, recently hosted the inaugural "Advancing Health Equity Through Innovation and Collaboration" event in partnership with the PINC AI™ Applied Sciences team, a leading provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and clinical research support services to the life sciences industry. The initiative's purpose was to turn health equity conversations into action by taking measurable steps towards improving the health of millions. Participants included global leaders in life sciences, as well as Henry Ford Health innovators who are already implementing programs to address health disparities in groups who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented.
• Honest Medical Group announced a partnership with Great Lakes Physicians Organization (GLPO). This new Joint Venture will improve clinical outcomes, slow disease progression, and improve the quality of life for GLPO patients with Medicare in Central Michigan. GLPO is an independent physician organization -its mission being to support the success of independent physicians throughout the state of Michigan. GLPO's approximately 300 practitioners are highly regarded and recognized in the state of Michigan for quality of care while also demonstrating low costs for care. Honest, a provider enablement organization, was purpose-built to further advance the doctor and patient experience, improve care, and reduce health care costs.
• Invivyd, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to protect humanity from serious viral respiratory diseases announced a partnership with Population Health Partners, a global life-science firm dedicated to solving the health and economic challenges presented by prevalent diseases. Through the partnership, Invivyd will leverage PHP’s best-in-class clinical development and regulatory expertise to help optimize Invivyd’s product development programs.
• Cleerly, a company creating a new standard of care for heart disease, and Heartbeat Health, a virtual-first cardiovascular company, announced a partnership to use precision heart health to more accurately determine cardiovascular risk and deliver better heart care. Cleerly's AI-enabled approach for evaluating coronary computed tomography angiography allows physicians to more easily identify, characterize and quantify atherosclerosis (plaque) buildup in the walls of heart arteries. This AI-powered scan provides a more accurate understanding of a patient's risk of heart attack and improves on historical assessments of heart disease that use indirect surrogate markers of disease. Heartbeat Health offers real-time clinical data and device connectivity to deliver a range of clinical offerings, including same-day diagnostic reads, televisits and care programs. Heartbeat Health's nationwide team of virtual cardiologists provide better care wherever patients might be.

M&A

• Medicus IT, a healthcare-centric managed service provider, acquired MDcentric Technologies, a provider of healthcare IT services
• CardieX Limited, a company focused on cardiovascular disease, acquired all the assets of Blumio, a developer of advanced algorithms and technology for cardiovascular sensors
• Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, and Fairview Health Services, a providers of health care in Minnesota, signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge and create a new health system
• SonderMind, a provider personalized mental health care, acquired neuroscience company Total Brain
• HCAH, an out-of-hospital care provider, acquired online store Seniority from RPG Group
• Evolent Health, a healthcare administration services specialist, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NIA (also known as Magellan Specialty Health), a specialty benefit management organization owned by Centene Corporation
• PurposeCare, a provider of coordinated home care and home health services in the Midwest, acquired Purpose Home Health, Alliance Home Health Services, A1 Home Health Care and A1 Nursing Care, Newsome Home Health Care, and Honor Home Health
• Reverie Mind, a psychedelic clinic and research organization for mental wellness services and coordinated clinical trials, acquired Arizona Ketamine Treatment and Research Institute
• Medi Assist Healthcare Services, an Indian health benefits administrator, acquired a majority stake in Mayfair We Care, a healthcare-focused administration service provider
• PERA, established by Kain Capital to make a series of regional acquisitions of leading hospice companies, completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Hospice Care of America

Funding Roundup

• Maven Clinic,a virtual care provider for women and families, raised $90 million
• Nymbl Science, a scientifically-proven approach to fall prevention, raised $12 million
• Validic, a company improving the quality of life by making personal data actionable, raised $12 million
• Curavit Clinical Research, a virtual contract research organization that specializes in decentralized clinical trials, raised $5 million
• Assure Health, a provider of virtual care and remote monitoring programs for patients with chronic conditions, raised $8.7 million
• Toney Healthcare Consulting, a clinically-oriented healthcare consulting firm, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• DispatchHealth, an in-home medical company, raised more than $330 million
• Surgery Hero, a digital clinic that helps people prepare for and recover from surgery at home, raised £2 million
• CalmWave, a company leveraging AI to bring operational health to hospitals, raised $4 million
• Eden Care, a digital health insurer, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• Ayble, a virtual digestive care company, raised $4.6 million
• Coeus h3c, a home health devices and solutions provider, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• BeatO, a digital diabetes care platform, raised $33 million
• Untap, developer of a device capable of detecting and monitoring the spread of infectious diseases in sewage, raised £100,000
• Centivax, a broad-spectrum vaccine platform technology company, raised $10 million
• Aescape, a company building fully-automated, data-driven massage therapy experiences, raised $30 million
• PayZen, which offers buy now, pay later services to the healthcare industry, raised $20 million
• Resilience Lab, a mental health-tech company enabling communities of clinicians to collaborate to improve patient access and outcomes, raised $15 million
• ASPIVIX, a medical technology company focused on innovations in women’s healthcare, raised $5 million
• MBX Biosciences, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing Precision Endocrine Peptide therapeutics to treat an array of endocrine disorders, raised $115 million
• Renibus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing breakthrough products for cardiorenal diseases, raised $33 million
• Casma Therapeutics, abiotechnology company engaging the autophagy system to provide innovative new medicines, raised $46 million
• CG Oncology, an oncolytic immunotherapy company focused on developing novel therapeutics for patients with urologic cancers, raised $120 million
• Rezo Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering the integrated mapping of disease networks for precision therapeutics, raised $78 million
• Bonum Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company using allosteric regulation to create conditionally active and less toxic medicines, raised $93 million
• Jnana Therapeutics, a company leveraging its chemoproteomics platform to discover medicines for diseases with high unmet need, raised $107 million
• Lightning Step, an enterprise software provider purpose-built for the behavioral health industry, raised an undisclosed amount of funding

(Image source: wamda.com)