Digital health news, funding round up in the prior week; January 9, 2023

GE HealthCare went public; Peleton fined $19M for safety issues; Duke Health partnered with nference

Top Health News

• Baracoda provided the general public with its first glimpse of BHeart, the world's first health tracker with an "endless" battery. Integrated discreetly within bracelets and watch bands compatible with any classic timepiece, BHeart uses its patent pending BMotion energy harvesting technology to recharge itself entirely by motion, body heat and environmental light. BHeart gathers sufficient energy to power a range of sensors that deliver health data to a smartphone app for iOS or Android devices. BHeart uses this captured energy to encourage a more active lifestyle by its wearer.
• CardieX Limited, a global health technology company focused on patient-centric healthcare research and improving clinical trial patient outcomes, announced a partnership between its ATCOR subsidiary and Invaryant, a data-driven health technology company that empowers individuals with precision AI to improve quality, equity and safety, and provides comprehensive, integrated, high quality data to accelerate research and innovation. The new partnership will allow ATCOR and Invaryant to jointly conduct clinical trials and research on maternal health and cardiovascular disease.
• Medable, a platform for patient-centered clinical trials, announced a partnership with non-profit Every Cure, which officially launched in September in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative to scale up an innovative “drug repurposing” research approach to identify treatments for rare diseases. Medable will partner with Every Cure by providing specialized software and services to conduct global, remote clinical trials for drug repurposing candidates.
• Withings announced U-Scan, an in-home biomarker analysis platform. U-Scan is a miniaturized health lab that hygienically sits within any toilet bowl to unlock the wealth of health information in daily urine. It will debut in Europe with two consumer health cartridges with medical versions following in the future. These include U-Scan Cycle Sync for women's monthly cycle tracking and syncing and U-Scan Nutri Balance, a detailed metabolic guide to hydration and nutrition. Withings U-Scan is in development in the US and will not be available until it receives FDA clearance.
• Pear Therapeutics, a company developing and commercializing software-based medicines called prescription digital therapeutics, announced the expansion of its collaboration with Spero Health, an integrated healthcare services organization specializing in local and affordable outpatient care for individuals suffering from substance use disorders, to provide adults suffering from substance use disorder and opioid use disorder access to reSET and reSET-O, for each respective condition. Spero Health, which has implemented reSET and reSET-O at 14 locations in Kentucky, intends to expand access to eligible patients at its 99 locations throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. The expansion is part of Spero Health’s commitment to increase patient engagement and retention in recovery by offering FDA-authorized innovative treatment options.
• GE HealthCare announced that its previously announced spin-off from GE is complete and GE HealthCare will begin trading as an independent company on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “GEHC." GE HealthCare launches with a presence in more than 160 countries and approximately 51,000 employees worldwide serving more than one billion patients a year. The company invests more than $1 billion in R&D annually and generates approximately $18 billion in revenue, with an installed base including more than 4 million pieces of equipment across its four business segments – Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics.
• NeuroLogica, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, announced a partnership with The University of Dundee in Scotland, United Kingdom, to collaborate on research using the OmniTom Elite with Photon Counting Detector computed tomography imaging technology. Professor Iris Grunwald leads the University’s Tayside Innovation MedTech Ecosystem Neuro team, and was key in the formulation of the partnership between NeuroLogica and The University of Dundee. Professor Grunwalds team will analyze differences in patients’ tissue characteristics as well as enhance image quality and resolution of current imaging practices.
• Reperio Health, an at-home health assessment that provides comprehensive results immediately, announced that it secured its first patent — granted on November 1, 2022, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — for the technology that powers the company’s biometric home-based screening service. Reperio’s flagship at-home screening kit utilizes FDA-cleared medical devices that enable users to measure key health metrics from the comfort of their home. The company’s now patented Bluetooth-integrated technology allows users to get their results instantly instead of waiting weeks for traditional lab results.
• Scripps Health agreed to pay more than $3.57 million to the victims of a 2021 data breach. The settlement agreement, which promises payments to the 1.2 million people who joined several lawsuits, is awaiting a judge’s approval. Personal information of 1.2 million current and former patients was compromised on April 29, 2021, when the Scripps’ computer system was crippled for nearly a month during the ransomware attack. Plaintiffs alleged in multiple lawsuits that Scripps failed to adequately secure and safeguard sensitive patient information. If the agreement is approved, minimum cash settlements of $100 will be paid to each plaintiff, with $7,500 given to those whose identities were stolen and qualified for suffering “extraordinary out-of-pocket expenses."
• Quil, a digital health joint venture between Comcast and Independence Health Group, announced it has joined the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP, a new platform to help AgeTech innovators generate new ideas and introduce innovative products to the growing Age Technology market. The announcement comes just as Quil launches the commercial availability of Quil Assure, the first all-in-one platform for personal safety, home safety, and caregiving insights designed for independent seniors and their loved ones. Quil expects this technology to help people successfully age in place on their own terms, and to foster connections with those who support them.
• Verana Health, a digital health company elevating quality in real-world data, and Sight Sciences, an eyecare technology company focused on creating innovative solutions intended to transform care and improve patients' lives, announced a research collaboration designed to provide insights that may lead to improved outcomes for patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. Sight Sciences will leverage Verana Health's Qdata Glaucoma RWD module to evaluate various facets of its OMNI Surgical System.
• Talkspace, an online behavioral health company, will launch the ‘Start From the Top’ campaign, in partnership with Michael Phelps, to encourage every individual to prioritize their mental health as they chart out traditionally “physical” healthy habits to start in the new year. The ‘Start From the Top’ campaign encourages participants to incorporate a mindfulness activity or clinically-backed tip per day to improve their overall wellbeing. ’Start From the Top’ was developed to motivate individuals to take proactive steps, big or small, to incorporate mental health care with their overall health goals as they chart out their resolutions for 2023. The goal of the campaign is to encourage anyone who has been interested in therapy as a tool for improving their mental wellbeing to get started in the new year. At the end of the month, participants in the campaign are eligible to win a free month of Unlimited Messaging or Live Video therapy from Talkspace.
• Abortion pills will now be available at retail pharmacies, thanks to a rule finalized by the Food and Drug Administration. The rule change covers a large swath of brick-and-mortar locations, including local pharmacies and large retail chains like CVS and Walgreens, as well as mail-order pharmacies. In addition, an individual can obtain a prescription for the medications after a telehealth consultation with a healthcare professional. The FDA ruling focuses specifically on mifepristone, which is used in a two-drug medication abortion regimen. The agency first approved the brand version of mifefpristone, Mifeprex, in 2000 and approved the generic version mifepristone tablets, 200 mg, in 2019 for ending an intrauterine pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation.
• Softmatter, a sketch-to-shelf technology company that operates at the intersect of soft goods and wearables, announced its configurable stack of new technologies to accelerate the adoption and proficiency of wearables. The technologies enhance the wearability and user experience of devices by changing their composition through the integration of textile technology. Catering to the needs within the Consumer Technology and Consumer Health industries, Softmatter’s portfolio of solutions look to facilitate access and scale by connecting creators to consumers.
• CitiusTech, a provider of digital technology and consulting services to healthcare and life sciences organizations, announced that it is working with Microsoft to jointly offer PERFORM+ Contracts, a value-based contracting and provider performance management solution for health plans and health systems. As a globally recognized Microsoft Partner, CitiusTech will now offer PERFORM+ Contracts on Microsoft Azure to help healthcare organizations optimize and manage complex value-based contracts across a growing list of quality and regulatory programs.
• Lucira Health, a medical technology company, announced the Canadian launch of Lucira Connect, a new virtual care program that allows Lucira test users the ability to test, learn about treatment options, access a telehealth consultation, and if appropriate, receive a prescription all from home for only the price of the test, excluding prescription costs. Lucira Connect is currently offered in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta with plans to expand.
• Hadasit, the Innovation Engine of Hadassah Medical Organization and BIRAD, the Commercialization arm of Bar-Ilan University announced that they have entered into the research and license agreement with Immix BioPharma, for the development and commercialization of novel tissue specific therapeutics based on anti-BCMA CAR-T cells targeting plasma cell. This technology has been developed as the result of a collaboration between Prof. Polina Stepensky, of Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem and Prof. Cyrille J. Cohen, of Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan. Dr. Shlomit Kfir-Erenfeld and Dr. Nathalie Asherie, of Hadassah Medical Center, and Ortal Harush, of Bar-Ilan University, also participated in the research.
• Mednow, a Canadian on-demand pharmacy, enhanced its national virtual pharmacy offering by partnering with Care Pharmacies. In addition to owned Mednow central-fill pharmacies, any pharmacies that are part of the Mednow PPN will enable Mednow to service more Canadians with localized pharmacy fulfillment. Mednow will collect fees for membership in the PPN, technology fees and other SAAS fees related to the virtual services provided by Mednow.
• Cadence announced a partnership with Ardent Health Services to implement a remote patient monitoring and responsive virtual care program across Ardent’s operations, which include 30 hospitals and 200 sites of care in six states. Cadence delivers personalized, consistent care and intervention as needed from home by collecting, analyzing, and responding to patients’ vitals daily as an extension of their care team. The Ardent-Cadence partnership was first successfully rolled out at Utica Park Clinic in Ardent’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, market and will now be deployed in multiple markets over the next year. The solution underscores Ardent’s commitment to improving patient outcomes, reducing Medicare spending by preventing avoidable inpatient hospital admissions, and improving quality and access to care for all beneficiaries, particularly those with complex chronic conditions and serious illness.
• Medisafe, a digital therapeutics company specializing in medication engagement, announced its Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) technology. This announcement comes just months after achieving ISO 13485:2016 certification, meeting quality management system parameters specific to medical devices, as well as ISO 27001:2013 certification, meeting IT security management system standards specific to medication and digital health platforms.
• CARMAT, designer and developer of Aeson, a total artificial heart, announced the first implantation of its Aeson artificial heart within the framework of the EFICAS clinical study in France. The first Aeson implantation within the framework of this study was performed during the last week of December 2022 by Prof. André Vincentelli and his team at Lille Regional University Hospital.
• Teladoc Health announced the launch of a fully integrated health care experience through a new comprehensive digital application enabling personalized whole-person care to individuals. Consumers will now be able to seamlessly access Teladoc Health’s full range of services, including primary care, mental health and chronic condition management from one place and under a single portable account. In addition, Teladoc Health’s full suite of services will be available in Spanish and English language, under the Teladoc Health brand.
• Duke Health partnered with nference, a science-first software company, to transform healthcare by making biomedical knowledge computable. Together, we aim to accelerate the discovery of state-of-the-art medicine and deliver solutions that will improve the health of the communities we serve. The collaboration will accelerate research by leveraging nference’s advanced analytics platform to promote new scientific breakthroughs.
• Northern Light Health and Optum announced a strategic relationship to enhance the health care experience for patients and providers throughout Maine. As part of this relationship, select Northern Light Health employees will become part of Optum, providing them with new opportunities for growth and career advancement while they continue to support Northern Light Health. Northern Light Health and Optum will work together to improve business processes through investment in leading-edge technology and innovation. This will enable Northern Light Health to access new tools and more resources that ultimately will enhance the patient experience and enable providers to focus on patient care. Approximately 1,400 Northern Light Health employees will become employees of Optum beginning in March 2023. These employees will continue to support Northern Light Health and become part of the Optum workforce of 220,000 people with a mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone.
• The National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, launched the Home Test to Treat program, an entirely virtual community health intervention that will provide free COVID-19 health services—at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions and at-home treatments—in selected communities. The program, first announced by the White House  in September 2022, will make antiviral treatment available for eligible individuals who receive a positive test result, which could prevent severe illness, hospitalization or death.
• GE HealthCare, a healthcare-focused spinoff of General Electric, officially started trading publicly on the Nasdaq composite. The company closed its first day on the market trading at $60.49 per share for a market capitalization of around $27.5 million, an 8% increase from its opening price of $53.85 per share. GE is retaining nearly 20% of the shares of GE HealthCare common stock. The healthcare company, which develops medical devices and software products for health systems, said in a statement it has a presence in more than 160 countries and employs 51,000 people.
• The University of Chicago unveiled Polsky Deep Tech Ventures, a new initiative offering a suite of sector-specific accelerators, entrepreneurial training and funding dedicated to supporting startups that bring world-changing science and technology to market. This effort is aligned with the research strengths of UChicago, Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Each accelerator will leverage the resources of the University and its partners to provide startups with business training, as well as access to faculty advisors, industry mentors, venture capital connections, corporate networking opportunities, funding and student talent. The programs will be open to UChicago-linked ventures as well as non-University affiliated startups from around the nation and world. The endeavor will be funded by more than $20 million in University and philanthropic investments over the next five years.Once fully deployed,Deep Tech Ventures expects to graduate at least 60 startups annually, with novel approaches to fight disease, address climate change, improve cybersecurity and more.
• AbbVie and Immunome, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its human memory B cell platform to discover and develop first-in-class antibody therapeutics, announced a worldwide collaboration and option agreement directed to the discovery of up to 10 novel antibody-target pairs arising from three specified tumor types using Immunome’s Discovery Engine. Under the terms of the agreement, Immunome will grant AbbVie the option to purchase worldwide rights for up to 10 novel target-antibody pairs arising from the selected tumors. Immunome will receive an upfront payment of $30 million and will be eligible to receive additional platform access payments in the aggregate amount of up to $70 million based on AbbVie’s election for Immunome to continue research using its Discovery Engine. Immunome is also eligible to receive development and first commercial sale milestones of up to $120 million per target with respect to certain products derived from target-antibody pairs that AbbVie elects to purchase, with potential for further sales-based milestones as well as tiered royalties on global sales.
• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Peloton agreed to pay a $19 million civil penalty. The settlement resolves CPSC’s charges that Peloton knowingly failed to immediately report to CPSC, as required by law, that its Tread+ treadmill contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard and created an unreasonable risk of serious injury to consumers. The civil penalty also settles charges that Peloton knowingly distributed recalled treadmills in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Beginning in December 2018 and continuing into 2019, Peloton received reports of incidents associated with pull under and entrapment in the rear of the treadmills, including reports of injuries. Despite possessing this information, Peloton did not immediately report to the Commission. By the time Peloton filed a report with the Commission there were more than 150 reports of people, pets, and/or objects being pulled under the rear of the Tread+ treadmill, including the death of a child and 13 injuries, including broken bones, lacerations, abrasions and friction burns. Peloton and the Commission jointly announced the recall of the Tread+ treadmill on May 5, 2021. Staff also charged that after the public announcement of the recall, Peloton knowingly distributed in commerce 38 Tread+ recalled treadmills using Peloton personnel and through third-party delivery firms.
• The University of Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society is collaborating with campus and community partners to develop a more holistic approach to addressing such problems through its new Health Equity Data Lab. With the support of a gift from Accenture, the first undertaking for the lab is the Accenture Health Equity Data project, led by Nitesh Chawla, the institute’s founding director and the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. Accenture has also committed to a fundraising campaign with its employees and alumni, including those who have ties to Notre Dame, over a three-year period. The Accenture Health Equity Data project will leverage the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand and aim to solve the most intransigent healthcare challenges, specifically at the intersection of medical and social care.
• Cardio Diagnostics Holdings, a precision cardiovascular diagnostics company, and Healing Sanctuary Clinic, a medical practice serving health-forward consumers in Idaho, announced the availability of Cardio Diagnostics’ Epi+Gen CHD test in Idaho. As a result of this partnership, Cardio Diagnostics’ Epi+Gen CHD test, which combines epigenetics, genetics, high-throughput computing, and AI to identify those at risk for coronary heart disease, will now be available to eligible patients.
• Mindray North America, a developer of healthcare technologies and solutions for patient monitoring, anesthesia, and ultrasound announced a new strategic agreement with BOMImed, a long-time biomedical company based in Canada. Effective immediately, BOMImed will be the exclusive sales and service provider of Mindray patient monitoring, anesthesia, and ultrasound solutions in Canada for the hospital market.
• Leidos, a FORTUNE 500 science and technology company, has been awarded a subcontract by Accenture Federal Services, a subsidiary of Accenture, to support cloud modernization services for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The time and materials subcontract, part of the $189 million Accenture award, includes a one-year base period of performance with two one-year options as well as one six-month option.
• CipherHealth, a patient engagement technology and communications solution, announced it has engaged SADA, a business and technology consultancy and Google Cloud Partner, to deploy Google Cloud's Looker to collect socioeconomic data to improve patient care. With this new capability, CipherHealth further empowers healthcare leaders to collect and digest massive amounts of data, supporting patients and doctors at every stage of the care journey. CipherHealth previously had platform capabilities that provided healthcare providers with robust conversational and clinical data for each patient. They partnered with SADA, with expertise in deploying and configuring Google Cloud's analytics platform Looker to enable Self-Service Analytics within the platform, furthering those capabilities. CipherHealth has now extended its customers' ability to use that data for later analysis and visualization of the data across the patient's lifecycle using Looker Embedded Analytics.
• Mountain Health Network, Marshall Health, and Logan Regional Medical Center, a ScionHealth Community Hospital, announced a new collaboration aimed at bringing more opportunities for specialty care to southern West Virginia. Through a new memorandum of understanding, the organizations will work to establish a process for identifying and implementing opportunities to enhance health care services for the residents of Logan and surrounding areas. The entities will also seek to find ways to make available maternal fetal medicine, neuroscience, telehealth services as well as service lines and care opportunities to support the patient population served by Logan. Next steps include implementing workgroups of experts from each entity that will seek to develop programs that advance cardiology, pediatric and oncology services for patients in the Logan area.
• PatientIQ, a healthcare technology company deriving actionable insights from patient outcomes data at scale, announced the implementation of its platform by American Orthopedic Partners, a national orthopedic practice headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. AOP is leveraging the platform to unify patient data across the enterprise and to identify clinical quality improvements that impact care. The implementation of PatientIQ comes from a leadership-driven strategy to create a database for the collection of patient-reported outcome scores. Despite data being collected on separate electronic health record systems across the physician-owned enterprise, AOP will gain access to unified patient health information through PatientIQ. AOP will also have access to educational video content and patient satisfaction surveys to inform its value-based care initiatives.
• QIAGEN announced an exclusive strategic partnership with population genomics company Helix to advance companion diagnostics for hereditary diseases. Under the agreement announced today, QIAGEN will be the exclusive marketing and contracting partner in the U.S. for Helix’s companion diagnostic services. The partnership will leverage the Helix® Laboratory Platform, which was granted the first-ever U.S. Food & Drug Administration de novo class II authorization for a whole exome sequencing platform. This brings a new innovative solution to biopharmaceutical customers in support of hereditary disease therapies, complementing solutions both companies already provide such as Helix’s population genomics programs and QIAGEN’s diagnostic expertise, QIAseq Human Exome Kits and global reach supporting research initiatives outside the U.S.
• Sesame, a company building a radically new healthcare system for uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans, and Lucira Health announced their national partnership to increase access to high-quality, convenient and affordable COVID-19 testing and treatment. Via Lucira Connect, a recently-launched virtual care platform, patients who purchase Lucira's COVID-19 Test can now easily learn about treatment options, access a free telehealth consultation powered by Sesame, and if appropriate, receive a prescription from the Sesame telehealth visit, all from home for only $29.
• A new partnership between Stephens County Hospital (SCH) and Wellstar Health System will offer expanded stroke care to patients in Northeast Georgia. The vascular neurology team at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center will support SCH stroke patients virtually. The team will connect with patients and collaborate with emergency room physicians, radiologists, and hospitalists to manage patient care. Stephens County Hospital will add new technology to its radiology equipment that will use artificial intelligence to detect certain types of strokes immediately. This will allow for faster notification to the medical team. The program will launch in mid-February 2023.
• Health Services Management announced Sound Physicians Telemedicine Services is now available to residents in the Texas, Indiana and Florida Senior Living Skilled Nursing Communities. The adoption of telemedicine has increased significantly in recent years as a way to provide high-quality healthcare to patients remotely. Sound Physicians, a leading provider of healthcare services, recently expanded its telemedicine offerings to skilled nursing facilities. The TeleSNF Program provides SNFs and their residents with medical care in place or in the comfort of their own rooms whenever possible. With secure, video-enabled technology and integrated diagnostic tools, the TeleSNF Program can support enhanced clinical care, after-hours admissions, and general cross-coverage needs.
• The American College of Sports Medicine’s global health initiative, Exercise is Medicine, announced a new partnership with EXI, a MedTech company that has developed a robust physical activity prescription platform with a consumer facing app. Powered by EIM, EXI empowers health care professionals to prescribe tailored exercise programs in a way that’s easy, effective, and delivered at the click of a button. ACSM’s partnership with EXI will open the door to putting the platform into the hands of every healthcare and fitness professional to share with patients and clients. In conjunction with wearables and the potential for rewards, healthcare professionals can not only deploy the science but the motivation to drive patient adherence at a scale that can impact public health across the globe.
• Pathkind Diagnostics announced that it has partnered with Roche Diagnostics to advance the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Roche Diagnostics’ cardiac biomarker- NTProBNP is used in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. NTProBNP is a biomarker for detecting heart failure in patients. Reportedly, Roche Diagnostics is the only company to have received a claim extension allowing it to be used to identify the risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular risks in people living with T2DM. 
• RevSpring, a provider of healthcare engagement and payment solutions, announced a new partnership with Azalea Health, a provider of cloud-based healthcare IT solutions and services for community-based healthcare providers and patients, which fully integrates Azalea Health’s platform with RevSpring’s market leading PersonaPay patient payments portal, merchant services and billing engagement solutions. Azalea Health now offers its providers a full-service solution to drive increased patient satisfaction, reduced administrative work, and faster and more efficient patient payments and processing.
• Esperovax, a developer of oral mRNA biologics, and Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building a platform for cell programming and biosecurity, announced a partnership to develop circular RNAs for a variety of therapeutic applications. Initially, Ginkgo and Esperovax will work to develop circRNAs harboring payloads to specifically target colorectal cancer by inducing cell death only in cancerous cells.
• Frontier Medicines Corporation, a precision medicine company seeking to unlock the proteome to advance breakthroughs against otherwise undruggable disease-causing targets, announced the second and third programs under the company's global partnership with AbbVie have advanced into lead generation. These programs harness novel E3 Ligases for targeted protein degradation, through the discovery of small molecules from The Frontier Platform.
• AA Medical, a provider of sustainable solutions to both the new and resale medical device equipment markets, announced it completed a partnership with Certified Endoscopy Products, a medical device reprocessing company specialized in endoscopic devices. Together, AA Medical and Certified Endoscopy will form a preeminent medical device reprocessing company serving the endoscopy, orthopedic, and other surgical device markets.
• Alveo Technologies, a provicer of molecular sensing and diagnostics, announced it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation to co-develop on its novel molecular sensing platform, while contributing to the growth of the life sciences industry in the Caribbean nation. This partnership further demonstrates Alveo’s open-source platform development strategy with the aim squarely on making its platform universally accessible across many testing modalities.
• CG Life, an integrated digital marketing and public relations agency supporting life science and healthcare companies, and MC Services AG, a European public relations and investor relations firm with a similar life sciences focus, announced a strategic partnership between the agencies. The two companies have created an integrated service platform for biotech and pharmaceutical companies to extend their reach and access more easily to capital, talent, and business audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Both firms will remain fully and legally independent.

M&A

• HealthStream, a provider of workforce and provider solutions for the healthcare industry, acquired Electronic Education Documentation System a SaaS-based continuing education management system for healthcare organizations
• Altus Capital Partners, a private equity firm that makes control investments in middle market manufacturing businesses, acquired MGC Diagnostics Corporation, a global medical technology company dedicated to cardiorespiratory health solutions
• LCMC Health, a not-for-profit hospital system serving the healthcare needs of the Gulf Coast region, finalized its acquisition of Tulane Medical Center, Lakeview Regional Medical Center, and Tulane Lakeside Hospital
• ECHO Health, a provider of insurance claim disbursements, acquired Prelude Software, provider of PayPilot, a disbursement-hub solution used by insurers, hospitals and governments
• Butler Health System finalized its merger with Excela Health System 
• Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company, reached a definitive agreement to acquire Embody, a medical device company focused on soft tissue healing
• Ottobock, a supplier of orthotics, wheelchairs and exoskeletons, completed its acquisition of Pace Rehabilitation, a provider of prosthetic and rehabilitation services in the UK
• DNV, a quality assurance and risk management provider, acquired MBI Healthcare Technologies, a healthcare data assurance company
• Funds affiliated with Cressey, a private investment firm focused on building healthcare services and information technology businesses, and Health Enterprise Partners, a healthcare-focused investment firm, acquired The InterMed Group, a provider of healthcare technology management services, from Granite Bridge Partners
• CaseWorthy, a provider of flexible case management software for nonprofits, acquired MediSked, a health and human services software provider that enables publicly funded agencies and non-profits to manage care to individuals receiving home and community based services

Funding Roundup 

• Medify, a platform for medical practitioners and retail pharmacies, raised $1 million
• LunaJoy, a provider of mental health services for women, raised $2.4 million
• Belharra Therapeutics, provider of a photoaffinity-based chemoproteomics platform capable of identifying non-covalent, small molecule drug candidates for any protein, raised $130 million
• Ganymed Robotics, a developer of computer vision software and robotics technologies for orthopedic surgeons, raised €15 million
• GPDQ, a primary healthcare service provider, raised £2.6 million
• ISA Pharmaceuticals, B.V., a clinical stage biotech company developing immunotherapies to treat cancers and infectious diseases, raised $5 million
• KeyCare, a virtual care services provider, raised $3 million
• AVS, developer of a medical device focused on calcified arterial disease, raised $20 million
• Wisdo, a company that has taken on the mission to cure loneliness, raised $5 million
• Herself Health, a company designed to deliver advanced primary care to women over 65, raised $7 million
• Porter, a services platform connecting members with personalized services, products, and care coordination, raised $5.3 million
• Crescendo Health, a health data company powering the next generation of clinical research, raised $3.4 million
• Beyondbmi, a weight management program, raised €525,000 
• Volta Medical, a health technology company developing AI solutions to assist electrophysiologist physicians in treating complex cardiac arrhythmias, raised €36 million
• Arincare, a Thai pharmacy platform, raised $4 million
• PVMed, which offers AI solutions that automatically process and prepare 3D CT scans and MRI data, raised $14 million
• Metagenomi, a genetic medicines company with a portfolio of wholly owned, next-generation gene editing systems, raised $100 million 

(Image source: peerbits.com)