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Digital health venture funding in the second quarter of 2023 reached a new low, according to a report released by PitchBook today. The funding for digital health amounted to $900 million in Q2, compared to $1.2 billion in Q1. PitchBook analyst Aaron DeGagne expects funding to remain low for at least the next few quarters. The deals that are happening usually involve existing investors, and a growing trend is seen towards debt financing. In 2021, the total value of digital health deals reached a high of $16.4 billion, but dropped to $8 billion in 2022. This year, the trend continues downward.
So what sectors are receiving funding? The most popular categories are behavioral health and care coordination. The largest deal of the quarter was $115 million for Author Health, led by General Atlantic and Flare Capital Partners. The Boston-based startup provides treatment for seniors in Medicare Advantage with serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
Startup Health IQ Fails Despite $200 Million Investment
Startup Health IQ, which received $200 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, has filed for liquidation. The company has $1.3 million in assets and nearly $257 million in liabilities, which means little to no return for lenders, investors, and vendors.
Read more here.
Pipeline & Deal Updates
mRNA Therapeutics: Moderna has partnered with German-based therapeutics company Immatics to develop mRNA-enabled cancer therapies. Immatics will receive an upfront payment of $120 million and potential commercial milestones up to $1.7 billion, excluding royalties.
Autism Diagnostics: The Marcus Autism Center has introduced an FDA-authorized biomarker-based device to aid in the diagnosis of autism in children between 16 and 30 months old.
Healthcare Pricing: Sempre Health, a company that provides patients with a dynamic out-of-pocket pricing system, has raised $20 million in new investment.
Drug Design: Inceptive, based in Palo Alto, has raised $100 million in a series A round. The company aims to develop “biological software” for designing drugs.
Neural Data: Sonera raised $11 million in a seed funding round led by Amplify Partners. The company is developing non-invasive sensors to track neural activity.
Aging Care: Bold has secured a $17 million series A round led by Rethink Impact. Their focus is on developing personalized clinical exercise programs for older adults.
Value-Based Care: Walgreens has announced a strategic partnership with healthtech startup Pearl Health to offer software and services to primary care doctors to transition into value-based care.
Cancer Diagnosis: AI cancer detection startup Paige has partnered with Microsoft to develop a larger model trained on over one billion images from half a million pathology slides.
CDC Approves New Covid Boosters for Most Americans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all Americans aged six months and older receive the updated versions of the Covid-19 vaccines, which target the latest strains of the virus.
Read more here.
Other Healthcare News
Grocery giant Kroger has agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle lawsuits related to the opioid crisis, but denies any wrongdoing.
Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of the abortion pill mifepristone, has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on potential restrictions on the medication.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a hormonal link that may explain why exercise can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Another study found that people with sedentary lifestyles are more likely to develop dementia.
Former White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci does not anticipate a federal mask mandate despite the increase in Covid-19 cases.
The California state legislature has passed a bill that would ban certain chemical ingredients found in popular snacks and drinks, including Brach’s Candy Corn.
Data from South America shows that this year’s updated flu vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization by 52% as the U.S. approaches flu season.
Across Forbes
Criminals Allegedly Use Apple AirTags to Track Illegal Weapons
As Google Turns 25, It Faces the Biggest Tech Antitrust Trial Of A Generation
Inside Apple’s Battle Against Child Exploitation
What Else We are Reading
In the midst of another spike in cases, Covid’s new normal continues (STAT)
Cold medicine containing decongestants found to be ineffective (The Wall Street Journal)
Eldercare startup Papa loses contracts with major health insurers (Bloomberg)
