The Healthtech Times is a weekly newsletter covering healthtech news from Canada and around the globe. Subscribe to H|T using the form at the bottom of this page to ensure you don’t miss out on the most important healthtech news every week!
Acquisitions propel Well Health to record revenues, profits in 2021 (BETAKIT)
Fuelled by revenues from its acquisitions, Well Health announced record quarterly revenues for its fourth quarter of 2021. Well reported quarterly revenues of $115.7 million representing a 573 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
ConcertAI hits $1.9B valuation with $150M series C for real-world data cancer research tools (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Formerly known as Concerto HealthAI, the Boston-based company provides its software-as-a-service and data solutions for clinical research to more than 45 healthcare and life sciences companies, contract research organizations, medical societies and regulators across the U.S., Europe and Japan, according to the company.
Osler releases multi-year study of 300+ Canadian VC and growth equity financings
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has released its first comprehensive study of 332 anonymized venture capital and growth equity financings from 2019–2021, valued at US$5.7 billion, providing data and insights for founders, entrepreneurs, investors and advisors contemplating transactions this year and beyond.
Join members of Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies Group April 5, 2022, at 12 p.m. ET, for a special one-hour virtual event when they provide insights and analysis from this important report.
Register for our Deal Points Report event
PocketHealth secures $20 million CAD to put medical records in US patients’ pockets (BETAKIT)
Since closing its first round of venture financing in early 2020, PocketHealth has grown the user base of its medical imaging storage and sharing solution from 150,000 to over 600,000 patients—the majority of which are based in Canada—and increased its revenue run rate sevenfold.
Calgary’s Circle Cardiovascular sells to Thoma Bravo for $213-million, taking IPO ‘off the table’ for years: CEO (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Circle briefly flirted last fall with the idea of going public before the selloff of technology stocks changed those plans. With a new deep-pocketed owner able to fund acquisitions and the prospect of sustained lower valuations for tech companies as interest rates climb, an initial public offering is “off the table for a few years,” chief executive officer Greg Ogrodnick said.
Telus Health continues Canadian healthtech acquisition spree with Sprout (BETAKIT)
Sprout uses machine learning and cognitive behavioural science to deliver personalized user experiences and drive engagement, loyalty, and overall health for users by measuring and rewarding healthy behaviour.
KKR values behavioral-health startup Brightline at $705 million (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Brightline, a provider of virtual behavioral-health services to children and their families, said it is valued at $705 million after raising $105 million from investors led by KKR & Co.
Mayo Clinic assessing Google AI tool as it seeks more insights from patient records (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Mayo Clinic said it is assessing a product from Google Cloud that uses artificial intelligence to better track and analyze language-based information in patients’ electronic health records, such as doctor’s notes.
Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida says creators can’t afford “not to take advantage” of Web3, NFTs (BETAKIT)
At a recent event for BetaKit Patreon supporters, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida and Horizon Blockchain Games co-founder and chief storyteller Michael Sanders discussed how NFTs could change the world of entertainment.
The $4.8 billion mental-health startup Cerebral plans to outsource hundreds of crucial roles to the Philippines. Employees say the move risks disrupting patients’ care. (BUSINESS INSIDER)
The US mental-health startup Cerebral is planning to outsource hundreds of jobs in a move that could complicate patient care, one current and one former employee told Insider.
Canadian startups in Y Combinator tie all-time high at Winter 2022 Demo Day (BETAKIT)
Out of a cohort that comprises 414 startups, 15 Canadian companies participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 Demo Day this week, the accelerator’s 34th to date. The two-day virtual event featured founders from 43 countries to pitch their businesses to selected investors and press.
UAE digital health startup Altibbi scores $44M (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
The AI-backed health tech company now boasts of $50 million in funding dollars. As part of the deal, Foundation Holdings Senior Advisor Jason Kothari will join Altibbi’s board.
How Optimity’s Jane Wang turned a personal tragedy into a life optimization platform (BETAKIT)
Optimity CEO Jane Wang’s work became deeply personal in 2011 when her mother was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. At the time, Wang’s work focused on early cancer prevention, yet her mother couldn’t benefit from that research.
Your doctor is moonlighting on TikTok as an influencer (FASTCOMPANY)
In 2020, Dr. Muneeb Shah started posting on TikTok. As a resident dermatologist at Campbell University in North Carolina, he figured he’d make videos about skin issues that frequently came up during his clinic sessions.
Allscripts sells hospital business unit in $700M deal with Constellation subsidiary (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Harris will acquire a range of assets from the health IT company’s hospital and large physician practices segment, including Sunrise, Paragon, Touchworks, Opal, dbMotion, STAR and Healthquest solutions.
Zymeworks co-founder, former CEO Ali Tehrani joins Amplitude Ventures as venture partner (BETAKIT)
Precision health-focused investment fund Amplitude Ventures has strengthened its team by adding biotech veteran Ali Tehrani as a venture partner. The move comes shortly after Tehrani stepped down as president and CEO of Vancouver-based Zymeworks, which he co-founded over 18 years ago.
Report: Mental health startups raise $5.5B globally in 2021 (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
That amounts to a 139% increase from 2020, according to CBInsights’ State of Mental Health Tech 2021 Report.
Canadian venture capital investment hits all-time high of $14.2 billion in 2021 (BETAKIT)
Canadian venture capital (VC) investment hit an astounding mark this past year, increasing 215 percent from 2020. VC investment in 2021 hit $14.2 billion, following a trend of record years for venture investment that blew all past years out of the water.
Cigna plans to invest $450M in venture arm for digital health, analytics (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Cigna plans to give its venture capital arm a $450 million boost as part of its strategy to increase the company’s shareholder value and deliver long-term growth.
Five tips for startups exploring buy now, pay later (BETAKIT)
PwC’s Andrew Popliger examines Buy Now, Pay Later’s digital adoption and shares tips for startups to ensure their BNPL experience is future-proof.
Health Canada recalls Fitbit watch due to risk of burns (CBC)
The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch has been recalled in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Curv Health closes $5.1 million to connect employers, insurers with healthcare providers (BETAKIT)
In an interview with BetaKit, Curv co-founder and CEO, Shea Balish, said the startup quickly realized that there was a much larger opportunity to apply the remote monitoring tech it had developed to its own full-stack digital clinic.
Ro expands fertility services with Dadi acquisition (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
The deal comes less than a year after the direct-to-consumer virtual care company scooped up Modern Fertility.
FGC Health acquires Pharmacy Access Solutions to help independent pharmacies automate (BETAKIT)
Since 2020, the startup has been on a tear acquiring pharmacies, medical clinics, and an EMS service. The PASI acquisition closed on February 3.
Warburg Pincus co-leads latest funding round in Israel’s MDClone (BNN BLOOMBERG)
MDClone, a synthetic medical data startup, raised $63 million from investors led by Warburg Pincus and Viola Growth to fund global expansion.
We need to keep talking about founder mental health (BETAKIT)
Eigenspace co-founder Jesse Rodgers emphasizes the need for founders to talk about mental health, and shares tips on where to get support.
Nayya nabs $55M to expand its recommendation and personalization engine for healthcare and other benefits (TECHCRUNCH)
The startup has been on a fundraising tear in the last year, a mark of how its service has grown during COVID-19.
Subscribe to The Healthtech Times
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Healthtech Times using the form below to make sure it hits your email inbox every week!
