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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.
For homegrown medical technology startups, Canada is a tough market to break into (THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
Intellijoint Surgical Inc. is one of Canada’s leading medical device startups. The Kitchener company’s navigational tools are used by surgeons in 15,000 procedures annually to help improve outcomes of hip and knee replacements, mainly in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Japan. And the company was named Canada’s fastest-growing technology startup by Deloitte in 2020.
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.
2022 Narwhal List tracks Canada’s unicorn explosion (BETAKIT)
The Canadian tech sector has seen a stampede of unicorns in recent years, with an ecosystem that struggled to create $1 billion companies a few years ago now having more than 20 companies surpass that valuation today.
Cityblock Health names co-founder Toyin Ajayi as new CEO (TECHCRUNCH)
Primary healthcare provider Cityblock Health has named co-founder Toyin Ajayi as its new CEO. The company, which has raised nearly $900 million and has a valuation just shy of $6 billion, focuses on delivering comprehensive, quality care to the underserved population relying on Medicare and Medicaid in the U.S.
Larger rounds, US dollars fuelled Canadian tech’s record-shattering 2021 (BETAKIT)
According to briefed.in’s annual tech report, Canadian startups raised a total of $14 billion across 698 deals through 2021. This represents a 218 percent increase in investment dollars and a 31 percent increase in deal volume from 2020. briefed.in’s CEO and founder, Rob Darling, described 2021 as an “amazing year” for the Canadian tech sector.
Startups Make It Easier to Get ADHD Drugs. That Made Some Workers Anxious. (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Digital companies such as Cerebral and Done seized on looser pandemic rules for prescribing ADHD drugs like Adderall. Some workers said they felt pressure to provide the medications.
UnitedHealth says DOJ resting on ‘speculative theories’ to challenge Change Healthcare acquisition (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
UHG announced in January 2021 that it would purchase Change in a deal worth nearly $8 billion in cash and $5 billion in debt. The two companies expected the deal to close in the latter half of 2021 but postponed consummating the merger until February to allow DOJ to conduct its investigation.
While some Canadian tech companies move to support Ukrainians, others cut ties with Russia (BETAKIT)
In a microcosm of global events, some in Canada’s tech community are moving to aid Ukrainians while others are cutting ties with Russian affiliates as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in its third week.
Verily’s clinical research and healthcare businesses are growing, execs say, as company eyes post-pandemic opportunities (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
The Alphabet subsidiary has steadily extended its reach into diverse areas to include care solutions for sleep apnea and diabetes to developing devices like miniaturized continuous glucose monitors. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the company also shifted its focus to COVID screening, testing and research programs.
Wisedocs closes $4.1 million to bring medical document analysis to “entire” insurance ecosystem (BETAKIT)
Armed with $4.1 million CAD in seed capital and a “broader” vision, Toronto-based Wisedocs plans to chase more enterprise-level customers and fuel its United States expansion efforts, as it looks to move into serving other segments of the insurance industry.
Osso VR nets $66 million for surgical training (AXIOS)
Surgical training hasn’t evolved in 30-plus years, but Osso VR is looking to change that by empowering health care professionals with virtual reality.
Microsoft leads MedMe’s $3.4 million CAD seed round to help pharmacies expand beyond retail (BETAKIT)
According to more than a few TikToks, unnecessary apologizing could be a symptom of latent anxiety, a To date, the Toronto-based Y Combinator graduate has amassed a list of over 3,600 Canadian customers ranging from independent pharmacies to some of Canada’s largest pharmacy chains, including Rexall, Shoppers Drug Mart, Guardian, and Pharmasave, which it adapted its platform to serve during the pandemic.
Virtual patient management platform TimeDoc Health scores $48.5M (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
TimeDoc Health, a virtual patient management and outreach platform, scored $48.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Aldrich Capital Partners.
Ottawa-based Fullscript acquires Emerson Ecologics to bring integrative medicine into the mainstream (BETAKIT)
With the transaction, Fullscript nearly doubles its annual revenue and the number of people its platform supports. The company claims it now serves more than 70,000 healthcare professionals and over five million patients. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Doctors often turn to Google Translate to talk to patients. They want a better option (STAT NEWS)
The patient had just undergone a cesarean section, and now was struggling to put words to her pain in her native Taiwanese. The physician making rounds, Natasha Mehandru, was used to communicating with patients who didn’t speak English as a first language at her county hospital in Phoenix. But this time, calling in an interpreter by phone wasn’t working.
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.
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