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Vetster raises $30 million in Series B, partners with investor Pet Meds (BETAKIT)
The investment was led by Kensington Capital Partners, as well as existing investors Whitecap Venture Partners and Brightspark Ventures. PetMed Express also participated in the round, committing $5 million to Vetster along with a strategic partnership.
Clinical trial startup Reify Valued at $5 Billion in Round Led by Altimeter, Coatue (BNN BLOOMBERG)
The Series D financing for the Boston-based company was led by Altimeter Capital and Coatue, according to a statement reviewed by Bloomberg News. Dragoneer Investment Group also participated in the round, along with earlier investors Iconiq Growth, Adams Street, and Battery Ventures.
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Toronto venture funding continued to reach new heights in Q1 2022, but tech valuations may be due for a cooling (BETAKIT)
Toronto’s tech sector once again swept venture funding records away in Q1 2022, but showed signs it may cool off in the coming quarters. Meanwhile, the first quarter also saw Alberta’s tech sector set a new venture funding record, British Columbia see strong results, while Waterloo Region “moved in the right direction,” according to new reports from briefed.in.
Federal government paid $20M for Ottawa company’s COVID-19 test that flopped (NATIONAL POST)
The federal government pre-paid $20 million for COVID-19 tests from Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience that it never received because they never worked as promised, according to new documents.
Pfizer offers AU$100 million for Australian company that developed COVID-19 cough diagnostic app (MOBIHEALTH NEWS)
Biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer has offered AU$100 million (US$74.43 million) to acquire Australian company ResApp, which has developed a mobile app to diagnose COVID-19 by the sound of a person’s cough.
Dialogue to acquire UK-based Tictrac for up to $56 million (BETAKIT)
Montréal-based Dialogue is set to acquire digital health and well-being company Tictrac for up to $56 million, comprising a combination of cash-on-hand and a treasury issuance of common shares of the company.
Clipboard Health, which matches health workers with facilities, raises $80M (TECHCRUNCH)
Clipboard Health, an app-based marketplace that matches nurses with open shifts at nearby healthcare facilities, today announced that it raised $80 million over two unannounced rounds, a $50 million Series B round in 2021 and a $30 million Series C round this year, at a $1.3 billion valuation post-money. CEO Wei Deng says that the proceeds will be put toward hiring in all areas of the business, including in engineering, sales, marketing.
Avi Medical raises €50m to bring back the family doctor experience (SIFTED)
The latest to get backing for this hybrid model is Munich-based healthcare platform Avi Medical. The startup has just raised €50m to pair app-based telehealth with a number of physical clinics.
Mount Sinai launches tech fund for women, BIPOC healthcare innovators (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Called i3 Prism, the fund is open to Mount Sinai staff, faculty and students, and allots up to $33,000 per recipient, with the exact amount depending on the milestones of the person’s work.
University of Alberta spinout DrugBank closes $9 million from Brightspark, Amplitude, Theodorus to fuel drug discovery with its data platform (BETAKIT)
Training machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms requires quality data. In the pharmaceutical sector, obtaining this data can be tough because most of the knowledge about drugs is contained in scientific publications in an unstructured text format.
This former SpaceX engineer wants to prevent you from getting diabetes (FAST COMPANY)
Josh Clemente’s Levels just raised another $38 million to fight metabolic health—and stave off the $327 billion spent annually on the effects of diabetes.
Hospital Robots Are Helping Combat a Wave of Nurse Burnout (WIRED)
Since February, the nurses at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia, have had an extra assistant on their shifts: Moxi, a nearly 6-foot-tall robot that ferries medication, supplies, lab samples, and personal items through the halls, from floor to floor. After two years of battling Covid-19 and related burnout, nurses say it’s been a welcome relief.
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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