Last Month In Digital Health (May)

CONTENTS: 1) ??Pharma Digital Health. 2) ??Covid Tech 3) ??FemTech 4) ?? Artificial Intelligence 5) ??Digital Therapeutics 6) ??Wearables & Sensors. 7) ??Funding Update

1. ??Pharma Digital Health

Novartis joins forces with Kaiku Health for melanoma monitoring and support

Merck KGaA taps PRA Health's remote monitoring platform for its growth hormone treatment

Roche's mySugr app to integrate with Novo Nordisk's smart insulin pens. The integration is aimed at boosting data collection 

Amgen and Liva Healthcare partner to improve access to cardiac rehabilitation

Takeda and Sprout Health Solutions explore Digital Health tools in Rare Disease during Covid-19

Pfizer teaming up with DoctorOnCall In Malaysia. The collaboration aims to empower patients in Malaysia to take control of their health

AstraZeneca and Sunway launch Malaysia’s first Health Innovation Hub and are also collaborating with Massachusetts General Hospital to create Digital Health solutions

Ethypharm has acquired exclusive rights for two CE-marked digital therapies, deprexis? and vorvida?

Teijin Pharma & Jolly Good develop VR digital therapeutics for depression

2. ??Covid Tech

From a detection perspective a lot of news >>

GE researchers look to put COVID-19-detecting sensors in phones, to detect viral particles on their surfaces

An eye-scan app that detects COVID-19 is being trialled

Apple launches new smartwatch study to detect COVID-19 early, especially in at-risk groups. And 7 ways your Apple Watch can help fight COVID

Study finds dogs can sniff out COVID-19 with 96% accuracy

Sweat Sensor warns of impending COVID-19 cytokine storm - potentially allowing an early intervention

A COVID detecting breathalyzer is being trialled in Singapore and compared with the standard PCR test for accuracy

Mount Sinai Health System has created a COVID-19 saliva testing program for New York City residents seeking to travel internationally or attend large events

And prevention >>

Swiss tech startup Uveya is conducting trials of robots which use ultraviolet light to protect airline passengers from COVID-19

Intranasal vaccines may help prevent transmission and hinder the evolution of new viral variants

Amazon's Alexa now helps users find COVID-19 vaccines and a chatbot aims to tackle concerns around COVID-19 vaccines

And treatment >>

A US Pentagon military programs is investigating using a dialysis machine and filter to remove the virus from the blood

Post infection a nasal spray could prevent coronavirus invading human cells and reduce severity of the disease

3. ??FemTech

Women’s digital health startups reap record venture capital funding on COVID-19 surge

Haplomind, a Digital Health app, is helping women self-diagnose, self manage and treat perinatal depression

carafem develops text-based virtual assistant for patients taking abortion pill at home

Renovia raises $17M to for an FDA cleared Digital Therapeutic to help tackle female pelvic floor disorders

Seattle startup adyn raises $2.5M for birth control prescription test to optimize treatment and minimize side effects

Fertility app Flo helps identify predictors and common symptoms of Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) 

Orchyd launches period tracker with smart wallet. The app is able to collect information about a user's cycle and give users alerts a few days before their period starts

4. ??Artificial Intelligence

Daily chats with AI could help spot early signs of Alzheimer’s 

AI technology detects that identifies patients at risk of fatal heart attack, years before it strikes obtains CE mark and is rolled out in UK NHS

This system uses heatmaps to make often opaque AI decisions transparent to clinicians.

FDA clears first AI Device to find possible cancerous hot spots during colonoscopies

Renalytix AI adds new biomarkers to platform for tricky to diagnose Chronic Kidney Disease CKD

5. ??Digital Therapeutics

Akili tests if therapeutic ADHD game could be used to treat Covid ‘brain fog’ 

Helius Medical’s device gets FDA all clear to stimulate the brain via the tongue, for an innovative Multiple Sclerosis treatment 

Northwell Health and Pear Therapeutics have linked up to allow patients seeking treatment for opioid and substance misuse to have access to prescription digital therapy

6. ??Wearables & Sensors

Sticker on skin diagnoses Cystic Fibrosis in real-time - to collect and analyze sweat for chloride levels, producing a noticeable color change, if CF is present

NuvoAir app records coughing to help diagnose respiratory conditions.

The Oxehealth Vital Signs system is installed in a patient's hospital room, where it can spot-measure pulse, heart, respiratory and breathing rates with no physical contact

Indian health tech startup MFine launches pulse oximeter using a phone’s camera & flash, detects light absorption in a user’s fingertip which is then processed via a proprietary algorithm to measure SpO2

MindRhythm Harmony device can detect Stroke severity through changes in brain vibrations, via sensor-equipped headband allowing effective patient triage

US National Institute of Health prototype app screens for Autism by tracking toddlers’ visual eye movements

7. ??Funding

Investors pour $7.1B into digital health investments during Q1 2021

Microsoft goes all in on healthcare with $19.7B Nuance acquisition 

Swedish digital health startup Kry closes $312M Series D after use of its telehealth tools grows 100% year-on-year

Digital pharmacy startup Capsule clinches $300M to invest in 'one-stop-shop' for digital health

Alan raises $220M for its health insurance and healthcare superapp

Surgery robotics developer EDDA Technology raises $150M in funding

Virta Health pulls in $133M to expand its diabetes reversal platform

BrightInsight, who recently announced a partnership with Astra Zeneca raises $101M for its pre-built digital health platform

Medable Secures $78M Series C Extension To Scale Digital Clinical Trials Program 

Elder tech company, Papa, raises $60M

Current Health closes $43M Series B, with its focus on remote patient monitoring devices & solutions

Primary care startup Firefly Health bags $40M to launch new health plan benefit

Proximie lands $38M for tech that helps surgeons virtually join operations

Cohere Health gains $36M to expand digital prior authorization platform

Level raises $27M from Khosla, Lightspeed ‘to rebuild insurance from the ground up’

Health insurance API developer Vericred closes $23M Series B round

Olive Union Raises $20M to Expand into Digital Hearing Therapeutics

Medchart raises $17M to help businesses more easily access patient-authorized health data

EHR startup Canvas Medical raises $17M and partners with insurance heavyweight Anthem

Billing software startup Inbox Health raises $15M

Brella Insurance Inc., a technology-driven health insurer, raised $15M

Vector raises $12.5M to accelerate the adoption of digital health and remote care in Cardiology

With $12M in new funding, data-syncing platform Seqster takes aim at health records -

Healthtech startup Zedsen scores $12M in SeriesB funding 

Real raises $10M from Lightspeed, Megan Rapinoe and others to rethink therapy

Oxford Endovascular raises $10M to develop ‘origami’ medical device 

Legacy Raises $10M Series A to Make Male Fertility Services Accessible to All

As working out goes virtual, Moxie raises $6.3M seed+ round

ResApp Health (ASX:RAP) raises $5.5M

Cardiology robotics platform completes seed round of €4.7M with European Heal Capital

Philly-Based Women’s Health Startup Stix raised $3.5M in Seed Funding

Getlabs, an at-home medical labs company, launches with a $3M raise

Altair Medical has secured ￡2.25M of funding to further develop its respiratory sensor and real-time monitoring platform - uses AI to detect & alert to a range of breathing problems

Oath Care raised $2M to develop a social, health-focused app that groups expectant and new parents

On-demand pediatrics app Biloba adds prescriptions and raises $1.7M 

Behavioral science startup 2Morrow raises $1.5M to grow digital therapeutic platform

South Africa’s Quro Medical comes out of stealth with $1.1M to expand its hospital-at-home service