InnovationRx is a weekly digest of healthcare news that can be delivered to your inbox through subscription. However, recent analysis published by Pitchbook reveals that digital health venture funding deals for the second quarter of 2023 have reached an all-time low. In the first quarter, funding amounted to $1.2 billion, but it decreased to $900 million in the second quarter. Pitchbook analyst Aaron Deghani predicts that cash growth will likely remain stagnant for the next few quarters. Current deals primarily involve existing investors and are often debt-financed.
Looking at the bigger picture, digital health transactions reached a peak value of $16.4 billion in 2021, but declined to $8 billion in 2022. This year, the trend shows an even lower value. The two most popular categories for funding are behavioral health and care coordination. The largest deal of the quarter involved a $115 million investment in Author Health, a Boston-based startup that provides treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders to seniors on Medicare Advantage. Despite this, there have also been instances of failed ventures, such as Health IQ, which received $200 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and other investors but subsequently filed for bankruptcy, leaving stakeholders with minimal returns.
In terms of pipeline and deal updates, Moderna has announced a collaboration with Immatics, a German therapeutics company, to develop mRNA-based cancer treatments. Immatics will receive a $120 million upfront payment, along with potential commercial milestones totaling up to $1.7 billion. Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta has launched an FDA-cleared biomarker-based device to aid in diagnosing autism in children between 16 and 30 months old. Semper Health, the developer of a dynamic out-of-pocket pricing system for patients, has raised $20 million in new investment. Inceptive, a Palo Alto-based company, aims to develop “biological software” for engineered drug development and has raised $100 million in a Series A round. Sonera, a company that develops non-invasive sensors to track neural activity, secured $11 million in a seed round led by Amplify Partners. Bold, a company specializing in personalized clinical exercise programs for older adults, raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Rethink Impact. Walgreens announced a strategic partnership with Pearl Health, a health tech startup, to provide primary care physicians with software and services that facilitate the transition to value-based care. AI cancer detection startup Paige has partnered with Microsoft to develop a larger model using over 500,000 pathology slides and a basic model trained on more than 1 billion images.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved a booster vaccine specifically designed to target the newest strain of the coronavirus for Americans aged six months and older. This recommendation comes amid rising coronavirus cases. In other healthcare news, Kroger, a major grocery giant, has agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle opioid-related lawsuits without admitting wrongdoing. Danko Laboratories, the manufacturer of the abortion drug mifepristone, has asked the Supreme Court to address restrictions on the drug. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered a hormonal link that explains how exercise can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Another study suggests that people who lead sedentary lifestyles are more prone to developing dementia. Despite the increase in coronavirus cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former White House chief medical adviser, does not predict the reinstatement of a federal mask mandate. The California Legislature has sent a bill to Governor Gavin Newsom that seeks to ban certain chemical ingredients found in popular snacks and drinks, including Black’s Candy Corn. Lastly, data from South America shows that this year’s latest flu vaccines can reduce the risk of hospitalization by 52% as the United States heads into flu season.
In other news, criminals have allegedly been using Apple AirTags to track illegal weapons, Google is celebrating its 25th anniversary while also facing a major antitrust trial, and Apple is battling child exploitation within its platform. Some additional articles you may find interesting include discussions on the new normal with coronavirus as case numbers rise again, the ineffectiveness of decongestants in cold medicines, and the loss of contract between elder care startup Papa and a major health insurance company.