Digital health news, funding roundup in the prior week; June 20, 2022

Headspace launches leadership program; COVID vaccines for babies okayed; BoA funds community health

Top Health News

• Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation partnered with global research-driven biopharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund Limited in a strategic co-incubation collaboration to promote and nurture startups on research and development for infectious diseases and immunology. Programme incubatees will also benefit from HKSTP’s rapidly-growing biotech R&D capabilities including the HKSTP Institute for Translational Research (ITR), enabling biomedical startups to turn their innovative biomedical technologies to life-changing impact for patients and society. Also available to startups is HKSTP’s Incu-Bio program providing dedicated biotech mentorship, business matching, entrepreneur-in-residence, and access to R&D facilities and the Science Parks’ diverse talent pool.
• Bank of America committed $40 million in low-cost, long-term capital to finance the development and expansion of community health care centers and other primary care facilities across the United States. Bank of America will partner with non-profit community development financial institutions to distribute the funding. In addition, Bank of America will provide $100,000 in philanthropic grants to help with CDFI operational costs and help spark the creation of new health centers.
• mphrX, developer of Minerva, a Healthcare Data Platform as a Service, announced its partnership with Mount Sinai Health System to deploy the Minerva platform to enable real-time clinical data sharing designed to meet the 21st Century Cures Act requirements. Minerva will integrate with the clinical source systems at Mount Sinai to create a real-time longitudinal health record.
• Aural Analytics, a clinical-grade speech analytics company, announced a partnership with Koneksa, a digital biomarker development company, to further strengthen its platform and research capabilities using Aural Analytics’ technology, Speech Vitals. Aural Analytics’ Speech Vitals will provide additional value on top of what those existing tools provide so that clinicians can make better decisions.
• Headspace Health, a provider of a digital mental health platform, announced the launch of a leadership education program to equip managers with science-backed practices to drive cultural change in organizations, support mental health and well-being in the workplace, and improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention. The Leadership Workshop Series will be the first of many offerings in a growing culture services program from Headspace Health that aims to bolster self-compassion among leaders and prepare them to engage in meaningful conversations with their teams about mental health, burnout and stress in a manner that fosters psychological safety and compassion.
• CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination. Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19.

M&A

• CONMED Corporation, a medical technology company that provides surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures., completed its acquisition of In2Bones, a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of medical devices for the treatment of disorders and injuries of the upper and lower extremities
• Bardavon Health Innovation, a provider of musculoskeletal health solutions in the physical therapy space, acquired PeerWell, a consumer-focused musculoskeletal health application to create a truly hybrid treatment solution
• Enko, a crop health company, acquired proprietary DNA-encoded libraries and technology enablement from drug discovery service company X-Chem
• Lumanity, a healthcare data company, acquired Endpoint Outcomes, a company specializing in harnessing the voice of patients to document the impact of treatments on health-related quality of life
• Donaldson Company, a provider of innovative filtration products and solutions, acquired Purilogics, an early-stage biotechnology company that leverages a novel technology platform for the development of best-in-class membrane chromatography products
• The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services acted unlawfully by reducing drug reimbursement rates for certain hospital groups without conducting a survey. The case revolves around the 340B drug pricing program
• Onkos Surgical, a developer of solutions for musculoskeletal oncology and complex orthopaedic conditions, entered into a definitive agreement with Stryker to acquire its Juvenile Tumour System, which enables limb stabilization and growth in pediatric patients affected by bone cancers, severe arthropathy, severe trauma, revisions, oncology and malignant diseases
• Medical device company ResMed entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MEDIFOX DAN, a German out-of-hospital software solutions for providers in major settings
• OrthoPediatrics, a company focused on advancing the field of pediatric orthopedics, entered an agreement to acquire Pega Medical, a bioengineering services company
• Digital Health Acquisition Corporation, a a special purpose acquisition company, signed a definitive agreement to acquire VSee Lab, a telehealth software company, and iDoc Telehealth Solutions, a neurocritical care and intensive care telehealth provider
• GBS, a life sciences company developing non-invasive, real-time diagnostic testing for patients and their primary health practitioners at point of care, entered into an exclusivity agreement for the acquisition of Intelligent Fingerprinting Limited, developer of a portable Drug Screening System
• Constellation4 Health, a healthcare technology innovator, acquired Vulcan Health, a digital referral management platform
• Medical technology company Boston Scientific Corporation entered into a definitive agreement with Synergy Innovation to acquire its majority stake of M.I.Tech, a traded Korean manufacturer and distributor of medical devices for endoscopic and urologic procedures
• Health services firm Optum UK acquired healthcare technology company EMIS Group
• TELUS, a communications technology company, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LifeWorks, a provider of digital and in-person solutions that support the total wellbeing of individuals

Funding Roundup

• Swing Therapeutics raised $10.3 million for its digital therapeutic aimed at chronic conditions
• Sesame raised $27 million to build out its direct-pay healthcare marketplace
• Using AI to aid in cancer diagnosis, Proscia raised $37 million
• Capital Rx, a company changing the way prescription drugs are priced and patients are serviced, raised $106 million
• Abacus Insights, a provider of data management and interoperability solutions for healthcare payors, raised $28 million
• Doctor Koi, a  prescription management software company, raised $500,000
• bttn, a medical supply e-commerce solution, raised $20 million
• Proximie, a health technology platform digitally connecting operating rooms, raised $80 million
• Able Innovations, a robotic medical device start-up, raised $6 million
• Post Acute Analytics, a provider of SaaS and clinical solutions that empower healthcare providers and payers to positively impact the total quality and cost of care, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• Elektrofi, a company focused on drug formulation and delivery innovations, raised $40 million
• Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for retinitis pigmentosa, cataracts and other ocular diseases caused by oxidative stress, raised $16.5 million
• Aidoc, a provider of AI solutions that empower physicians to expedite patient treatment and enhance operational capabilities, raised $110 million 
• NOWATCH, developer of a wearable device in the world to measure and predict stress by inferring cortisol levels through EDA sensors, raised $8.7 million
• Sana, a health care company that provides health benefits to small businesses at affordable prices, raised $60 million
• Trusty.care, a startup modernizing sales and marketing enablement solutions for Medicare insurance distribution, raised $6 million
• AMILI, a precision gut microbiome company, raised $10.5 million

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