After a couple of years of speculation, digital health initial public offering filings are beginning to flow. A Rock Health survey exploring which companies will be next has indicated electronic pill maker Proteus Health, wearables developer Jawbone, free electronic health record provider Practice Fusion and Health Catalyst are among the most likely candidates.
The survey reflected the picks of 43 investors.
Although there have been a couple of surprises so far, such as population health software developer Evolent Health, most of the companies that have filed or have publicly announced plans to file an IPO have been a long time in coming.
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First, telemedicine business Teladoc announced plans for an IPO. Evolent filed documents soon after, followed by Fitbit’s S-1 and then Mindbody.
Eyeballing Rock Health’s poll results, Proteus makes a lot of sense since it fills a few gaps in medicine. Its digestible sensors assess how patients are taking their medication and how their body responds to it. It is address a few different issues. In addition to adherence, it’s helping doctors assess the dosages for patients and provide a more accurate picture of the effectiveness of certain drugs. But although it’s solving a bigger problem in heathcare than, say, Jawbone, it is not as easy a company to understand.
Jawbone may want to wait until Fitbit comes to market before it moves ahead. Fitbit will be a tough act to follow, but on the other hand Jawbone is arguably more of a music company than fitness tracker business. ZocDoc seems a good candidate since it is interested in expanding into new markets and an IPO would position it to grow by acquisition in the U.S. and non-U.S. markets.
One company that got the lion’s share of the popular vote was Sharecare, a digital health company co-founded by Dr Mehmet Oz with 33 percent taking the view that this company will be next to go public. The company, which has targeted behavior change to improve personal health management, acquired a German voice analysis business in February and recently raised another $25 million last month.
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