StartUp Health Insights, Digital Health Funding Rankings, Midyear Report
The first of half of 2016 is off to a roaring start for digital health investment and has reached $3.9 billion — that’s about $1B more than this time last year, according to a report from StartUp Health. Many of the investments in the first six months of the year reflected the development of digital health outside the U.S. in places like Israel, China and India, especially in telemedicine. Here’s a look at some of the companies that attracted the most investment.
Ping An Good Doctor China-based insurance company spinout Ping An Good Doctor was the largest non-U.S. deal. It’s an atypical healthcare startup since it came out of a large, established business. Ping An launched a mobile health app last year to help patients to schedule healthcare appointments and interact with physicians through text messaging, images and video. Doctors can also use the app to manage patient records and follow up on cases. The company tapped “large central enterprises, internet companies and overseas investment funds” for the $500 million Series A round. China is a market many digital health companies would love to participate in since increasing access to healthcare is seen as a big priority.
Codoon produces fitness wearables and connected devices in the consumer wellness space. Based in Chengdou in China, the company raised $50 million in a Series C round. Advertising company Focus Media and investment firm FountainVest Partners set up a sports investment fund in May and $30 million from the fund was allocated to Codoon, according to Deal Street Asia.
eGym Led by Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, Munich-based eGym develops personalized workout regimens by connecting gym goers with trainers. It compiles data from connected gym equipment to give users and trainers data on workouts and enables trainers to provide feedback to improve performance. It raised a $45 million Series C round led by HPE Growth Capital.
EarlySense is a Tel Aviv-based company that raised $25 million in a Series G round to bolster the customer base for its continuous monitoring tech to support remote patient monitoring. The sensors the company produces are in commercial use in hospitals and nursing homes in North America, Europe and Asia. It plans to launch a Consumer Digital Health offering for residential home use in the second half of this year.
Babylon is a UK-based telemedicine company that raised $25 million in a Series A round led by Investment AB Kinnevik. Its iOS and Android app allow members to connect with physicians and therapists through video consultations, photos and text messages to get answers to questions and store health information. It also provides a way for users to do blood tests for things like cholesterol levels and send those samples to its lab for test results.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Source: StartUp Health Insights, Digital Health Funding Rankings, Midyear Report
League, a digital health insurance startup from Canada, raised $25 million in a Series A round led by OMERS Ventures, Canada’s largest investment firm. It has lined itself up to compete with businesses such as Oscar Health and Collective Health and opened offices in Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver last year. It is aimed at employers and offers health spending accounts, wellness accounts, and group insurance plans from a mobile platform.
1MG is a New Delhi-based healthcare startup that provides online fulfillment of drug prescriptions, lab testing, and physician search by specialty in 12 cities. A spinout of Bright Lifecare, it raised $16 million in a Series B round led by Maverick Venture Partners.
Easyhin is a mobile health service in China for new mothers and infants. It raised $15 million in a Series B round led by Fosun Kinson Capital. The company provides virtual pediatric consults, the rescinded one child per family policy combined with a shortage of pediatricians has created the need for the kind of healthcare services Easyhin seeks to provide.
Blue Bee, a life science technology startup in the Netherlands, raised $11.6 million (€10 million) to address bottlenecks in DNA analysis, simplify collaboration between scientists and to facilitate global roll-out of genetic testing, according to its CEO Hans Cobben. It received funding from Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Korys and Biover II.
Photo: BigStock Photo
