Investment trends will be a big theme at the HLTH event at the Las Vegas Convention Center October 8-11. In the runup to the conference, investors from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Third Culture Capital and Intuitive Ventures offered their takes on 2023 investments.
7wireVentures launched its largest fund to date on Tuesday — the closing of the $217 million digital health fund brings the Chicago-based firm’s assets under management to more than $500 million. Two-thirds of the new fund's capital will be allocated to 7wireVentures’ existing portfolio companies for follow-up investments, and the remaining third will go toward Series B and Series C funding round for companies in which the firm hasn’t yet invested.
Healthcare IT companies raised $1 billion in venture capital in Q2 — down slightly from the $1.3 billion raised in Q1 but up significantly from the $451.3 million raised in Q4 2022. Unsurprisingly, a lot of these investments were made in companies offering generative AI products. Another key trend was increasing cash flow to remote patient monitoring startups, likely caused by expanded reimbursement for these services.
Avalon BioVentures unveiled new portfolio company Arialys Therapeutics. The startup’s lead program, an antibody from Astellas Pharma, is a potential treatment for anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (ANRE), a rare autoimmune inflammatory disorder.
Startup Star Therapeutics will use the Series B funding to support clinical development of a drug candidate for von Willebrand disease, a bleeding disorder. The capital will also support the formation of new biotech subsidiaries developing antibodies with therapeutic applications in hematology and immunology.
Intarcia Therapeutics’ GLP-1 agonist product candidate for type 2 diabetes now belongs to i2o Therapeutics, which will make the treatment’s case for approval at an upcoming FDA advisory committee meeting. The startup’s $46 million Series A financing is one of several recently announced funding rounds.
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.
Medtech funding reached its low point in the first quarter but will slowly pick back up over the rest of 2023, according to a new Pitchbook report. It noted that this year’s medtech funding total will not come close to the $19.7 billion the sector raised in 2021, and it might even come in below last year’s funding total of $13.5 billion.
Septerna Therapeutics’ Series B financing will support plans to reach the clinic with a pill for a rare disease whose only approved therapy is a Takeda Pharmaceutical drug that’s leaving the market. Potential rival therapies are all injectables.
The digital health sector has entered a new era when it comes to funding, and startups in this space must quickly adjust to an investment landscape that is characterized by lower check sizes, fewer deals and smaller cohort of investors. If things continue at the pace the sector has maintained throughout the first half of the year, 2023 will mark the field's lowest yearly fundraising total since 2019, according to a new report.
Two VCs from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund recently offered fundraising advice for digital health companies. They told these firms to expect slower funding timelines, urged them not to be afraid of down or flat rounds, and advised them to spend time nailing down the specifics of their growth narrative.
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Healthcare IT companies experienced a bounceback in venture capital deal activity during Q1 of 2023. Rebecca Springer, PitchBook ’s lead healthcare analyst, said she is optimistic that healthcare IT startups will be able to keep this momentum going, especially those focused on staffing and value-based care enablement.
Global funding for digital health companies finally stabilized in Q1 of this year. The sector raised $3.4 billion — this marks the first time the digital health world didn’t experience a quarter-over-quarter funding decline since Q4 of 2021. By holding steady, digital health startups defied the dwindling fundraising totals seen across the broader venture capital landscape, where funding dropped by 13% quarter-over-quarter.
Ask the Investor sessions at MedCity INVEST at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago May 22-24 offer opportunities for startups to talk with investors in intimate settings. Spots are limited so register today!
While the digital health sector might feel a little cramped in some areas, there are wide open spaces in others — and investors are ready to funnel money into companies looking to innovate these lesser-discussed aspects of care delivery and healthcare technology. Some of these areas include Medicaid, generative AI and patient-to-patient support.
ARCH Venture Partners-backed Orbital Therapeutics’ is researching next-generation RNA medicines that offer advantages over currently available therapies. The startup’s three areas of focus are vaccines, protein replacement, and immunomodulation.
