No, it’s not a technical glitch. Several accelerators and investment firms backed the same companies and that’s reflected in this table. Also, the Partnership Fund and the New York eHealth Collaborative are partners for the New York Digital Health Accelerator.
Healthcare accelerators and incubators have been re-evaluating how they work with startups, such as dropping the investment for equity formula that so many started with. But a quarterly health IT investment report from Austin-based Mercom Capital Group points to these groups continuing to play a role in early stage investment.
In the third quarter of 2016, 47 of the 87 deals at $2 million or less involved either an accelerator or incubator compared with 12 such deals in the second quarter, according to an executive summary of the report. For the third quarter last year, there were 69 early-stage deals under $2 million, including 22 accelerator and incubator deals, Mercom Capital CEO and Co-founder Raj Prabhu noted in response to follow-up questions. There were only 55 deals involving accelerators and incubators for all of 2015, Prabhu said. There have been 74 accelerator and incubator deals for year to date, Prabhu added.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
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.
Earlier this year 500 Startups took the wraps off of a dedicated digital health program, as did MassChallenge. But several accelerators dedicated to digital health around since 2011 or longer have been making changes to their approach. Some have backed away from a traditional three-month program in favor of long-term sustainability, building funds with strategic investors and customized programs for payers, integrated health systems, and other healthcare stakeholders. Other businesses have brought accelerators in-house. Although GE Healthcare is a partner with StartUp Health for its StartUp Health Academy, GE pledged to invest $50 million in an accelerator to foster healthcare startups in developing countries.
Reviewing trends for the third quarter, deal flow in health IT continued to rise, although the total amount invested was less than the same period last year, according to an executive summary of the report. One hundred seventy-seven deals attracted $1.2 billion in investment, although the third quarter of 2015 saw $1.58 billion invested across 148 deals. The mobile health app category was the most popular for investments at $253 million, followed by telemedicine companies ($220 million) and practice management ($77 million).
Mercom Capital is pretty bullish about the pace of investment, noting that more than $4.2 billion has been raised across 463 deals for the year to date. That puts 2016 on course to outstrip health IT investment figures for last year.
“2016 is on pace to be the best fundraising year for the sector,” Prabhu said in the executive summary.”
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Bessemer Venture Partners and Canaan Partners topped the 307 investors in health IT deals in the third quarter of 2016 with three deals apiece.
