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.
Francesca de Quesada Covey, chief investment officer at investment firm TheVentureCity, believes the women’s health sector will come into its own in the next few years. She said startups focused on improving care delivery will probably have the easiest time raising funds of all the companies in the femtech space.
This eBook, in collaboration with Care Logistics, details how hospitals and health systems can facilitate more effective decision-making by operationalizing elevated awareness.
Last year’s digital health investment trends have left some startups feeling uneasy about their ability to raise capital in the new funding environment. Venture capitalists think companies that have a demonstrable return on investment and serve multiple stakeholders will probably have the easiest time securing capital, while point solutions and startups in crowded markets will face a tougher environment.
Digital health's investment slowdown is so severe that the fourth quarter of 2022 marked the lowest quarterly digital health funding total in the past five years, according to new report. Q4 was also the first quarter with no new unicorn births since 2018.
Going into 2023, investors think the abilities to demonstrate ROI and clinical validation will be the most important factors determining digital health companies' success, according to a new report. While the ROI factor is a given, clinical validation “is the best signal of patient value and historically has been under-captured in digital health," said Sunny Kumar, a partner at GSR Ventures.
While 2022 will likely be a reset from the tremendous growth in digital health funding of 2021, this is a healthy correction and an opportunity to realign on core metrics.
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.
A new CB Insights report found global digital health funding fell 36 percent in the first quarter of the year from that in Q4, 2021, with mental health and digital therapeutics suffering the greatest quarter-on-quarter decline.
Some venture capitalists interviewed by MedCity News believe that digital health's $57.2 billion haul globally last year is not a sign of a bubble and that there is yet room to grow, some hedged in answering the question, while a couple sounded the alarm. Everyone agreed on one thing though: valuations need to come down.
At MedCity News' third annual digital health conference, three VCs from New York, Michigan and California all agreed that valuations in digital health are unsustainable.
A few areas recently targeted by investors have been companies utilizing AI in healthcare, as well as mental health and wellness startups.
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.
Rock Health calculated there was $29.4 billion in capital invested in digital health startups since 2011 that were still waiting on returns and examined the two routes companies have to return liquidity to investors: IPOs and M&A.
In a new analysis, Accenture dives deeper into digital health funding. The assessment includes a prediction that annual investment in digital health startups will reach $7 billion by the end of 2017.
At the annual Health 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley, a panel of venture capitalists describe areas of health tech that do not appeal to them.