We take a look at this week’s biggest developments, research and investment news from the world of Health Tech.
Babylon back in the news again with another deal signed
UK-headquartered healthcare start-up Babylon Health strikes yet another deal, this time with Bupa. The partnership means employees in the UK covered by Bupa health insurance will be granted access to Babylon’s remote healthcare technology. It is through Babylon’s AI that they are able to offer its services at a reasonable rate. “It takes hundreds of millions to create but once it’s created it’s freely available,” Parsa stated – its AI is used to automate parts of the online diagnosis tool. In the last few months Babylon has also signed deals with Samsung and Tencent to deploy their health technology.
Mindfulness app raises $27M with backing from Harry Styles
The mindfulness app Calm snapped up $27M from former One Direction member Harry Styles. The features videos, games and audio to help people de-stress. The company founded by UK entrepreneur Michal Acton Smith is now thought to be valued at $250M, it expects revenues of up to $75m this year. Mindfulness apps have seen a boost in revenue in recent months, with analysts Sensor Tower suggesting the top 10 wellness apps on the App Store have doubled their revenue year-on-year.
Medidata acquires Shyft for $195M
New York City based cloud storage and data analytics services for clinical trials company Medidata this week announced its acquisition of Shyft Analytics for $ 195M. Shyft Analytics currently are creators of cloud data analytics platform specifically for pharma and biotech industries. This merger means that together the two companies build an offering they call the “Intelligent Platform for Life Sciences.” Notably, this pairs clinical and commercial information into a more comprehensive data platform that can be used to optimize value from the beginning of drug development to its eventual commercialization.
Medtech company develops AI to help treat atrial fibrillation
French medtech company Volta Medical has developed AI software to help cardiologists treat atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardiac surgeons perform heart surgery. Volta’s mission has been to build large databases on which algorithms are rooted and developed into user-friendly, cue-giving, per-procedural guidance tools. They have spent the past five years developing AI software to help cardiologists treat atrial fibrillation with the result being AIFib. The software is designed to guide doctors through the complex medical procedure intended to treat atrial fibrillation, from the detection of electrical foci, which trigger atrial fibrillation, to the surgery itself.
Interesting reads for the weekend: