🍩 2 x $179M Raises, Preventative Health Pods & Clinical Marshmallows
Whats happening in health tech & innovation?
Hello friends!
Last night, in what’s long over progress for Aussie healthcare and tech - Parialiament passed the Modernising My Health Record - Sharing by Default Bill. Meaning finally, all medical records will be shared to your supposed “universal online record”
Why isnt this already the case you ask? People got freaked by privacy concerns and badly constructed systems (despite investing endless billions) leading to mass panic in 2013-2018, and from there its been an interesting debacle.
But for real - better late than never.
Its just such a shame it took this long, and goes to show the power of mismanged change and innovation projects, public education and, cyber security.
Anyway… onto the news…
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
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Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
📷 Harrison.ai, makers of AI products to analyse medical scans & tests to improve detection and outcomes, announced their US$112m series C including $32m from the National Reconstruction Fund
🧪 AdvanCell, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company creating innovative cancer therapeutics, raised an oversubscribed US$112m Series C
🌬️ Diag-Nose.io, a Melb-based biotech developing AI-driven diagnostics for respiratory diseases, closed a $3.15m seed round
📑 Medow Health AI, a Syd-based startup developing AI 'co-pilot' systems to automate specialist medical reports, raised $2m
📜 Healthy Mend & MOSAICA secure $2.5m to launch Vigilis, an AI-powered governance tool for Health & Human Services
🩺 Ovum, a women’s healthtech app raised a $1.7m pre-seed round
🥄 Spoony, a social app for neurodivergent, disabled, & chronically ill people, raised $1m following a beta launch with 22k users
Newsworthy
🏥 Healthscope & Bupa reached an 11th-hour deal, preventing Bupa members from facing out-of-pocket hospital fees
🚨 Last years gov promise to ban life insurers from using genetic testing to raise charges hasn’t yet happened? But why…
Heart Foundation, Breast Cancer Network Aus & others urge the fed gov follow through on their announcement
💌 Email your MP about delays in banning genetic discrimination here
💊 Janssen-Cilag, after 4 attempts, secured a PBS subsidy recommendation for its esketamine nasal spray, Spravato, for treatment-resistant depression
📉 Tanarra Capital is set to divest a majority stake in healthcare software company Health Metrics for up to a reported $400m
🤝 VicHealth & Deakin Uni invested $4m each to launch a research centre, exploring interactions between our economy, commercial entities & health outcomes
💊 StrongRoom AI is expanding to the U.S. through a partnership with Centennial Pharmacy Services, piloting its AI-driven pharmacy tech across CPS sites
🗣️ Consultmed, referral management & workflow automation Associate Prof Vikram Palit, has:
Partnered with KeyReply to “integrate advanced voice AI into it’s suite of digital solutions to further streamline patient interactions & reduce unnecessary admin burden,” says Palit
Integrated with Best Practice (used by >70% of GPs in Aus) using Halo Connect to streamline referrals & reduce admin work for healthcare providers
🚭 Aus teen vaping is at a 3-year low, with 85.7% never vaping, following new laws restricting sales to pharmacies & cracking down on illegal supply
📧 A NSW hospital administrator called junior doctors a ‘workforce of clinical marshmallows’ in a mass email blunder, with Union body Asmof calling it “tone-deaf” and “unacceptable” amid a healthcare workforce crisis
Gov Goss
🚺 Labor pledged $573m for women's health, boosting Medicare rebates for long-term contraceptives, expanding endometriosis clinics, & adding new menopause treatments to the PBS
🛡️Aus is investing $6.4m in a new Health Cyber Sharing Network, run by CI-ISAC, designed to strengthen cyber threat intelligence in the healthcare sector
🚫 Qld halts new prescriptions of puberty blockers & hormones for minors as the gov launches an independent review following reports of treatment without proper consultation
🏥 NSW moves public psychiatry patients to private hospitals as mass psychiatrist resignations strain the system
🩺 Aus is fast-tracking overseas nurses with 16,622 joining last year, 3x pre-COVID numbers
US & Beyond the Borders 🌎
💊 The FDA approved its first non-opioid painkiller in decades, suzetrigine, without addiction risks by selectively blocking sodium channels on pain-sensing nerves
🩺 Neko Health, co-founded by Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek, raised US$260m at a $1.8B valuation, to expand body-scanning clinics, enter the U.S. market, & advance its diagnostic technology
Neko’s waitlist exceeds 100k and they have scanned & evaluated 10k patients in clinics in Stockholm & London, with ~80% of its customers rebooking & paying in advance for next year’s appointment.
“The body scan today is kind of the iPod moment for Neko……The iPod was an iconic product that people loved, & that was exciting. But no one today is using an iPod. It enabled Apple to invest in this incredible paradigm of handheld computational devices. So we very much see this as the beginning of a journey where we’re trying to contribute, you know, incredibly affordable, high-quality preventative diagnostics, & every year we’re going to be able to do more & more with less & less.”- Hjalmar Nilsonne, Neko’s CEO,
🌍 USAID (United States Agency for International Development) is halting operations in Africa, placing 10k staff on leave, disrupting $10B in healthcare funding
🤓 Apple’s Vision Pro is being used in surgery & medical training, integrating virtual monitors in ORs & using 3D digital models for staff training
🧬 Mayo Clinic’s Tapestry Study demonstrated that next-gen genetic analysis will impact patient care, identifying 1.9% of 98,000 patients with actionable genetic risks
🌍 EU Council is adopting European Health Data Space legislation from Feb, to enable faster electronic health data access, cross-border sharing & interoperability
🧠 Nutrix, a Swiss startup that developed cortiSense, a saliva-based cortisol tracker for stress monitoring, raised $4m to expand to the U.S.
🧬 Nucleus Genomics, a controversial consumer genetics testing startup raised $14m Series A to expand its offering of $400 genome sequencing to assess risks for >800 conditions
🚗 Porsche Consulting analysed the top 100 medtech companies & TL;DR while revenues grew by 3.7% annually since 2021, profit margins are shrinking due to rising costs & unrealised economies of scale
⚠️ ExThera Medical & Quadrant Management falsely marketed an unproven cancer treatment, luring terminally ill patients to Antigua with a $45k blood-filtering procedure leading to at least 6 deaths.
Sick Science
🏥AI Ultrasounds for Lung Disease Diagnoses
A study by United International Uni, Charles Darwin Uni, & Aus Catholic Uni developed a model that achieved 96.57% accuracy in diagnosing COVID-19, pneumonia, & other respiratory diseases from lung ultrasound videos. The model combines 3D deep learning, time-distributed convolutional networks, & long short-term memory to recognise spatial-temporal patterns.
⌚ Wearables Predict IBD Flares
A study across 36 U.S. states found that wearable devices like Apple Watches, Fitbits, & Oura Rings can detect & predict inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flares. Changes in heart rate, heart rate variability, steps, & oxygenation were seen up to 7 weeks before a flare. Circadian patterns in heart rate variability also differed between flare & remission periods.
🌡️ Hotter Days, Heavier Minds? Climate Change & Depression
A cross-sectional study analysing data from the Korea Community Health Survey added to what many already suggest - rising temperatures couuld correlate with increased depressive symptoms, especially in young adults & long-term urban residents. Each 1°C rise above historical averages raised depression risk by 13%, with city dwellers most affected.
😴 Nap Your Way to Smarter Solutions?
A cross-sectional study at Texas State Uni found that a short nap with REM sleep improves creative problem solving through analogical transfer, the ability to apply knowledge from a previously solved problem to a new, structurally similar one. Participants who napped solved more unsolved problems after a break than those who stayed awake, despite similar memory retention.
🤖 AI Updates
⭐ Donald Trump, announced Stargate, a $US500B joint venture involving OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank & MGX to build AI infrastructure, create 100,000+ jobs & secure US dominance in the AI race
💊 Manas AI, an AI-driven drug discovery platform, launched with $24.6m in seed funding co-led by General Catalyst & LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, in partnership with Microsoft
🖥️ The Uni of Bristol unveils Isambard-AI, a £225m supercomputer using AI to develop drugs & vaccines by simulating molecular interactions
🛎️ Tempus AI announced the launch of olivia, an AI-enabled personal health concierge app to empower patients by bringing their health-related data into one central location
Startup Stuff 🚀
Got an AI-powered breakthrough?
Pitchapalooza is on the hunt for Aus’s best AI pitch. Whether you’re an AI-native startup or a seasoned tech company, this is your chance to showcase how you’re using AI in original & inventive ways - More here
Need Funding for Industry-Led Research?
CRC-P Round 17 is open! Secure matched funding for short-term, industry-led research collabs to develop a new technology, product or service, aligned with National Science & Research Priorities & the National Reconstruction Fund - More here
Ready to take your health venture from Seed to Series A?
The MedTech Actuator Accelerator is a 9-month program that provides access to industry experts, investors, & a global network - More here
Ready to take your health startup global?
The MedTech Actuator Global Navigator Sydney is a hybird program connecting you with industry leaders, investors, & key stakeholders in MedTech, BioTech, & HealthTech - More here
Want to fast-track your MedTech career in 2025?
The BridgeTech Program, a fully funded national initiative connecting 80 professionals with Aus’s leading medtech commercialisation network. Delivered by QUT & funded by MTPConnect, this program is designed for mid-career researchers, entrepreneurs, clinicians, investors, & industry professionals looking to expand their knowledge & networks - More here
Got game-changing ideas to transform General Practice?
Join the RACGP Hackathon 2025: Byte the Bureaucracy, a 3-day event bringing GPs, clinical entrepreneurs, & developers together to tackle real-world challenges in GP. Held at Microsoft Reactor Syd from 28–30 March, this event offers the chance to brainstorm, prototype, & present solutions to digital health experts - More here
Ready to turn your biotech idea into a commercial success?
BioElevate by Jumar is a 2-day hands-on workshop designed to guide you through the commercialisation process step-by-step - More here
Want to reshape the world with generative AI?
The Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI Open Call is offering a share of US$30m & 6 months of support to help nonprofits, civic entities, academic institutions, & social enterprises build impactful AI-powered solutions - More here
Events💥
Tue 11th Feb: 2025 BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards Ceremony (hybrid)
Tue 18th Feb: How To Fund Your MedTech: Non-Dilutive Funding Options. A HealthTech Hub Masterclass (Syd)
Tue 18th Feb: C3.0 Connect. Care. Confidence. (Online)
Thu 20th Feb: Jumar Masterclass - Big Pharma: Biotech Industry Partnerships and Collaborations (Melb)
12th – 13th Mar: ARC APAC Summit (Melb)
Fri 14th March: Women's Life Cycle Summit 2025 (Syd)
Sat 15th Mar: 2025 ITP Patient Conference (Syd)
19th - 20th March: Aus Healthcare Week (Syd)
27th March: BESTMED 2025 Conference Beyond the Chart (Syd)
Consumable Content 💎
🎙️ Moonshots with Peter Diamandis #142: She Left Google to Build Tech That Could Save Millions w/ Mary Lou Jepsen
Mary Lou Jepsen, founder of Openwater, discusses using AI and advanced imaging to revolutionize stroke treatment and healthcare.
A pioneering technologist with 250+ patents, she has held key roles at Intel, Google, and Facebook, earning recognition from TIME and Forbes for her innovations
📖 Have a hard time understanding the Jargon in Biotech? You’re not alone…
Anna Marie Wagner is making it easier sharing this 100+ page jargon dictionary on therapeutic R&D
💡 Andreessen Horowitz partner Julie Yoo says now is the time to build healthtech infrastructure as legacy systems fail to support virtual care value-based models and new payment frameworks
📰 Graham Walker, shared his take onThe Healthcare Blame Game by tge healthcare consequence and control funnel. Otherwise known as uneven distribution of responsibility within the system
The funnel is a way to visualize how power, responsibility, personal risk/consequences are distributed in our system. (Not financial risk — risk of death and disability.)
📊 InsightAce projects AI in fitness & wellness to reach $34.73B by 2031, growing at 19.5% annually, driven by virtual fitness communities, workplace wellness programs, AI-based training
To finish on some lol’s, here’s one for all you shortcut-taking sleep-deprived and doom-scrolling souls…
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