#41 🍩 What the Health - An Apple Ring, Kim K's healthcare foray & NZ Hooray!
#41 🍩 What the Health - An Apple Ring, Kim K's healthcare foray & NZ Hooray!
Your health tech & innovation TL;DR roundup
Hey there friends,
This week - we’re venturing out…
NZ crew, so I know we haven’t been able to show you the same love as those WTHers in Aus (sorry).
But now, finally, we’re having our first Official WTH event in Kiwi Land (YAY!!!) 🥝 With our amazing friends, AWS Startups 💜
🍩 WTH x AWS Healthtech Meet-Up New Zealand! 🥳
Come join us for some old-school sociable drinks to meet other legends in the health tech & innovation sphere...
Founders, Doctors, Techies, Industry, Investors & Enthusiasts - With this mix, you're sure to find something to get your fix 🔥
⏰ 6-8 pm
📆 Tues, Sept 19
🍷Bevs, Bants & Good Times
📍Rego for location
Spots limited yo, so make sure you rego
Also…
Keen to head to Sunrise Aotearoa - Blackbird’s amazing creativity and ideas festival?
Well - they are giving you wonderful WTH readers a cheeky 25% off!
📆 Wed, 20th Sept
📍Auckland, NZ
This killer conference will take over Auckland’s Shed 10 for a day of stories and ideas from the best founders, to inspire a whole new generation of creators and inventors.
(The lineup is SERIOUSLY impressive 👀
Check it out below 👇)
🍩 Ok… now onto TODAY
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
🩸Cleo Diagnostics raised $12m to develop an early-stage detection blood test for ovarian cancer
🧸 Carepatron, an end-to-end workflow and payments software for independent health practitioners, snagged a US$4m Seed round
🌿Medigrowth, a cannabis biotech, raised one of the largest equity crowdfunding campaigns in the sector’s history, banking $3.4m
🤒Vaxxas was awarded $5.4m to do clinical studies on a typhoid vax patch
💲Precedence Research estimated biotech will be worth $US4 trillion in the next ten years… and there are a fair few ASX stocks that could be worth a watch
📱 ANDHealth announced the 5 digital health companies in their commercialization program; where they can nab up to $3.75m in equity-free funding
Atmo Biosciences
Eugene
Humanetix
Immunosis
Metabolic Health Solutions
💸NSW Gov has given $3m to six promising researchers to build health and medical research talent
Newsworthy
👨🏿🔬Aussie scientists made a landmark discovery to help make stem cells safer and more scalable, by manipulating the epigenome to make them more appropriate for research and treatment
🐌 In news that shocks no one… the Productivity Commission has said The Australian health sector falls behind when it comes to using tech
The health sector [has a] remarkable technological uptake when it comes to medical innovation, blockbuster drugs, diagnostic equipment, surgical procedures, but it is a complete laggard when it comes to the use of general technology for either reduced cost or improved quality to patients and customers.
👿A USYD study found many are making misleading claims about the actual effectiveness of at-home fertility tests
🏥Research shows hospitals in Aus can be as loud as construction sites
Sub optimal for healing
🏚️ Aus’s aging population is a serious economic problem (a >$140b one to be exact)
🛀 The Museum’s Eureka Prizes were dished out to innovation in science leaders for novel approaches to cancer treatment, work on cystic fibrosis lung health imaging, and tech combining AI, MRI, and ultrasound technology to provide non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis
🍆 Stigma Health, Aus's largest online sexual health clinic, launched their new bulk-billed STI testing option via telehealth to increase access
📱 Deloitte, Consumers Health Forum of Australia, Curtin University and the Digital Health CRC conducted a survey showing most people have actually had positive experiences with telehealth and were satisfied
🎾 Tennis Australia has chosen its 7 sports startups for their innovation program
🏆DetectedX, an educational platform providing online radiology and medical imaging training, won this year's AFR Higher Education Awards Research Commercialisation Award
💉NeedleCalm, a device helping with needle phobia by drawing focus away from the pain, nabbed a nursing innovation award
🧞♂️Genie and Sonic Healthcare launched Aus’s first interoperable diagnostic request solution
♋ DoseMe partnered with Charm Health to improve delivery of precision dosing to cancer patients
🥝 NZ’s Ministry of Health, Manatū Hauora, published its first long-term insights on precision health technologies
US & Beyond the Borders
💸Babylon, the UK’s digital health darling, has filed for bankruptcy after struggling for months in last-ditch efforts to secure financing
🧪Viome, a US-based company selling at-home microbiome tests and supplements, raised $86.5m
Gut health is big business and has a lot to answer for
🍏 The Apple Ring might finally be on it’s way, with Apple filing for a patent for a smart ring
💉 The Diabetes drug shortage continues - with GLP-1 agonists (ie. ozempic) still in short supply globally and Europe now struggling
💊 AstraZeneca has been using digital health tools in clinical trials and finally proved it improves patient experience, accelerated timelines and reduced costs
🫁 juli, an AI-driven app helping patients manage chronic conditions like asthma or depression, is actually effective in reducing symptoms via tailored recommendations and reminders for healthy behaviours
Sick Science
🐁 Intermittent fasting can help Alzheimer’s disease?
A new study published in Cell Metabolism showed that mice on a time-restricted feeding schedule had improved sleep and memory, and reduced amyloid deposition
💡Are we actually wrong about everything we know on endometriosis?
There’s been a big lack of innovation in this space, but new ideas are suggesting endometriosis is not a disease of the pelvis, but a whole-body inflammatory condition
👩🏽💼 Managers might be the reason for our poor mental health
A survey by the Workforce Institute at UKG found that 70% of people find their boss has more impact on their mental health than their therapist or doctor
💊 Have we cracked the code to overcome antimicrobial resistance?
A recent discovery published in Nature found a new class of molecules that make the antibiotic effective again
🤖 AI Updates…
⚕️The AMA published a position statement on the use of AI in healthcare
💻 Microsoft is partnering with Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI to try “promote the safe and responsible development of AI models”
🧫LabGenius developed a machine-learning algorithm that designs antibodies to target specific diseases… much better than humans
🫀Viz.ai gets FDA approval for AI-enabled heart disease detection via ECG detection
♿ Is AI ableist? A test generating 148 images with the prompt “an autistic person” using MidJourney was sad, but unsurprising
💬 A study in Geriatrics showed that GPT-4 was able to diagnose patients more accurately than clinicians
🩻A study in The Lancet’s Healthy Longevity showed AI models could accurately estimate the age of healthy individuals using chest radiographs
Startup Stuff 🚀
Biotech innovator?
Brandon Capital’s CUREator is now open for EOIs. This biotech incubator aims to support the commercialisation of Australian biomedical and digital health research and you could access up to $5m in non-dilutive funding - More here
Have regulatory questions about SaMD?
ANDHealth is hosting digital health webinars and direct one-to-one coaching with the TGA to help you navigate Australia’s Software as a Medical Device regulatory environment - More here
Have a health tech idea you want to commercialise?
Cicada Innovations series can help you understand whether your bio or medtech solution is commercially viable – and how to accelerate your pathway to market - Learn more
Need support for Research & Development?
CSIRO Kickstart have expanded their program eligibility, offering research support and up to $50k in funding for R&D activities - More here
Woman looking to build a new venture in Vic?
LaunchVic’s latest grants saw two killer programs launch to support women with starting and scaling startups. Check out Flying Fox Ventures’ killer program, F4, and Press Play Ventures Jumpstart Studio a program supporting women in the corporate sector to transition into entrepreneurship
Looking to expand to the US?
Join the ANDHealth Australian Delegation to HLTH 2023 in Vegas! HLTH is the US’ largest health innovation conference, attended by key decision-makers, payers, providers, investors and executives, and being part of ANDHealth’s delegation puts you right in the heart of it (ft. great discounts) - More here
Want to get investment ready?
The Biointelect Venturer Programs provide real-world insights into the investment environment and get partners and investors ready - More here
Do you have a diabetes tech innovation?
The ACADI Health Tech Innovation Challenge offers the opportunity to pitch for seed funding and receive up to $30k to develop your project - More here
Startup in medical cannabis?
The Medical Cannabis Industry Australia is conducting workshops with industry participants to get a better understanding of the market - Register here
Are you a health tech expert?
The Department of Health and Aged Care is seeking expressions of interest for upcoming vacancies on national health technology assessment committees - Apply here
Events💥
Wed 6th Sep: Think & Grow: Driving growth in a changing economic landscape (Syd)
Thurs 7th Sep: Biointelect Venturer Program (Bris)
Wed 13th Sep: BBFH Challenge 2023
Tue 19th Sep: WA MTP Sector Spotlight Series: VitalTrace (Perth)
19th - 22nd Sep: Global Entrepreneurship Congress Melbourne 2023
5th - 6th Oct: MCBK Global Meeting (Aus and Asia)
Sun 30th Oct: AusBioInvest 2023
30th - 31st Oct: MEDTECH 23 Annual Conference
22nd - 23rd Nov: AI.Care 2023: Advancing Data-Driven Healthcare
Consumable Content 💎
💄 Is Kim Kardashian the Future of Healthcare?
Well… maybe… With influencers being a huge source of marketing and product adoption, it was only a matter of time before this movement made serious headways in health
💑 Check out this piece in Forbes on the people between the doctor and the patient: “The Changing Face Of Healthcare: The Rise Of The Middlemen”
💍 Wearables are no doubt the future. With healthcare costs ballooning out of control and patients keen beans to get their own information and education…
What about those made for Women though?
🎙️#200: John Mastrototaro, CEO of Movano Health
The maker of women’s health-focused smart ring, Evie, talks about building devices, and the shift from wellness wearables to medical devices
🍎 An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away? Food As Medicine continues to get floods of funding so Pitchbook did a dive into Food as Medicine: An Overhyped Concept or the Next Frontier?
🦠 The World Economic Forum published its Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2023 report (ie. Fads) ft. designer phages, the metaverse for mental health, flexible neural electronics, and AI-facilitated healthcare
📚 Want a handy cheat sheet for US healthcare? Halle Tecco unravels the complex web in her latest drop
💡Got thoughts on this drop? Something to share or include next time?
Hit reply or reach out to info@whatthehealth.io to let us know!
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Okie dokes folks - have a fab weekend!
👋 Emily
& the WTH Crew
With thanks to our partners 💜
