#55 🍩 What the Health - STI Selfies, Artificial hearts in humans & A Femtech Unicorn is born
Your health tech & innovation TL;DR roundup
Hey friends,
Happy Friday.
Coming to you today from the forsty Melbourne after a 2 weeks in Bali then Perth 🏝️ It’s a hard life.
Quick updates today
🎉 Huge thanks to everyone from our What the Health Private community who joined our panel on "The Role of Health Insurers in AU Healthtech," ft. cool insights from leaders at Medibank, nib Group, and Bupa.
And to our epic 🍏 WTH Preventative Health - Showcase & Sharing Session
ft. the incredible Turnto.ai, Health Hunter and Everlab talking about the amazing things they are doing and trends in the space.
Wait, what on earth are these events you're talking about Em?
And how do I get in on these epic events?
Well - you'll have to join our next intake of our application only private healthtech community friend 😉💜Alrighty, onto the news…
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content & Community Contributions
💜 Brought to you with… Medtech Actuator Origin
🚀 Do you have an idea or innovation in healthcare?
Want help to bring it to life with some of the best in the business?MedTech Actuator Origin 2024 is a free program that fast-tracks emerging health technologies over a two-day pitch bootcamp in Melbourne next month. Plus, there is a $15K prize pack up for grabs! If you have a technology or idea you’re keen to bring to life - this is for you.
📆 Apps due August 26th!
Want to get featured here in front of >8150 health-loving legends? Shoot us a note for ad placement and partnership opportunities.
Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
💰 Preve, snagged a $550k pre-seed to transform physio with AI solutions improving engagement, accountability, dropout and re-injury rates
💡 WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub got $325k from the WA Gov to expand support for local innovators
🩸 Flo Health, the women's health and fertility tracking app officially became a femtech unicorn nabbing a >US$200m Series C ft. a > US$1bn valuation
With 5M premium users and 70M free users, Flo plans to expand into menopause and sexual wellness while addressing privacy concerns
Despite current controversy with class actions in Canada regarding breaches of data privacy and mixed views on the founding team being all male
🧍♂️ Q Bio secured $27m for its AI-enhanced full-body preventative MRI scans - supposedly faster, cheaper, and 100x more powerful
🥄 Oats Overnight nabbed a US$35m Series B to expand their high-protein, spoon-free oats brand
🍏 Zoe, London-based microbiome nutrition company, raised $15m Series B extension to expan with at-home feacal and blood tests to test blood fat, blood sugar, and gut microbiome health. Enabling tailored dietary advice.
🚀 Huma Therapeutics bagged a US$80m Series D to launch its Huma Cloud platform, no-code and AI tools for digital health
Dubbed the "Shopify for Digital Health," Huma offers modular platforms and software kits for patient engagement, remote monitoring, companion apps, and digital clinical trials
Huma's tech powered projects in >3k hospitals and clinics, engaged 35M individuals, and is used by 1.8M active users across 70 countries
Newsworthy
❤️ BiVACOR's Aus-designed maglev heart, the world’s first permanent artificial heart, had a successful trial in humans in the US and will soon debut in Aus
🦠 Pfizer, the Pharma giant is investing $150m to upgrade its Melbourne plant ft. new tech & AI to produce new treatments for patients in hospitals with severe infections & combat rising levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
Building on e61 Institute’s study covered in our last eddition on the declining mental health in young Aussies…
🧠 Orygen’s VR-based mental health treatment for psychosis, anxiety, and eating disorders in people aged 12 - 25 featured on 9news. Aiming to transform telehealth, gamify therapy, and support social recovery through VR.
💔 The Boosting Female Founders program was discontinued after internal analysis found that over $35M in grants and mentoring for nearly 1k entrepreneurs had “no measurable impact”
This is being touted as a major setback given all-female-led startups receiving just 4% of Australia's $3.5B startup funding last year
🩺 The Vic Virtual Emergency Department-Diabetes Service, is offering a world-first model of care for diabetes ft. free video consults with specialists to prevent hospital visits
📱 Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and Monash University developed an app using AI to diagnose STIs from a selfie
🛡️ Aussie health orgs have seen a 33% rise in cyber attacks year-on-year, with cyber extortion increasing by 61% in the last 12 months
Gov Goss
🧬 The Fed Gov released The RNA Blueprint to drive advanced manufacturing growth with the sector potentially adding up to $8bn to GDP over the next decade
RNA is key for genetic info transfer and protein making, with huge therapeutic potential
🎉 Pill testing will be available at Schoolies on the Gold Coast thanks to the QLD Gov
💰 Orygen’s Executive Director, Dr Patrick McGorry claims "universal healthcare in Aus is a fantasy at the moment," with medical "profiteering" driving up health costs
👩⚕️ NSW is still losing Doctors due to "outdated" award conditions and persistent ED staffing shortages
🩺 Meanwhile, nurses are rallying for a 15% pay increase, better conditions, improved sick leave, and a 30% night shift penalty rate
🍼 Reproductive health experts warn private maternity wards may become "extinct by the end of this decade" due to their exorbitant costs
US & Beyond the Borders
📱 Smartphones are being trialed to detect early cardiovascular disease risk by Google Research using PPG Signals to measure blood flow with light
🧬 The Longevity Movement is gaining momentum, with companies offering tailored wellness programs & advanced health assessments to extend lifespan and healthspan:
Equinox: Introduced a $40k annual longevity program based on individual biodata
Humanaut Health: Raised $8.7m to open clinics offering personalized health plans
Neko Health: Funded by Spotify founder Daniel Elk, features a $2.5k advanced body scanner
Function Health: Backed by celebrities (Kevin Hart & Matt Damon) and investors, offers a subscription service for over 100 lab tests
💃 Zumba Fitness and Samsung Health partnered to bring Zumba’s iconic dance workouts to Samsung’s wellness platform
🗣️ Intron Health, is aiming to bridge the language gap in voice recognition with Africa's largest clinical speech database
Training AI on 3.5m audio clips from 18k contributors, Intron's technology is tailored for African accents and adopted by 30 hospitals
🩺 GE HealthCare is set to acquire Intelligent Ultrasound's clinical AI business for $51m
🔄 Google terminated its enterprise contract with One Medical and will now work with Premise Health to provide primary care services
🏥 Humana’s CenterWell will lease 23 former Walmart Clinic locations for senior care
Following Walmart's shutdown of 51 clinics, highlighting challenges for primary care orgs, as no buyers or national entities leased all 75 available locations
Sick Science
☕ Are coffee cravings coming from your DNA?
Research in Neuropsychopharmacology reveals that coffee consumption is heritable, influenced by genes like CYP1A1 and CYP1A2. Using data from >460k participants, genetic links between coffee intake, smoking, and alcohol use were found.
🏃♂️ Molecules make it hard to lose weight?
Kobe University researchers discovered that mice lacking certain signal molecules burn less fat and consume less oxygen during exercise, leading to weight gain. They found similar results in humans, linking these molecules to short-term exercise and metabolic regulation.
🦠 An antibiotic to stop superbugs?
Researchers at UIC created a dual-action antibiotic, MCX-128, targeting both bacterial protein and DNA synthesis. This drastically reduces the chance of superbugs evolving, making bacterial resistance 100M times harder to develop.
🧬 Natural sugar the solution for hair regrowth?
Scientists at the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University Pakistan discovered that 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), a naturally occurring sugar, can effectively stimulate hair growth, potentially offering a safe, affordable alternative to current treatments.
🛌 More sleep = less obesity *shock*
Researchers from Vanderbilt, NIH's All of Us, and Google found that each extra hour of sleep reduces the odds of obesity & sleep apnea, while restless sleep increases sleep disorder risks. Analyzing ~6.5M nights of data from over 6.7k users, this study shows how wearables reveal the benefits of consistent sleep on long-term health.
🤖 AI Updates…
🧬 OpenAI and Los Alamos National Laboratory partnered to advance bioscience testing AI models like GPT-4o to assist in lab work
💍 Oura unveiled an AI-powered health coach, ‘Oura Advisor’, to help users understand and act on data from its wearable rings
💬 Friend, an AI device startup, launched a $99 AI-powered necklace that connects to your phone via Bluetooth, listens constantly, and responds to users to combat loneliness
📊 Bain & Company’s survey revealed US patients are more comfortable with gen AI analysing radiology scans & making diagnoses than handling phone calls at their doctor's office
☁️ GE HealthCare and AWS are partnering to use gen AI and cloud tech to develop innovative healthcare apps and improve clinical workflows
🤖 GPs in England boosted cancer detection rates by 8% using the "C the Signs" AI program, scanning medical records for hidden patterns indicating risk
🔍 OpenAI announces SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine set to compete with Google by offering real-time information with in-line attributions and links
Startup Stuff 🚀
Biopharma or Biotech startup looking for a boost?
Merck Life Science's 2024 ANZ Grant Program is open for emerging biopharma and biotech start-ups in Aus and NZ - More here
In NSW and keen for funding for your MVP?
The MVP Ventures Program offers grants from $25k to $50k for innovative startups in NSW to commercialise new products - More here
Ready to turn your research into reality?
Aus's Economic Accelerator (AEA) grants offers $180m for university researchers and industry partners to commercialise research in priority areas, with grants up to $500k for early-stage and up to $5M for mid-stage projects - More info & Apply here
Researcher or Industry keen to engage in medical innovation?
TRI ACTIVATE is a new program in QLD matching researchers with industry to develop therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices ft. workshops and a speed meeting event in Brissie - More info & Apply here
Southwest Sydney-based founder?
UNSW Founders is hosting the Inaugural Pitch Night at South West at the Liverpool Innovation Precinct, where pitches compete for a $3.5K prize pool - Morehere
Want free training on how to make more impact in Medicine & Health?
The Medicine & Health Ignite Your Impact program, available on the UNSW Founders Online Community Platform, offers free modules in Influence & Advocacy, Translational Research, and Innovation - More here
Early-stage startup looking for help with fundraising?
The 77 Venture Challenge offers a 12-week, equity-free program for ventures aiming to raise pre-seed -Series A. Enjoy feedback and transparency from the 77 Partners team, with a chance to secure a $100k - More info & Apply here
Events💥
Tue 13th Aug: NSW Health Commercialisation: Intro to Intellectual Property
Wed 14th Aug: From Bench to Bedside -Advancing Radiopharmaceuticals in Victoria (Melb)
Thu 22nd Aug: ANDHealth - Building Trust in Digital Health: Cyber, Risk, & AI (Melb)
Tue 20th Aug: HealthTech Hub Masterclass: How can I be discovered? Maximising my visibility to investors and customers (Syd)
Tue 27th Aug: NSW Health Commercialisation Training: Regulatory Affairs
Wed 28th Aug: NSW Health Commercialisation Training: Clinical Trials
Wed 28th Aug: Cicada HealthTech Hub x Franklin Women: An evening of new career connections (Syd)
Fri 4th Sept: Women's Health & Wellbeing Summit (Syd)
Tue 10th Sept: NSW Health Commercialisation: Navigating the Healthcare System
24th - 25th Sept: Deep Tech Elevate (Syd)
23rd - 24th Oct: MTAA MedTech Conference (Syd)
Consumable Content 💎
🎙️ Pulse Podcast: How many strategies does a digital health plan make?
This ep covers SA's human-caused EMR errors, the UK’s tech-savvy leader aiming to save the NHS, declining life expectancy, and features Catherine de Fontenay on leveraging digital healthcare technology and global digital health strategies
📖 Out-Of-Pocket: Some cool AI healthcare projects
OOP hosted their first-ever hackathon; read about the participants and their insight
Community Contributions 🍩
📊 CommBank released a Patient Experience Insights Report identifying opportunities to improve non-clinical aspects of patient care
📄 The UK Parliament's report on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) classifies them as high in fat, salt, and sugar, with high consumption linked to obesity and cardiovascular disease, calling for more research on health impacts
🏥 A GP Practice saved the NHS £1.5M by performing nearly 4,400 surgical procedures last year, helping to reduce hospital waiting lists and freeing up hospital resources for more complex cases
💡Got thoughts? Something to include next time?
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Alrighty friends.
Have a fabulous weekend!
👋 Emily,
Mariah & team WTH
With thanks to our partners 💜
Want to get featured here in front of >8150 health-loving legends?
Shoot us a note for ad placement and partnership opportunities.