#56 🍩 New Health VC Funds, Bunnings Blood Pressure & Aussies live longest?
Your health tech & innovation TL;DR roundup
Happy Friday Friends!
In case you missed the internet explosion, Apples are undoubtedly still in. But Brat has now been joined by Demure.
Here’s my attempt at staying young and hip, ft. the Brat vs Demure: Health innovation edition…
In other news - a BIG thank you to whoever nominated me for Industry Champion in Best In Tech Awards by StartUp Daily 🥹💜 my heart be melting.
Alrighty, onto the news…
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
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Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
💪 Hapana, a saas platform for fitness businesses raised US$17M led by OIF & Bailador to continue to expand globally & launch its 2nd gen platform
🩺 Australian Medical Angels secured $300k from LaunchVic to launch a new VC fund, targeting $40M for early-stage medtech & healthcare startups
🧬 Proto Axiom secured $20M towards a targeted $30M Series B for its incubator to invest in early-stage biotech ventures
🧠 Kinoxis Therapeutics, raised a $14.5M Series B for Phase 2 trials of its drug targeting agitation/ aggression in dementia patients & Class 1 drug users
👁️ Eyeonic closed $2.6M to advance AI-enabled home glaucoma testing on laptops & tablets
Newsworthy
🩺 nib Group launched hubPass for Business, a subscription service by Midnight Health with unlimited medical consultations, prescription renewals, & discounts
🚀 Startmate announced their Winter ’24 Accelerator cohort, ft. 3 of our amazing Private WTH community members:
Preve the world’s first AI-assisted physio membership platform
Tendl simplifying tender & grant responses with deep document analysis
Trova Health easing global expansion for digital health companies with localised compliance & provider networks
Congrats WTH’ers!!!
💧 Aussie hospitals face an emergency as IV saline drip shortages force doctors to ration fluids, postpone surgeries & enact disaster protocols
Say hello to the risks of relying on a single supplier for vital medical supplies
💸 Monash IVF settled a $56M class action lawsuit over mishandling genetic testing & destroying viable embryos
🏥 Medibank:
Announced its plans to acquire Pinnacle Health Group, a leading corporate health & wellbeing provider
Warns private health insurance could become unaffordable if private hospitals succeed in pushing insurers to contribute more funds
🔨 Bunnings is trialling blood pressure stations in 30 stores with the George Institute & UNSW to detect undiagnosed hypertension & raise awareness of high blood pressure
🍬 Breathe Life Sciences is Aus’s first manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade THC gummies, with TGA approval
💊 Billionaires are investing in psychedelics as Aus legalises them for depression & PTSD treatment
Despite controversy & costs, advocates like Peter Hunt believe these therapies will soon be "a perfectly normal part of our mental health armoury," with growing global market potential
💀 Demand for voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is growing, with ~2.5k people using the service since 2019, but barriers like ‘gag clauses’ & rural access issues challenging care for terminally ill patients
TL: DR on the gag clause: “The clause restricts medical professionals from proposing VAD as an option to terminally-ill patients. Instead, patients must bring it up themselves”
Gov Goss
🦠 Long covid, affecting 10–20% of recovered patients, cost the Australian economy nearly $10B in 2022 alone
🧪 The Senate launched an inquiry into "forever chemicals" (PFAS) over health & environmental concerns led by Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, who calls PFAS "the asbestos of the 21st century"
👂 Gold Coast Health partnered with Lyrebird Health to trial an AI-powered ambient listening solution to automate clinical documentation
🏛️ The Fed Gov passed the NDIS reform bill amidst controversy over rushed legislation & lack of consultation
⚠️ An ANU report revealed up to 1 in 4 Vic healthcare workers experience work-related gendered violence, with most cases underreported
📊 The Aus Digital Health Agency's July 24 report shows >23M My Health Records now have data, covering 99% of all records, with ~600K increase in the past year
US & Beyond the Borders
🎶 Google & Selena Gomez are partnering to bring mental health resources to 1M teens
🇺🇸 Facebook’s Founder says the White House 'repeatedly pressured' Facebook to take down certain COVID-19 content in 2021
💪Peloton partners with Google Fitbit to offer class content to Fitbit Premium users in Sept, along with discounts on Google wearables & beta tests for new features
💊 Recursion Pharmaceuticals, an AI-driven drug discovery biotech, will acquire Exscientia for US$688M, boosting its drug pipeline & pharma partnerships
📈Mindbody is prepping for an IPO, fueled by 20% YoY growth & a projected US$500M in 2024 revenue following its ClassPass acquisition
🧬 23andMe, consumer genetic testing company, is launching a GLP-1 weight loss telehealth membership through Lemonaid Health
🧠 Piramidal developed a foundational model for EEG analysis to standardise brainwave pattern detection, with 1st hospital deployments set for early next year
💓Mayo Clinic is partnering with Google spinout startup, SandboxAQ to test CardiAQ, an AI-driven, non-invasive cardiac diagnostic tool using quantum sensing technology
Sick Science
🏅 Why Are Aussies Winning the Longevity Game?
University of Southern California researchers found Aussies live 1-4 years longer than their peers in 6 English-speaking countries. This edge is driven by lower death rates from treatable diseases, healthier lifestyles, & a high migrant population, with the biggest gains seen between ages 45-84.
⏳ What ages do we actually age at?
A Stanford University study found that aging occurs in two dramatic bursts—around ages 44 & 60—rather than gradually. Researchers tracked 135,000 molecules & found significant shifts in cardiovascular, immune, & metabolic functions at these ages, which may explain spikes in musculoskeletal & cardiovascular problems.
🍏 Greens > Genes?
A University of Eastern Finland study found that even with high genetic risk, type 2 diabetes can be prevented through diet & exercise. The 3-year T2D-GENE Trial with 1k men aged 50-75 showed lifestyle changes significantly reduced diabetes risk, regardless of genetic predisposition.
🥣 Can Soup & Shakes Reverse Diabetes?
A study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found that nearly one-third of participants in the NHS's 800-calorie "soup & shake" diet for type 2 diabetes achieved remission. The year-long program, starting with a 12-week low-calorie phase, led to significant weight loss & remission in 32% of participants.
🧠 As If We Needed More Reasons to Avoid Plastics—Here’s 1 More
A study by the Florey Institute found higher levels of BPA—a chemical in plastics—in pregnant women whose sons later developed autism. BPA disrupts hormone-controlled brain development, particularly in boys with lower aromatase levels. Boys exposed to higher BPA were 3.5 times more likely to show autism symptoms by age 2 * 6 times more likely to be diagnosed by age 11.
🥜 Can you reverse peanut allergies?
Prota Therapeutics' study in Allergy shows that high-dose peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) treatments, PRT120 & PRT100, achieve lasting remission, improving quality of life & reducing allergic reactions. The study followed children for 2 years post-treatment & confirms remission as their superior goal over desensitisation in managing peanut allergies.
🤖 AI Updates
🗣️ Google’s HeAR AI, trained on 300M audio samples including 100M coughs, helping researchers detect diseases like TB & COPD from cough sounds
👁️ Dora, an AI developed at Oxford, streamlines cataract care by autonomously conducting follow-up calls, saving NHS staff > 530 hours & reducing patient wait times
🎧 Sonova, a leading hearing care company, launched the Sphere Infinio, the first real-time AI-powered hearing aid to enhance speech clarity in noisy environments
🔄 Kaiser switches from Nabla to Abridge as its AI scribe vendor, deploying Abridge’s tech across its entire system, just months after rolling out Nabla to 1k providers
🧠 The EU AI Act, now in force, adds new complexities for healthcare companies using AI, requiring developers to navigate additional compliance & risk assessment considerations beyond existing medical device regulations
Startup Stuff 🚀
Early-stage therapeutic project needing a boost?
BioCurate’s 2024 POC Fund is now open, offering up to $500K in funding & industry mentorship to academic researchers & eligible companies - More here
Ready to lead with confidence?
Ladymates Leadership, ANZ’s first mentor-driven community for women in leadership, offers executive coaching, peer mentorship, & workshops - Apply here
Qld female founders, ready to scale up?
The Accelerating Female Founders Program offers subsidised business development programs for Qld-based female founders or leaders - More here
Biopharma or Biotech startup looking for a boost?
Merck Life Science's 2024 ANZ Grant Program is open for emerging biopharma & biotech start-ups in Aus & NZ - More here
In NSW & need 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 & industry partners to commercialise research in priority areas, with grants up to $500k for early-stage & up to $5M for mid-stage projects - More here
Events💥
Fri 4th Sept: 2024 Startup Daily Best In Tech Awards (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)
9th Oct: BioSymposium – Innovating Antibody-Drug Conjugates: From Mechanisms to Market (Melb)
23rd - 24th Oct: MTAA MedTech Conference (Syd)
Consumable Content 💎
🎥 Australia's $42 BILLION crisis - can this startup fix it?
Sachin & Adam made a kicker video on Kismet, Aus’s rapidly scaling NDIS Startup and one of my personal favs. Check out what they’re upto.
🎙️ Huberman Lab: Dr. Stacy Sims: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity
Longevity is often FAR too focused on and talked about by men. But this ep covers exercise & nutrition tailored for women, focusing on training, fasting, supplements, & how to optimize health across different life stages
📖 Second Opinion: The case for the physical clinic. Christina Farr & Co lay out a great case for why brick-&-mortar clinics still hold value in healthcare, challenging the notion that digital-only models are the future
Johnson & Johnson's 20-Year Journey: From Pharma to MedTech Powerhouse
J&J’s growth through major acquisitions like Alza, Synthes, & Abiomed has solidified its place as a pharma giant. With 64% of its $85.2B revenue from Pharma, will J&J spin off its MedTech division next?
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