🍩 $100M hospital bailout, Alzheimers blood test & fake studies
Whats happening in health tech & innovation?
Hi friends - coming to you fresh and feeling old after finally celebrating my newest decade (a year late - thanks covid).
🇸🇬 In other news, next week I’ll be in Singapore for LSI Asia.
I’ve been meaning to go to their killer conferences forever, and it’s a great excuse to go hang out with other smart people from around the world in Medtech.
They’re even letting me talk about things.
SO - if you’re Singapore based, or also attending and are keen to catch up, hit reply and lets tee up a time ☕️
ALSO - it’s the final week for applications to our What the Health Private Community - Cohort 5
✨Your ultimate hack to level up in healthtech. Join other epic open-minded experts & innovators to nerd out, connect & learn ✨
Want to join a curated crew of +280 top health tech experts & innovators?
💰For just $29 a month for 6 months + GST
💡Check out all the details here!
✅ Want to join?
(We know it’s kind of long - to keep the quality & vibes high). Promise it’s worth it.
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Newsworthy
Sick Science
AI Updates
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
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Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
👁️ PolyActiva raised $40M for their dissolvable glaucoma implants ft. $27m from the fed gov’s NRF to scale manufacturing & trials to “do for sight what Cochlear did for hearing”
💛 The Ainsworth family donated $50M to UNSW to launch a world-first endometriosis research institute
🦾 Preve, a physio AI startup, raised $2.2M to reduce rehab dropouts by personalising treatment plans
🧬 Vively, the metabolic health startup, raised $1.6M & partnered with Bupa to offer CGMs & AI coaching for $99
💰 OncoSil raised $8.7M to fund European rollout of its brachytherapy device for pancreatic cancer
🦄 Eucalyptus plans to raise $150M to become a unicorn, scaling its telehealth platform selling weight-loss drugs like Ozempic
💻 Five Faces, a patient experience software provider, got $1M from the QLD Gov's Female Founders Co-Investment Fund and Utiliti Group.
💹 Tetratherix announced it’s set to float on the ASX, to raise $25M with an ambitious pitch about the potential of its “Medical Lego” product that helps the body heal faster from injuries and surgery
Newsworthy
🏥 Healthscope, Aus’s 2nd-largest private hospital operator, received a $100M bailout from CBA & Westpac after collapsing into receivership while searching for a new buyer
HMC Capital's CEO, deferred rent on 11 Healthscope hospitals to keep them open during recievership - ouch
🧬 Superpower, preventive health startup, acquired at-home lab testing company Base
🤝 AusBiotech & Austrade launched a new TradeStart Adviser role to help Aus life sciences companies expand globally
🧠 Synchron co-founder Nick Opie launched Ultra Bionics, a new brain-computer interface startup targeting Parkinson’s, epilepsy, & depression
❤️🩹 BiVacor received FDA breakthrough designation for its Total Artificial Heart
🌏 Aus ranks 9th globally for healthcare interoperability, with 85.7% of providers digitally exchanging patient data, according to Black Book’s latest report
📋 Monash researchers audited 120 aged care Medication Advisory Committees, finding that only:
58% of MACs were truly multidisciplinary, including nursing, pharmacy, & prescriber input
59% fully met policy development roles
53% met risk management benchmarks
41% delivered all education-related functions
Only 28% performed all quality improvement functions outlined in the national Audit Tool
🧘♀️The Commons is opening Melb’s largest social wellness club with gyms, classes, a bathhouse, & coworking in Richmond this September
Gov Goss
🌿 Tasmania launched a $476M, decade-long “Bluegum” initiative to create Aus's 1st fully integrated digital health system, starting with the statewide rollout of Epic’s Electronic Medical Record from 2026
🥤Mark Butler ruled out a sugar tax, saying the gov will prioritise food labelling & industry reform over taxing sugary drinks
*Facepalm*
🧠 NSW GPs will be allowed to diagnose & prescribe medication for ADHD from 2026
💉 Aus is cracking down on the cosmetic injectables industry with new AHPRA rules requiring more training & banning influencer testimonials
US & Beyond the Borders 🌎
🧠 The FDA cleared first blood test for Alzheimer’s, detecting amyloid plaques via plasma biomarkers, offering a faster & less invasive alternative to PET scans
🧬 Regeneron is acquiring 23andMe’s assets for $256M to access genetic data from ~15M users
📈 Hinge Health jumped 17% on its NYSE debut, hitting a $3B valuation & reviving hopes for digital health IPOs
But lets dig into the data… it still looks to come at a significant markdown compared to its last raise valuation… Christina Farr did a great piece on the biggest winners and what this says about digital health investing here
🚴♂️ Strava hit a $2.2B valuation, launched new AI features & acquired cycling app The Breakaway
🧠 Elon Musk’s Neuralink raised $650M at a $9B valuation to advance its brain implant tech, with three patients already implanted & one using it to control YouTube with brain signals
🧬 US Fertility launched a bundled offering with Oura & Luminary Vitamins to provide women trying to conceive with personalised, data-driven fertility support
🤝 RFK Jr met with 7 health tech startups, 6 backed by Andreessen Horowitz, to discuss innovations aligned with his preventative care agenda
🇺🇸MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) released a report on children’s health that cited non-existent and non-relevant studies in its “gold standard” evidence base
🏥 Fuze Health launched from the merger of Truepill, LetsGetChecked, & Alto to deliver personalised, tech-powered home healthcare with virtual care, diagnostics, & pharma services across the US
💊Sanofi is acquiring Blueprint Medicines to strengthen its rare immunology portfolio and pipeline, enhancing its position in high-growth specialty drug markets
😖 Eli Lilly is buying SiteOne Therapeutics for up to $1B to expand into non-opioid pain treatments and reduce reliance on opioids
🍄 Gilgamesh reported 94% remission in a mid-stage trial for its psychedelic-inspired depression drug, signalling strong early efficacy and interest in next-gen CNS therapies
🤖 AI Updates
🩺 Google launched MedGemma, a new open-source AI model for clinical tasks, as part of a broader push to power healthcare with infrastructure-level AI
🧪 Samsung may join a $100M round for Exo, a startup making AI handheld ultrasound devices that plug into smartphones
💬 Abridge is reportedly in talks to raise 000s of Ms at a $5B valuation, signalling a shift beyond AI scribing into billing, compliance, & revenue cycle management
🏡 Axle Health, a home health tech startup, raised $10M Series A to scale its AI logistics platform after reporting 900% growth
🩸 Uni of Tokyo researchers used AI & high-speed microscope to non-invasively track real-time blood clotting in heart disease patients
Brought to you with…💜 Vively
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Sick Science
🧪 Could creatine help treat Alzheimer’s?
Researchers at the Uni of Kansas ran a pilot trial testing high-dose creatine monohydrate in 20 people with Alzheimer’s disease. Over 8 weeks, participants took 20 grams a day (a large dose) & showed an 11% increase in brain creatine, along with measurable improvements in cognition, including memory & attention. Compliance was high, side effects were mild, & brain gains tracked with improved thinking skills.
⚡ The Amino Acid That Triggers Rapid Weight Loss?
Researchers NYU School of Medicine studied how removing individual amino acids from the diet affects weight in mice. They found that eliminating cysteine led to the most dramatic effect, a 30% drop in body weight within 1 week, which reversed quickly when cysteine was restored. This weight loss was driven by oxidative & stress responses, disrupted fat metabolism, & major drop in CoA, a molecule crucial for energy production. Despite reduced food intake, over half the weight loss couldn’t be explained by diet alone, showing cysteine deprivation rewired the mice's metabolism.
🤖 AI Beats Doctors in Emergency Diagnoses & Reasoning
A study from physicians at Harvard, Stanford, & others tested OpenAI’s o1 LLM against 000s of physicians across 6 clinical reasoning tasks. The model was assessed on differential diagnosis, test selection, reasoning clarity, probabilistic thinking, & management decisions. Showing consistent “superhuman” medical reasoning, outperforming doctors & previous AI models. It even solved real hospital cases using unstructured EHR data.
Startup Stuff 🚀
Working on something that could help people with dementia?
CUREator+ is offering up to $5M in grant funding for projects that support people living with dementia or cognitive decline. They’re looking for new treatments, devices, or digital tools that can improve quality of life - More here
Ready to Compete for $1M on a Global Stage?
The Startup World Cup is back & for the 1st time, Melb is hosting a regional final on July 22. Winners head to SF for the grand finale & a shot at the $1M investment prize - More here
Got Global Growth on Your Radar?
Nexus 2025 is open - connecting Aussie startups with the booming Chinese market through the Future City Innovators program. Winners score $20k in cash, a $15k travel package to Nanjing, & acceleration support to scale across Asia - More here
Building the future of Sport?
AO StartUps are taking applications for its mid-year intake. Backed by Tennis Aus & the Aus Open, the program helps startups pilot & scale breakthrough tech in sport, media, & fan engagement - More here
Ready to Pitch on a Global Stage?
The SXSW Sydney Pitch 2025 is now open for applications. Finalists will go head-to-head in Oct, pitching ideas across AI, HealthTech, & more. Winners score global exposure, mentorship, & a trip to pitch at SXSW internationally – More here
🧠 Nominations are open for the 2025 Aus Mental Health Prize, marking its 10th year
Events💥
11th June: Running a Clinical Trial at Westmead. A HealthTech Hub Masterclass (Syd)
23rd - 24th June: Health Insurance Summit (Melb)
4 - 5th June: International Mental Health Conference (GC)
10 - 13th June: LSI ASIA (Singapore)
11th June: Notion x Antler: Founders Mixer (Melb)
16 - 19th June: BIO (Boston)
17 - 28th June: Towards One Healthcare System Summit (Canberra)
26th June: HealthTech Summit (GC)
Consumable Content 💎
📺 Sequoia AI Ascent 2025 Keynote: AI's Trillion-Dollar Opportunity
This preso spotlighted their top bets in healthcare: Abridge, Anterior, Bunkerhill Health, Freed & OpenEvidence
🎙️HSJ Health Check: Why AI isn’t taking off in the NHS
This ep explores how the NHS is still in the early stages of using AI, mainly in diagnostics & dictation, & looks at barriers like unclear approval pathways & limited funding
📝 Michelle Kwok says biology is hitting its software moment, AI, lab automation, & programmable cells are turning science into code & fast-tracking the next wave of health innovation
💪Dr Tuire Karaharju-Huisman discusses global research showing that strength training is key to extending healthspan, urging a focus on building “strengthspan” as Aus faces one of the world’s widest healthspan–lifespan gaps
💡Got Feedback? Something to include next time? Keen to get in touch?
We want to make this worthy of your time & the best possible.
💌 Hit reply or reach out to emily@whatthehealth.io to let us know
Adios amigos - catch you from sweaty Singapore next week
👋 Emily,
Mariah & team WTH
With thanks to our partners 💜
Want to get featured here in front of >9450 health-loving legends?
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Recent breakthroughs reveal creatine supplementation may improve Alzheimer’s cognition by boosting brain energy metabolism. Also, AI now surpasses doctors in clinical reasoning, revolutionizing emergency diagnostics and personalized care pathways globally.