#85 🍩 Euc a Unicorn, Big Food Corps being sued & EOY flux of funding announcements
Whats happening in health tech & innovation?
Hi friends,
Coming to you this week in shock and with very heavy hearts after the devastating events on Sunday evening in Bondi - A place I know many of you love, and until just months ago, I called home.
It’s indescribable and deeply shocking to see something like this happen here in Australia.
We hope you and your loved ones are safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected, especially those in Bondi and the Jewish community. 💜
Please take care this festive season - hold your loved ones tight, come together, and remember, kindness and love are really all that matter. We’re all in this together - and won’t stand for this hateful, horrid behaviour.
Sending love and strength to you all, and wishing everyone safety and care heading into the holidays 🎄🕎 ❤️
Onto the news…
🍩 TODAY’S ISSUE
Noteworthy News
AI Updates
Sick Science
Startup Stuff
Events
Cool Content
Noteworthy 🗞️
Funding
💊 Eucalyptus is set to become Aus’s next unicorn, closing a $190M round that pushes its valuation to ~$1.37b, >2x its 2023 valuation & driven by surging demand for weight-loss drugs like Ozempic & Wegovy
Also….Euc 2xd revenue to $248.1M as UK demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs sent Juniper sales soaring, making the UK its biggest market at $143.5M
🧍♂️Bodd, a 3D body-scanning startup, bagged $15M to fuel a US, UK, & Middle East expansion
🩹 Australis Scientific raised $9.3M to scale its Confidanz smart patch, a wearable that uses tibial nerve stimulation to calm overactive bladders & reduce reliance on adult diapers
🏋️♂️ Recovr raised ~$1M to expand its AI member-retention platform globally, after 322% growth in Aus gyms & new partnerships with brands like STRONG Pilates
🩻 Saluda Medical is set for a $775M ASX debut after raising $230M, bringing its Aus-born “smart” spinal cord stimulator to public markets
🧪💻 Magentus acquired pathology platform Labflow, strengthening its push to build a unified, global pathology software ecosystem
📉 Epiminder’s shares slid 21% below their $1.50 issue price after its $125M IPO, despite FDA authorisation for its Minder sub-scalp EEG system
Newsworthy
🩺 A new C4 report found Aus recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 in 2021, the first time ever, almost certainly due to widespread HPV vaccination
🧬🇦🇺 Aus is the 1st country in the world to regulate NMN, after the TGA formally added it to the Permissible Ingredients Determination
Longevity Life Sciences, the biotech behind the regulatory change, is currently the only company permitted to supply NMN
🤖 Aus has quietly scrapped plans for a permanent AI Advisory Board
👥 Michael Batko, Startmate CEO, stepped down after 8 years, handing the reins to COO Phoebe Pincus
🤖 Startup Muster 2025 shows AI has reshaped Aus’s startup ecosystem, with 51% now building AI products & founders cutting headcount as FTEs fall 48%
🏥 St Vincent’s will shift half of all care into homes or online by 2030, adding 1 million virtual interactions as it builds Aus’s largest virtual & home-care system
🏥 Healthscope receivers rejected a bid from Calvary Health & Northwest Healthcare Properties to operate 12 private hospitals
🏆 Heidi Health has been named a Deloitte #TechFast50 winner, with 4DMedical, Updoc, Microba & Inventia all making the top 50
⚠️ The TGA issued a safety alert for Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, Trulicity & Mounjaro after reports of depression, suicidal thoughts & unusual mood changes
💡 Medibank was named Australia’s most innovative health insurer again in 2025, scoring a sector-leading Innovation Index score of 91%
💸AMA data shows gold-tier policies have fallen by 360k since 2020, even as overall coverage hits record highs, with premiums 2xing since 2008 while MBS indexation rose <20%
🧠 QLD has become the first state where specially trained GPs can diagnose adults with ADHD & prescribe medication
💼 Vic will cut 1,000+ public sector jobs after a major cost-cutting review found the bureaucracy had become “top-heavy,” with savings of $4B planned over 4 years
Including plans to abolish VicHealth, and merge LaunchVic with Breakthrough Victoria and InvestVic
💬 Nicola Roxon, former federal health minister, slammed Vic’s plan to abolish VicHealth, warning the move hands a win to industries driving poor health & risks burying prevention inside a $30B Health Dept
📘 NSW responded to the Healthcare Funding Inquiry, promising to make prevention, planning & workforce reform long-term system priorities
🏡🤝 Prestige Inhome Care has made its third acquisition in 2 months, buying Omni-Care to expand its Vic home-care footprint
🩻 PRP Diagnostic Imaging is in exclusive due diligence to buy a stake in SA’s Benson Radiology, signalling continued consolidation in medical imaging
US & Beyond Borders
🎗️ Gallup’s data shows 9.7% of U.S. adults now report having had cancer, up from 7% in 2008–2009, driven not by more new cases but by people living longer after diagnosis
🧠⚡ Flow Neuroscience secured FDA approval for the world’s first at-home brain-stimulation treatment for depression, opening the door to prescription, non-drug depression care delivered entirely at home
🧪 Sanofi completed its acquisition of Vicebio, adding a next-gen RSV/HMPV combo vaccine and new ‘Molecular Clamp’ tech to its respiratory pipeline
💸Michelle Carnahan, former Eli Lilly exec, raised a $52M seed round, entirely from family offices, to launch healthcare AI startup Arbiter at a $400M valuation
💊 Equinox is pivoting from gym to longevity hub, rolling out medical-grade wellness like contrast therapy, IV drips, & a $40K/year data-driven “Optimize” program
CEO Harvey Spevak telling Vogue, “people will pay anything for longevity”
🍟 10 major food brands, including Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola are being sued in the US over their ultra-processed foods…
🤖 AI Updates
🤖 ChatGPT turns 3, now hitting 800M weekly users
⚡ Microsoft, NVIDIA, & Anthropic struck a mega-AI alliance, with Anthropic committing $30B in Azure compute & up to 1 gigawatt of Nvidia-powered capacity as all 3 companies deepen ties across infrastructure, model optimisation, &enterprise distribution
🩺 Patients are turning to AI not out of distrust for doctors, but because the health system often can’t meet them in the moment, & chatbots can
A new NYT report shows people now lean on ChatGPT to decode labs, prep for appointments, & get guidance during long waits or rushed consults; an estimated 1 in 6 adults now use AI for health questions
🧬 Function Health raised a $298M Series B at a $2.5B valuation to build a doctor-trained “medical intelligence” AI that turns users’ labs, scans, notes, & wearable data into personalised health guidance
🩻 Gemini 3.0 Pro is the first generalist AI model to beat radiology trainees on the RadLE exam, scoring 51% vs trainees’ 45%, though still far behind board-certified radiologists at 83%
🤖 A leaked draft executive order shows Trump planning to block states from regulating AI, threatening lawsuits & even cutting off federal grant funding for states that pass their own AI laws
🧑⚕️A WellSky survey of 1,200 healthcare workers found 80% of nurses prioritise easy-to-learn software & 58% say AI tools influence where they apply
Sick Science
💊 Repurposing a migraine pill for endo?
This preclinical study from UNSW used a multimodal pipeline to test approved drugs as non-hormonal endometriosis treatments. Researchers showed ROR1 is consistently elevated in endo lesions, confirming it as a viable target. From ~9,000 screened compounds, rimegepant was the only one that reduced viability in an endometriosis cell line. In patient-derived organoids, 2 of 3 models showed clear, dose-dependent growth inhibition, indicating rimegepant may offer targeted, non-hormonal therapeutic potential.
🫀 Can high-dose fish oil cut heart risk in people on dialysis?
In a double-blind randomised controlled trial in NEJM, 1228 adults on maintenance haemodialysis were given either 4 g/day fish oil or corn-oil placebo for 3.5 years. Fish oil halved serious cardiovascular events: 0.31 vs 0.61 events per 1000 patient-days, with fewer cardiac deaths, heart attacks, strokes & amputations in the fish-oil group. Risk of a first cardiovascular event or death from any cause also fell, with similar adherence & no increase in serious bleeding.
🧠 Is autism really one condition…or many?
The Economist explores research showing that autism’s biology is too diverse to fit a single diagnostic category. Scientists now link autism to hundreds of genetic variants, from rare high-impact mutations to common variants that accumulate across generations, each shaping brain development differently.
Large cohort studies, such as a 5k-person American dataset & a 46k-person Danish genetics study, show autism clustering into distinct biological subtypes, with groups differing in symptoms, developmental timing, & when autism-linked genes switch on.
Researchers are also probing environmental factors (maternal health, air pollution, endocrine disruptors), but warn that mixed subtypes may obscure real signals, meaning precision subgroups could sharpen future research, diagnosis, & support.
Startup Stuff 🚀
Got a big mRNA idea bubbling away?
BioNTech Aus launched its new mRNA Innovator Program, offering $50K in funding to support preclinical mRNA research across Aus & NZ. Early & mid-career researchers are especially encouraged to apply - More here
Want to up your grant game in WA?
MTPConnect’s new WAGES program is here to help WA researchers, clinicians, & startups sharpen their grant applications for national funding rounds like the MRFF. Backed by the WA Government, this 3-year pilot offers early-stage support, expert advice, & partnership-building to up your chances of success – More here
Have a promising digital health startup ready to scale?
ANDHealth+ opened apps for its flagship incubator program, offering up to $5M in non-dilutive funding alongside hands-on support from a world-class network of experts to help you grow globally - More here
Working on a game-changing genomics or precision medicine solution?
The MRFF’s Genomics Health Futures Mission has a new grant round open to fund projects improving medication efficacy via pharmacogenomics & genomic solutions to tackle diseases prevalent among Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples - More here
Based in WA & need help getting to a big conference?
WA’s Health & Medical Life Sciences Market Access Grant scheme offers 80% of eligible travel costs (up to $5K) for WA healthtech SMEs to attend national or international industry events - More here
Got a big idea and looking for the right launchpad?
Antler is now taking applications for its global Residency Program, where exceptional founders come together to build &scale world-changing startups. It’s a full-time, in-person opportunity to find your co-founder, validate your idea, & tap into Antler’s global network of investors & mentors. - More here
Want to level up your health startup know-how?
The NSW Health Commercialisation Training Program is offering a free 3-day Business Fundamentals bootcamp for budding healthtech entrepreneurs. It covers how to form a company, navigate regulations, get funding-ready & build your team – all taught by industry experts in law, finance, & sales - More here
Events💥
None left - just holidays *yay*
Cool Content 💎
🎙️ABC Radio: Program:From coldies to thongs: Should Aussie AI speak our language?
Dr Thomas Kelly, Co-Founder of Heidi Health, unpacks the race for sovereign AI, why energy might be the hidden bottleneck & whether we’re at risk of becoming consumers instead of creators
📖 Read the pitch decks that 9 healthcare AI startups used to raise millions in 2025
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Don’t get too lit at those Christmas & EOY shenanigans. Take care, be kind, and we’ll see you soon!
👋 Emily,
Mariah, Victoria & Team WTH
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