Plus: Ottawa-based Fullscript acquires Emerson Ecologics to bring integrative medicine into the mainstream.
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Wisedocs closes $4.1 million to bring medical document analysis to “entire” insurance ecosystem (BETAKIT)
Armed with $4.1 million CAD in seed capital and a “broader” vision, Toronto-based Wisedocs plans to chase more enterprise-level customers and fuel its United States expansion efforts, as it looks to move into serving other segments of the insurance industry.
Healthcare tech platform Doctolib reaches $6.4 billion valuation (TECHCRUNCH)
French startup Doctolib has announced that is has raised a new funding round. With this round, the company has reached a valuation of €5.8 billion, or $6.4 billion at today’s exchange rate. That makes Doctolib the highest valued French startup.
Microsoft leads MedMe’s $3.4 million CAD seed round to help pharmacies expand beyond retail (BETAKIT)
To date, the Toronto-based Y Combinator graduate has amassed a list of over 3,600 Canadian customers ranging from independent pharmacies to some of Canada’s largest pharmacy chains, including Rexall, Shoppers Drug Mart, Guardian, and Pharmasave, which it adapted its platform to serve during the pandemic.
From bakery to ‘tech behemoth’: How Loblaw became a titan of the private health-care industry (TORONTO STAR)
Loblaw will be launching a new venture, Lifemark Health Group, a health-care service provider that offers physiotherapy, massage therapy and more at 300 clinics across Canada.
Ottawa-based Fullscript acquires Emerson Ecologics to bring integrative medicine into the mainstream (BETAKIT)
With the transaction, Fullscript nearly doubles its annual revenue and the number of people its platform supports. The company claims it now serves more than 70,000 healthcare professionals and over five million patients. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A Peloton bike and subscription for one monthly fee? Company to test new price plans (WALL STREET JOURNAL)
Peloton Interactive Co.’s new chief executive is looking to overhaul the stationary-bike maker’s pricing strategy in a bid to turn around the company.
UnitedHealth says DOJ resting on ‘speculative theories’ to challenge Change Healthcare acquisition (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
UHG announced in January 2021 that it would purchase Change in a deal worth nearly $8 billion in cash and $5 billion in debt. The two companies expected the deal to close in the latter half of 2021 but postponed consummating the merger until February to allow DOJ to conduct its investigation.
While some Canadian tech companies move to support Ukrainians, others cut ties with Russia (BETAKIT)
In a microcosm of global events, some in Canada’s tech community are moving to aid Ukrainians while others are cutting ties with Russian affiliates as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is in its third week.
Google, eyeing a broader market for medical software, strikes a deal with major health records player (STAT NEWS)
Google has struck a deal to embed its clinical software tools into a patient record-keeping system sold by Meditech, a major electronic health record vendor whose market share could put the tech giant’s technology in hospitals nationwide.
Samos launches insurance product for accidental death during surgery (BETAKIT)
Samos has launched a new digital insurance product, backed by Berkley Insurance, that offers protection for accidental death during planned surgical procedures. The Y Combinator insurtech startup provides patients set to undergo scheduled medical procedures like cesarean sections, joint replacements, and heart surgeries with coverage against accidental death.
Amazon hires Providence Hospital executive for health role (BNN BLOOMBERG)
Aaron Martin, previously chief digital officer at Providence and head of the health system’s venture-capital arm, will join the tech giant later this month, according to Amazon.
Viral Symptoms: The rise of mental health diagnosis videos on TikTok (THE WALRUS)
According to more than a few TikToks, unnecessary apologizing could be a symptom of latent anxiety, a way for my brain to get in front of a situation it registers as unpleasant. Other seemingly ordinary “symptoms” are laid out in many of these diagnosis videos, which often riff on the same formula: the creator stands in front of the camera, dancing, smiling, or pantomiming the words that pop up on the screen around them, like a modern version of a kabuki performance.
Bioscience startup Mikra secures $8.5 million CAD to launch its nutraceutical gel (BETAKIT)
Mikra secured $8.5 million CAD in funding from its parent company, Lifeist Wellness Inc. in early March. The money will go towards marketing, product development, and towards supporting pre-clinical genomics trials.
DeepWell aims to create video games used as health care (AXIOS)
The company is the brainchild of medical devices executive Ryan Douglas and veteran game publisher Mike Wilson, who are assembling a team from their respective fields to push the health benefits of playing certain games.
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” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>The Group Ventures secures $20 million for Fund II to invest in Canadian, Israeli tech startups (BETAKIT)
In an exclusive interview with BetaKit, Balass and Carr spoke about the firm’s first fund, investment strategy, and what TGV hopes to accomplish through Fund II.
Allscripts sells hospital business unit in $700M deal with Constellation subsidiary (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Harris will acquire a range of assets from the health IT company’s hospital and large physician practices segment, including Sunrise, Paragon, Touchworks, Opal, dbMotion, STAR and Healthquest solutions.
Zymeworks co-founder, former CEO Ali Tehrani joins Amplitude Ventures as venture partner (BETAKIT)
Precision health-focused investment fund Amplitude Ventures has strengthened its team by adding biotech veteran Ali Tehrani as a venture partner. The move comes shortly after Tehrani stepped down as president and CEO of Vancouver-based Zymeworks, which he co-founded over 18 years ago.
Report: Mental health startups raise $5.5B globally in 2021 (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
That amounts to a 139% increase from 2020, according to CBInsights’ State of Mental Health Tech 2021 Report.
Canadian venture capital investment hits all-time high of $14.2 billion in 2021 (BETAKIT)
Canadian venture capital (VC) investment hit an astounding mark this past year, increasing 215 percent from 2020. VC investment in 2021 hit $14.2 billion, following a trend of record years for venture investment that blew all past years out of the water.
Cigna plans to invest $450M in venture arm for digital health, analytics (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
Cigna plans to give its venture capital arm a $450 million boost as part of its strategy to increase the company’s shareholder value and deliver long-term growth.
Five tips for startups exploring buy now, pay later (BETAKIT)
PwC’s Andrew Popliger examines Buy Now, Pay Later’s digital adoption and shares tips for startups to ensure their BNPL experience is future-proof.
Health Canada recalls Fitbit watch due to risk of burns (CBC)
The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch has been recalled in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Curv Health closes $5.1 million to connect employers, insurers with healthcare providers (BETAKIT)
In an interview with BetaKit, Curv co-founder and CEO, Shea Balish, said the startup quickly realized that there was a much larger opportunity to apply the remote monitoring tech it had developed to its own full-stack digital clinic.
Ro expands fertility services with Dadi acquisition (MOBIHEALTHNEWS)
The deal comes less than a year after the direct-to-consumer virtual care company scooped up Modern Fertility.
FGC Health acquires Pharmacy Access Solutions to help independent pharmacies automate (BETAKIT)
Since 2020, the startup has been on a tear acquiring pharmacies, medical clinics, and an EMS service. The PASI acquisition closed on February 3.
Warburg Pincus co-leads latest funding round in Israel’s MDClone (BNN BLOOMBERG)
MDClone, a synthetic medical data startup, raised $63 million from investors led by Warburg Pincus and Viola Growth to fund global expansion.
We need to keep talking about founder mental health (BETAKIT)
Eigenspace co-founder Jesse Rodgers emphasizes the need for founders to talk about mental health, and shares tips on where to get support.
Nayya nabs $55M to expand its recommendation and personalization engine for healthcare and other benefits (TECHCRUNCH)
The startup has been on a fundraising tear in the last year, a mark of how its service has grown during COVID-19.
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