TTA’s Thanksgiving Windup: Steward heads investigated, CVS head departs, Congress’ controls over Oracle VA EHR depart, NeuroNinja needs funding, Teladoc, Cortica, 23andMe, Neuralink, more!

November 27, 2024 | by | No Comments

 

 

It’s a short holiday week in the US and the stories range from Potential Big International Fraud to Neuralink’s Big Brain Implant Potential. Yet another CVS head departs. Congressional VA EHR controls also depart in new bill. And help fund the adventures of NeuroNinja, a comic superhero who just happens to be living with Parkinson’s. 

Happy Thanksgiving! New articles resume Monday 2 December.

Short takes: Teladoc intros hospital bed fall risk detector, Veradigm’s AI scribe, Lucid’s pill-sized esophageal cancer diagnostic, Cortica’s $80M raise for autism treatment, LG NOVA startup winners
News roundup: Oak Street’s Pykosz departs CVS, Musk’s Neuralink gains Canadian clinical trial, VA healthcare improvement bill omits EHR oversight measures, 23andMe’s Mirador precision medicine partnership (Another CVS head departs, stage left)
Help fund the NeuroNinja comic–a superhero with Parkinson’s! (An unusual approach)
Breaking: Federal agents seize Steward Health’s CEO, international head’s mobile phones in widening US investigations (It’s big, it’s developing, it’s international)

An unusual pre-Thanksgiving week focused on significant developments on ongoing Major Stories but little new. CVS Health bends the knee to investor Glenview. Controlled substances telehealth gets a 3rd extension. Revere Medical out of Steward ashes snaps up a broken MSO. Oura partners with Dexcom CGM and gets paid for it! What’s kind of new? HHS comes up short on cybersecurity leadership while accurate EHR notes are short in new VA study.

Government updates: GAO scores HHS on cybersecurity issues; patient issues largely omitted from EHR notes in VA study (Coming up consistently short)
News roundup: CVS Health cedes 4 new board seats to Glenview, Oscar’s strong Q3, telehealth controlled substance prescribing in 3rd extension, new Revere Medical to buy CareMax assets, Oura picks up $75M Dexcom financing and partnership (Further developments on Big Stories)

Cue the music…it’s the good, bad, and a ration of ugly this week. An under-the-radar company makes big buys in primary care and MSO. Veradigm might finally get itself sold. DOJ drags UHG to court over Amedisys–after the election. 23andMe continues to perhaps Destination Oblivion. Forward meets Oblivion after eight years. And Ali Parsa, one year after Babylon’s failure, serves up a new AI venture that gets a Gimlety view.

Bad News Roundup updates: UHG/Optum defends Amedisys buy fast via a website, digging deeper into Forward’s fast demise, former Masimo CEO Kiani booted–and sued (One lesson after another)
Bad News roundup: DOJ drops the hammer on UHG-Amedisys, 23andMe lays off 40% and closes therapeutics, Lyra Health lays off 2% in restructuring, Forward primary care + kiosks shuts down abruptly (We aren’t past it yet)
Babylon Health’s Parsa founds new AI medical assistant venture, Quadrivia, one year after Babylon Health’s failure (Parsa’s new AI-powered deal)
M&A action news: Astrana Health buys up Prospect Health for $745M after Centene MSO unit buy, Veradigm nears $1B+ sale, Sword Health lays off 17% of clinicians prepping for IPO using AI instead, Cigna is not buying Humana–really! truly! (M&A comes alive, with a new player)

The Big Race is over, 45 is now 47 come January, and health tech (plus related) news faces future. HLTH’s future is with UK’s Hyve Group. Cerebral faces an expensive DOJ/DEA Judgment Day for its Bad Behavior during the pandemic. 23andMe, CVS, and Walgreens face future survival. And what if in future healthcare sets a goal of zero failures, like aircraft makers and airlines?

News roundup: Cerebral forfeits $3.7M on federal Rx charges, Aetna president named, Stewardship Health sold to Rural Healthcare, Oura buys data company Sparta Science, Brook Health-Linus Health remote cognitive assessment 
Weekend reading: 23andMe’s up in the air future, including genetic data; Walgreens debates What To Stop and Start; what if healthcare pursued a zero-failure rate? (Some reckonings and a future view)
Surprise! HLTH conference group sold to UK’s Hyve Group Limited (Las Vegas barely a wrap)

A post-HLTH deluge of news–as the US rolls up to a major national election. CVS replaces its CEO and debates breaking up. Amwell takes on a new CFO. Decent-sized raises seem to have returned. Cigna isn’t buying Humana–as of now. And has Teladoc turned a corner?

News roundup: Teladoc’s improved Q3, PursueCare resuscitates Pear’s apps, AMA removes 16-day RPM requirement in 2026, PatientPoint intros Innovation Network, PeopleOne’s $32B raise, Cigna-Humana again a no-go (Earnings season and post-HLTH announcements)
Some thoughts on the takeaways from HLTH (Not that many, strangely)
News roundup 23 Oct: views on a CVS breakup and CEO replacement, Amwell’s interesting new CFO, CopilotIQ/Biofourmis merge (updated), raises by HealthEx, Counsel Health, Oshi Health (Will changes at top fix problems?)

As the weather chills, so do prospects for some very well known companies–and investment. Walgreens plans to shrink its retail footprint by 1,200 over the next three years, “monetize” VillageMD. CVS is exiting most of its infusion business. UHG stock, earnings hammered on Change Healthcare hack, Federal payment cuts. Masimo v. Apple patent slugfest continues with wins for both. DEA kicks the can on telehealth waivers into next year–maybe. FTC and DOJ chill M&A with more demanding Premarket Notification rule for M&A. The spot of good news–baby monitoring Owlet has its mojo back.

News roundup 16 Oct: Walgreens shuts 1,200 stores–500 in ’25, CVS exiting core infusion biz, Masimo v. Apple update, DEA recommends 3rd telehealth extension, Change hack costing UHG $705M, Owlet back in NYSE compliance (So many denouements..and only one good)
FTC drops the hammer on premerger notification requirements–what will be M&A and investment effects? (We told..and tell you so, no frills)

It’s unconfirmed, but CVS may be considering a breakup. Teladoc’s latest reorg puts its COO out to pasture. IPOs may revive by next year for ‘overdue for exit’ companies. In CEO Land, one former CEO strikes back at the Senate holding him in contempt, while another one, having lost her board, now can easily take 23andMe private. ATA announces 2025 Nexus and call for papers. And some new fundings and products…and why can’t VA stop stubbing its toe on Oracle EHR issues, or staff diving into politicians’ health records?

News roundup: Omada Health files S-1 for IPO in 2025–and a look at 2024 healthcare IPOs, Philips debuts new smart baby monitor, ActiveAlert launches in UK, ATA Nexus 2025 calls for speakers, abstracts (An small IPO revival?)
Breaking: another exit at Teladoc, with COO resigning effective 31 December (Something about ships? Spirals? Musical chairs?)
Industry news short takes: fundings for Qure.AI, Centivo, Rippl, Surescripts; M&A closings for GE Healthcare-Intelligent Ultrasound, LetsGetChecked-Truepill. And is Hinge Health going public soon?
Two ‘oops’ at VA: OIG finds VA, Oracle performance misalignments, makes 9 recommendations; VP candidates’ EHR records improperly accessed by VA employees (Enough already!)
Two follow ups: Steward Health CEO resigns–and sues the Senate HELP committee, Wojcicki will take 23andMe private (Time to take the yachts for a long trip?)
Now CVS Health may be reviewing ‘options’–including a possible breakup–report (PBM and health plan troubles)

Steward’s CEO will likely face prosecution on criminal contempt of Congress for not showing up at a hearing, Stefano Pessina’s net worth down by 97% as Walgreens tanks, and Joe Kiani, after founding Masimo 35 years ago, is booted from the board and ankles–now it’s up to Politan.  

What’s next for: Steward CEO now in criminal contempt of Congress; Walgreens’ Pessina’s fortune vanishes by 97%; Masimo’s Kiani now a man without a company

It’s the last week of summer and this Editor has been catching up all over. While away, there have been buys, M&A, and yet another PE ‘smush’ merger. In developing stories, the Masimo-Politan proxy war ends and Steward’s CEO no-show may result in charges–both on Thursday. Congress and the industry argue over continuing telehealth prescribing waivers. And it’s hard to see a future for a broke 23andMe controlled by its founder/CEO–and with a board that just exited today. 

News roundup: Owlet expands to EU, mPulse buys Zipari, New Mountain PE merges 3 payment integrity firms in $3B smush, Candid Health’s $29M raise, Oura buys Veri, Bloomer Tech’s cardio bra (M&A activity revives, as does Owlet. Oura doing just fine)
23andMe settles 6.9M data breach lawsuit for $30M. Breaking–all seven independent directors quit ($30M the best they could get–and the board throws the towel at Wojcicki)
Rounding up follow ups: Walgreens shareholder suit on pharmacy performance, Steward CEO no-shows Senate committee, Masimo-Politan proxy fight has court win for Politan–vote on for 19 September (Walgreens’ misery never ends. Masimo nears its end.)
US telehealth controlled substances prescribing waiver may expire at year’s end; DEA may further restrict (Controversy on continuing virtual prescribing of Schedule II)

One more jumbo deal announced before Labor Day–Evolent Health’s acquisition bids from payer Elevance Health as well as at least three large private equity firms, in a deal that could top $4 billion. (Sensibly, their CEO is cleaning up his stock option portfolio.)

Evolent Health talking major acquisition by payer Elevance, private equity (Could be over $4B)

Counting down before the Labor Day holiday, one large deal of note sneaks through–LetsGetChecked’s $525M deal for Truepill. SVB’s latest report confirms the ‘valuation trap’ for the overvalued companies of the 2020-22 period but that investment is crawling back. Generative AI is much talked about but no one is comfortable with it. And two surprising survivals–NeueHealth and Stewardship Health.

Truepill to be acquired by LetsGetChecked for $525 million (Throwing in together to survive?)
Signs of life: another view on healthcare investments and exits as of mid-year (SVB’s 14th POV)
Are patients and physicians ready for generative AI? How will it be most acceptable? (Resembles telehealth’s early days on the early curve)
“I will survive” updates: NeueHealth survives Q2 with small net loss, Steward sells off Stewardship Health practices to private equity firm for $245M (Dodging disaster)

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Short takes: Teladoc intros hospital bed fall risk detector, Veradigm’s AI scribe, Lucid’s pill-sized esophageal cancer diagnostic, Cortica’s $80M raise for autism treatment, LG NOVA startup winners

November 27, 2024 | by | No Comments

Turkey bites before Thanksgiving:

Teladoc debuts Virtual Sitter, a hospital bed system for fall detection risk. It uses AI to assess the risk of a patient falling from a hospital bed. The risk is determined by the patient moving within or outside set spatial boundaries (Bounding Box). It can also determine limb movements, whether the patient is sitting up or lying down, and can screen out other people in the room. The AI is coupled with human observation by a nonclinical trained staff monitor who can speak with the affected patient. Virtual Sitter integrates with Teladoc’s TV Pro devices and enables the live monitor to view up to 25% more patients. Falls out of beds are a major cause of hospital injury with over 1 million patients affected and 30% experiencing lasting injuries. TV Pro and Virtual Sitter are in Teladoc’s integrated care unit that has done fairly well in recent quarters. FierceHealthcare, Teladoc release in Yahoo Finance

Veradigm introduces a virtual scribe. The Veradigm Ambient Scribe is designed to ease the burden of EHR documentation. It uses  generative AI from AvodahMed to automatically capture and transcribe real-time patient-provider interactions into structured medical notes. It integrates into the Veradigm EHR. Veradigm release. Meanwhile, the long-drawn-out Veradigm sale has not advanced but betting is that it will be wrapped by year’s end [TTA 13 Nov].

Lucid Diagnostics introduces a diagnostic for detecting esophageal cancer cells without endoscopy. Esophageal cancer is deadly (50% mortality in Stage 1), difficult to detect but is common in those suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Endoscopy for these high-risk patients is highly invasive, requires IV anesthetic, and its complexity is a barrier to detection of pre-cancerous cells, where it is most curable via ablation. The noninvasive EsoGuard biomarker test uses a detection device about the size of an easily swallowed vitamin pill and is attached to a thin catheter. The catheter collects cells in about a minute which are then analyzed for genetic markers associated with esophageal precancer and cancer. It was FDA-cleared in 2019 and is the only test of its type, but awaits coverage by Medicare and commercial insurers. MedCityNews 

Cortica raises $80 million for its childhood autism diagnosis and treatment offering. The raise was a venture round from Morgan Health, a unit of JP Morgan, Nexus NeuroTech, and Autism Impact Fund.  It provides applied behavior analysis, diagnostic testing, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and other services through its 24 centers in eight states and also via virtual counseling in schools and homes. Its purpose is to integrate the often fragmented care autistic and neurodivergent children receive.  The current funding will be used to expand the number of center locations, for value-based contracts with insurers, and to integrate guarantees focused on faster evaluation, diagnosis and treatment, as well as clinical outcomes. Since 2018 it has raised $255 million. MedCity News, FierceHealthcare

And winding it up….

Korean electronics company LG throws its cap into the startup competition business. LG’s NOVA is not salmon or Brazilian music but the North America Innovation Center of LG Electronics. Ten startups presented at LG’s InnoFest in San Francisco, focusing on  life sciences, open innovation, health tech, AI, smart life, and cleantech. The three winners were chosen as the most promising in driving impactful change. 

  • First Place ($15,000): mDETECT Inc. – Developer of highly-sensitive cancer blood tests using DNA sequencing, offering a universal approach to monitoring therapy response and detecting cancer progression. 
  • Second Place ($10,000): Glidance – Independent mobility for people who are blind or have low vision with Glide, the first AI-powered intelligent guide, which enhances confidence, safety, and autonomy. 
  • Innovation for Impact ($10,000): Oncoustics – Transforming low-cost point-of-care ultrasound devices into powerful diagnostic tools for early detection and monitoring of liver diseases using AI. 

The winners’ next step is collaborating in LG NOVA’s Mission for the Future Program which includes marketing, partnerships, and additional resources.  LG release