Roundup: Virgin Pulse, NextGen close fast; Elucid, Eleos, Vida, Neteera funding; One Medical-CommonSpirit; Indian Health $2.5B EHR to General Dynamics+Oracle; losses, layoffs at Cano Health, 15% digital cuts at Mass General Brigham

November 14, 2023 | by

No surprise that some big deals in digital health closed at year’s end before we roll out the turkey and the holiday decorations.

  • The Virgin Pulse-HealthComp merger that adds benefits analytics to Virgin’s employee wellness platform closed last Thursday (9 November). It was announced only in late September [TTA 29 Sep]. This creates what they estimate is a $3 billion company. Ownership is also changing to New Mountain Capital, the owner of HealthComp, now as the majority owner of the new company with Marlin Equity Partners in minority ownership with others including Blackstone and Morgan Health. Other than Chris Michalak becoming CEO of Virgin Pulse and HealthComp, there is no confirmation of financing nor management/employee transitions or headquarters (Virgin is in Providence Rhode Island, HealthComp in Fresno California). Virgin release
  • EHR NextGen closed its $1.8 billion taking-private by private equity firm Thoma Bravo after shareholders approved it the previous Tuesday for $23.95/share in cash. This was announced around US Labor Day and closed in record time on Friday 10 November. As previously noted, this ended 41 years of public trading for a company that was one of the pioneers of EHRs and practice management. In its release, Thoma Bravo will “leverage its operational and software expertise” and “adding new products and capabilities, both organically and inorganically, to continue enabling NextGen Healthcare’s customers to deliver exceptional patient outcomes.” Healthcare Dive, FierceHealthcare (also Virgin Pulse)

Are these lights at the end of the dark M&A tunnel for health tech and related? Or avoiding the oncoming train of FTC and DOJ regulations that collide head-on with M&A with the pending imposition of the Draft Merger Guidelines and the Premerger Notification rules under Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR)?

It seems like top digital health law firm Epstein Becker Green has caught up with Editor Cassandra [TTA 20 July, 20 June]  in this Diagnosing Health Care Podcast of 10 November. Fun estimate: the time in filing a premerger notification may be increased by 289%. The cloudy crystal ball was clear indeed….

Last week was also a busy time for smaller companies’ fundings–even letter rounds! 

  • Elucid scored $80 million in Series C funding led by led by Elevage Medical Technologies, bringing total funding for this AI-assisted cardiovascular imaging company. They have the “only FDA-cleared non-invasive tool able to accurately characterize arterial plaque, simulating what pathologists would see under a microscope and establishing a histologic ground truth. The company is also pursuing an indication for non-invasive measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFRCT), uniquely derived from its PlaqueIQ technology, to measure coronary blockages and the extent of ischemia.” Release
  • In behavioral health, Eleos Health now has $40 million in Series B funding to add to previous funding of $28 million. The Series B was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads, Arkin Digital Health, SamsungNEXT, and ION. Eleos has developed AI-assisted solutions for group therapy sessions, compliance automation, case management, concurrent documentation, and value-based care support. They will use the additional funding for further development as well as network expansion and EHR partnerships. Release
  • Vida Health, which offers health coaching for chronic conditions, primarily obesity and diabetes management, gained $28.5 million in an unlettered round led by existing investors Ally Bridge, Canvas Ventures, General Atlantic, Hercules Capital, and others. Vida also announced a change of CEOs. Joe Murad succeeds Stephanie Tilenius, who is stepping down after nine years as founder/CEO, transitioning to an advisory capacity. Mr. Murad joins the company’s board. He was previously with WithMe Health, where he was president/CEO for nearly five years and previously headed PokitDoc before its acquisition by Change Healthcare in 2018. Release  Also Mobihealthnews on Elucid, Eleos, and Vida.
  • Israeli RPM company Neteera now has an additional $6.7 million as part of a Series B extension. Their unique RPM uses sub-THZ radar to monitor vital signs through bedding and clothing, then analyzes the data and produces reports on its platform. Neteera partners with Foxconn on their RPM and currently sells to long-term care facilities in the US.  Pulse 2.0

Amazon’s One Medical announced a partnership with CommonSpirit Health’s Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) in the Seattle Puget Sound metro. This will add integrated specialty care in that area to One Medical’s primary care focus. VMFH has 2,000 providers in an integrated network of providers, outpatient facilities, and hospitals. Financials weren’t disclosed, but according to Becker’s, in another One Medical partnership, a health system disclosed that it “reimburses One Medical for providing care on its behalf and collects the fee-for-service revenue from the patient visits. One Medical previously collaborated with Seattle-based Swedish (part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence) in the region.” VMFH release, FierceHealthcare, 

The federal Indian Health System (IHS) is modernizing its EHR and moving to a General Dynamics IT-managed Oracle Cerner system. Its current system is the 40+-year-old Resource and Patient Management System–based on (surprise!) VistA. What is most interesting in the release is that General Dynamics Information Technology (IT) is listed as the primary contractor that will “build, configure, and maintain a new IHS enterprise Electronic Health Record system utilizing Oracle Cerner technology.” One very interesting bit of verbiage! The IHS used an “Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity” contract structure for this requirement which is explained as “the IHS will issue specific task orders for technical support and services. This gives the IHS the ability to adjust what it purchases, incorporate lessons learned, user input, and availability of new technology.” Reports indicate its ultimate value to General Dynamics IT in the 10-year contract to be close to $2.5 billion. IHS provides healthcare services for 2.8 million American Indians and Native Alaskans belonging to over 570 tribes. IHS release, Healthcare IT News, 

Cano Health continues its hemorrhage. Q3 loss was $497.1 million in Q3, with a cut of 21% of its workforce, or approximately 842 staff. Their loss was 4x times the year-prior Q3 on revenue of $788.1 million. Adding to operating losses, they were hit with a $354 million impairment charge and poor operating results from higher third-party medical costs. 52% of the staff cuts reflect the sales of operating units such as in Texas and Nevada to Humana CenterWell and exits in California, New Mexico, and Illinois. The remaining 48% is from restructuring. Now a Florida-only operation except for Puerto Rico (ending early 2024), they are concentrating on ACO REACH and Medicare Advantage there. Their clinics are now 126, down from 169 at the end of June. Cano is still looking for a buyer, which indicates that they anticipate further rough going. Healthcare Dive, Cano Health Q3 Financial Powerpoint

And winding up the bad news, Mass General Brigham, which is partnering with Best Buy for their Healthcare at Home programs, will be doing it with at least 15% fewer digital staff. They are offering voluntary separation packages to those employees in the hope of finding enough takers. The offer is a not especially generous two weeks of severance for every year of service. If the magic number of 15% is not reached, layoffs will start after Thanksgiving. Reportedly a state agency, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, has deemed that MGB’s cost growth is too much. MGB is the largest private employer in Massachusetts with 80,000 workers. The offers were floated starting from 1 November and will close on 15 November, with layoffs if needed to be announced on 4 December. The targeting of digital is claimed to be for modernization. The area is responsible for multiple areas of IT and maintaining patients’ electronic health records. Boston Herald, Healthcare Dive

News roundup: Veradigm facing Nasdaq delisting, UpHealth files Chapter 11, Virgin Pulse-HealthComp $3B merger, MidiHealth’s $25M Series A, Inbound Health’s $30M Series B

September 29, 2023 | by

Veradigm way out of compliance with Nasdaq, faces delisting. Nasdaq apparently is facing the end of its patience with Veradigm (the former Allscripts) and is moving to delist the company from the exchange as of 20 September. Veradigm plans to appeal to the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to gain an additional 22 days. Starting in March, the company has attributed to a massive financial software flaw the delay of its annual report for 2022, a restatement of FY 2021, and reporting of their 2023 Q1 and Q2 financials to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All these are required by Nasdaq for listing. After multiple extensions begged from Nasdaq since June, whether 22 days will make any difference is doubtful. Veradigm closed today at $13.38. Stay tuned. Release, Becker’s Health IT, TTA 23 Aug

UpHealth Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to reorganize. The parent company UpHealth Inc. claims this was not due to operational shortfalls, but to a court decision that found that the company owed investment bank Needham & Company $31 million in fees as a result of its November 2020 SPAC [TTA 26 Nov 2020]. The company release is unusually coy but states that the Chapter 11 was necessary to “mitigate the financial impact of the trial court’s decision” and was not the result of operation nor will affect operations. This was a more complicated than usual SPAC that merged the public entity, GigCapital2 Inc., with UpHealth Holdings and Cloudbreak Health to create a $1.3 billion (at that time) digital health company, UpHealth Inc., with care management platforms and virtual care infrastructure plus behavioral health services. Cloudbreak Health is not in Chapter 11. The UpHealth Inc. stock on NYSE stopped trading with the bankruptcy on 19 September and is currently at $0.98 from a 2021 peak of $28. Another cracked SPAC.  MarketWatch, HIStalk.

In more cheerful funding news:

Employer wellness platform Virgin Pulse and benefits analytics platform HealthComp to merge. The $3 billion deal creates a combined entity that will improve outcomes and lower costs for primarily self-insured employers and members through the Homebase for Health platform. Chris Michalak of Virgin will serve as CEO of the combined entity upon anticipated closing in Q4. The merger is backed by New Mountain Capital, Marlin Equity Partners, Blackstone, and Morgan Health, with New Mountain Health to be majority owner. FierceHealthcare, Healthcare Dive, Virgin release

MidiHealth backed by GV (Google Ventures) in $25 million Series A. MidiHealth focuses on female menopause and midlife transitional care in a direct-to-consumer model. Investors Frederique Dame and Cathy Friedman from GV are joined by current investors Felicis, Semper Virens, Icon, 25M, and Operator Collective, for funding to date of $40 million. The menopause/women’s health segment is one of the few bright spots of the current wobbly healthcare funding scene. MidiHealth recently inked a deal with fertility benefits company Progyny to widen their scope to midlife care for US employers.  Release, FierceHealthcare

And it’s a $30 million Series B for Inbound Health. Based in Minneapolis, the company assists hospitals and health systems to offer acute and post-acute/skilled nursing facility-level care in the home. Funding was led by HealthQuest Capital with participation from existing investors Flare Capital Partners and McKesson Ventures for total funding to date of $40.25 million. The new funding will assist expansion into new markets including further development of the company’s clinical programs, the next evolution of its proprietary technology and advanced analytics platform, and the continued build-out of customized operating assets focused on supply chain, labor, and logistics. Hospital-to-home is another one of the few bright spots this year.  Release, Axios

News and deal roundup: Babylon’s $200M raise, Best Buy buys Current Health, Virgin Pulse-Welltok, Devoted Health’s $1bn raise, Withings watch gains FDA ECG clearance

October 13, 2021 | by

Babylon Health adds $200 million to the accounts–in advance of its SPAC. Babylon’s raise of $200 million (€173M) in a ‘sustainability-linked investment’ came from the strategic capital investment firm, Albacore Capital Group. With the SPAC and PIPE, Babylon will now have access to over $800 million in capital [TTA 7 Oct]. Whew! Mobilhealthnews, Babylon release 

A score for Edinburgh. Current Health, a biosensor-based monitoring and home care management/remote patient monitoring system based in Edinburgh and Boston, sold itself to US retailer Best Buy. The company recently raised $43 million in an April Series B, which makes its quick sale somewhat unusual. Terms were not disclosed other than it was a cash deal and that Current’s CEO Christopher McCann will be remaining with the company. Best Buy extends its reach into digital home health, following on their 2019 buys of GreatCall, Critical Signal Technologies for RPM, and partnership with Tyto Care.

Current had achieved FDA Class II clearance in early 2019 [TTA 7 Feb 2019], had piloted with Mount Sinai Brooklyn and in the UK, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for a post-discharge monitoring program, and recently had created a “Community” initiative to build diverse longitudinal datasets for decentralized clinical trials [TTA 18 Feb]. Current Health announcement, Best Buy release, Mobihealthnews, Healthcare Dive

The wellness app-employee/health plan engagement program area continues to consolidate with Virgin Pulse’s acquisition of Welltok. In recent years, Welltok has concentrated more on data analytics and predictive capabilities in its member experience and patient acquisition/retention platforms for health plans and systems, after a start in employee wellness programs. Virgin Pulse, which exited the Richard Branson universe (despite the logo) when sold to Morgan Equity Partners in 2018, is now backed by Marlin Equity Partners. Terms and leadership were not disclosed. Virgin Pulse release, HISTalk

‘Insurtech’ Devoted Health raised a hefty $1.15 billion Series D led by Uprising and Softbank Vision Fund 2, along with a long list of returning and new investors. Icing on the cake is that they are closing in on an additional $80 million in funding to accommodate an investor. Devoted is led by former athenahealth and government IT leaders Ed and Todd Park. It’s one of the smaller in footprint tech-based Medicare Advantage providers but combines their plans with health coverage via Devoted Medical, a telehealth and in-home care provider, and partner providers. FierceHealthcare

The ECG monitoring space is now a little more crowded. Withings finally received FDA clearance for their ScanWatch’s ECG and SpO2 monitoring, nearly two years after its introduction in January 2020. It received clearance in Europe a year ago. The cleared features are atrial fibrillation detection alerts, which advises users to take a 30-second ECG readings, and SpO2 blood oxygen monitoring for detection of respiratory issues. Withings joins the Apple Watch, Fitbit, Samsung, and the grandaddy of them all, AliveCor’s KardiaMobile, for ECG monitoring–but packs this monitoring into a good-looking watch. Mobihealthnews

The CES of Health (Thursday)

January 10, 2014 | by

Beaucoup fitness bands and wearables, an ‘all-in-one’ glucose meter and finally, a lack of hype!

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/razer-nabu-main-banner.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Mobihealthnews rounds up 18 mobile health launches in a slideshow format (a bit difficult to page through). It’s heavy on fitness monitor bands and wearables from well-known and startup companies at price points from the $100 range up well past $400:  Sony, LG, Garmin, Polar, Razer, Virgin Pulse (clipon), Lumo, iFit, Movea, Wellograph and Epson. (Also see Medgadget’s roundup if you can’t get enough!) Outside of fitness monitors: from China’s iHealth Lab (Andon Health), a blood pressure monitoring vest, an ambulatory ECG device that supposedly sticks to the wearer’s bare chest (no FDA approvals yet); Zensorium Tinke’s pulse oximeter plus for Android (seen by this Editor at New York CES in November 2012), the Qualcomm Life-backed YoFiMeter cellular glucose meter (more below) and the Medissimo Medipac GPS tracking pill box from France. Already covered here: Withings Aura, Qardio, Mother, Kolibree. (more…)