#181 - A Nice Day in Dystopia 🔥
The one-minute healthtech roundup
Hi friends,
This week: Generative AI reaches the NHS, there’s profit to be made on the pharma patent-cliff, and does healthtech actually reduce system costs?
News Bites 🥪
🐢 TORTUS secures $4.2M Seed Funding for clinical documentation automation – Like Pigeon, clinicians spend far too much of their days filling out documentation when they could be spending time on better things. Unlike Pigeon, Clinicians may soon have a solution in the form of O.S.L.E.R., an AI tool that automates that process and inputs the data directly into a patient’s record.
🪱 Germany’s Earlybird raises €173m healthtech fund as it looks to tap 'unprecedented' biopharma opportunity – A mad dash on the part of big pharma to add innovative drugs and devices to their patent portfolio is imminent, as dozens of big-ticket patents expire between now and 2030. Looking to take advantage of this for some profitable medium-term exits, Earlybird is hoping to back companies it believes will be pharma acquisition targets.
🪙 Healthcare executives are investing in digital health tech without seeing an ROI – When it comes to ROI, healthtech may still be a long-term play, as execs fail to see lower costs, but report more time spent on care over administration. Despite the lack of ROI, most anticipate more spending on tech in the coming year. [Pigeon hopes the boss feels the same way about this newsletter when they see the P+L sheet…]
🌷 UK-based Lilli secures over €9.5 million to help people to live safely and independently in their homes for longer – The proactive care solution that offers providers greater insight into what’s happening with their patients through non-intrusive monitoring will expand, scale-up and develop an app that gives friends and family access to similar information as care providers.
🔬 UK govt invests £10m in tech to destroy cancers and predict disease – Remember the IDAP? No? Better brush up then: the regulator-collaboration has announced the 8 companies taking part in the IDAP pilot to help bring the best medtech to the frontline of the NHS – and there’s some bangers in there.
👎 Majority of data informing NICE’s appraisals of ‘poor quality’ – LSE researchers have dropped a very quiet bomb on the role of the organisation’s assessments and the quality of evidence on which decisions are made. NICE (predictably) don’t agree. One thing’s for sure – we need better evidence on the impact and cost-effectiveness of both drugs and devices.
⛓️ AI doctors and chatbot nurses? Labour must show the future of the NHS isn’t so dystopian – It’s easy to forget that everyone reading this is (probably) quite supportive of the NHS using more tech. Clearly not everybody feels that way, and it’s bold for the Labour Party to champion tech’s role in the NHS while debates rage around private access to patient data, federated data schemes, and everything else. Should we all be trying a bit hard to make healthtech seem more….human?
🏉 How AI Improves The Health And Safety Of NFL Players, And Elevates Careers – A reminder that a) the power of health AI isn’t limited to hospitals and clinics and b) Taylor Swift isn’t the only one who can leverage the Superbowl for a tie-in opportunity: Find out how AI is being used to help NFL teams improve athlete’s health and safety.
🧬 Health Insurance firm Bupa unveils $20m VC fund for Aussie healthcare startups – Predictive and preventative healthcare, genomics, home care, and remote monitoring are the focus of a new fund from the Insurance giant’s venture arm.
Meanwhile in Accelerator Land…🏎️
It’s that time again – the Google Growth Academy for Startups is open for applications. This three month program helps health care startups using AI to grow and innovate responsible. Head over and apply
What to listen to 🔊
🐦 The Healthtech Pigeon Podcast — Coming this week: Join Jessica, Huw and Tortus CEO Dom Pimenta as they take a deep-dive into the week’s healthtech news and views.
🔊 The Healthtech Podcast #338 How do you start a biotech company from nothing? With Vishal Doshi from AUM Biosciences — In this throwback episode, James speaks to Vishal abouthis experiences as a first-time entrepreneur in the biotech industry, and why he prioritised understanding points of failure in his business plan over points of success.
The countdown is on: Don’t miss HTP LIVE
Join Dr James Somauroo, Dr Helen O'Neill, CEO and Founder of Hertility and Dr Karan Rajan (it’s a room so full of doctors, there’s barely room to swing a cat), myth-busting social media star and Number 1 Sunday Times Bestseller.
Book your ticket now and don’t miss the conversation.
Don’t forget: Use code ‘COOCOO40’ for a special pigeon discount.
Events 📅
Bringing Software as a Medical Device to Market - HDR UK x Hardian Health
🕣 21 & 22 February - Use code ‘25HDRUK_24’ for £££ off!
📍 Wellcome Trust, Euston Road, London
HETT North
🕣 28 February
📍 Manchester
HealthTechX Summit 2024
🕣 28 February - Use HTX24SMITH for 30% off your ticket
📍 The Hurlingham Club, London
Digital Health Rewired
🕣 12-13 March
📍 The NEC, Birmingham
HLTH Europe 2024
🕣 17-20 June
📍 RAI Convention Centre, Amsterdam
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
📈 Head of Clinical Data, Qureight – Spread the word: Qureight is on the lookout for a medically-qualified Head of Clinical Data. This key senior role would suit a UK-based doctor who has experience with data security/retention policy & GDPR and is looking to move into a full-time healthtech position
✍️ Senior Content Editor, Flo Health — If there’s one thing that rivals the Flo Health app for innovation and creativity in healthtech, it’s their marketing and content team. Join one of the best teams in the business.
📰 Online News Editor, Digital Health News — One of The big healthtech publications is looking for an experienced journalist to lead their online news coverage and reporting of exciting b2b healthtech news.
🚒 Full Stack Engineer, Tortus — The exciting generative AI company at the centre of this week’s lead story is hiring. Want to be a part of the first company to bring LLMs to the NHS? Apply now
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
SomX is a communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.