#249 - Land! Sea! Air! NHS Drone Dominion
The one-minute healthtech roundup, brought to you by SomX.
Hey friends,
This week: Apian’s drone network expands, Sword Health’s adds another $bn to its valuation, and Teladoc confirms its M&A plans
What happened this week in healthtech? Listen to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast, live at HLTH Europe ➡️ SomX’s Jessica Somauroo chats to Medical Consulting Group’s Dr Derrick Khor and DBounce’s Blanca Baez. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
News Bites 🥪
Ground robots to join London's NHS drone network – First the skies, now the ground. Is there nowhere Pigeon can sit in London without crashing into an NHS supply drone? In all seriousness, the move to expand the network suggests trials to date have been positive, with more than 5000 patient samples delivered.
Two British VC firms merge, bringing together £670m in funds – Between them, Praetura and Par Equity have invested in some of the UK’s most exciting healthtech companies (so yes, its is a healthtech story). As the joint-venture-venture announces an intent to close regional gaps in access to funding, it's an important moment for North-West healthtech companies.
NHS App feature will enable patients to sign up for clinical trials – Anything that makes clinical trial cohort recruitment easier can only be a step in the right direction. The Health Secretary believes researchers could replicate patient appetite for participation in covid vaccine trials for other medicine development processes too.
Teladoc Health CEO lays out telehealth giant's M&A strategy following first year at the helm – Unless you’ve been living under a Telaroc (sorry.) you’ll know that the disease-management app developer has been splashing the cash liberally on new acquisitions to strengthen their presence across a range of clinical areas. Now the company’s CEO has started filling in the details of their strategy, and where ongoing M&A fits into their big picture.
Sword Health raises $40M at $4B valuation to expand AI-first care Into mental health – Pain comes in various forms — something Sword is clearly cognisant of — as the company unveils its Mind solution for AI-assisted mental health support. As a strategy, its one investors seem to be confident in, having thrown an additional $1bn onto the company’s valuation .
Hera Biotech Acquires Point-of-Care Cervical Cancer Diagnostic HeraFem – As much as this is a pretty convincing argument for more imaginative company names in the women’s health space (yes, you read that right: Hera Biotech just acquired HeraFem from Hera Diagnostics), the story is much bigger: point of care cervical cancer diagnosis with a 91% sensitivity rate.
Public favours tiered system of access for single patient record – While readers’ opinions of the single patient record may vary, it’s hard to argue that its design, implementation and evaluation may require a more ‘public-engagement’ approach than other big NHS data projects. We’re already stanning the Liverpudlian male who shared some cutting views on c: “In the 21st century, you have digital expectations. It’s jawdropping how much of a b***** mess it is!””
Diagnostic tampon by Daye is as accurate as in-clinic tests at detecting some STIs – At this point, we’re just hoping you didn’t notice that this is the second week in a row we’ve had a story about innovation in STI testing. Honestly, if it gets enough clicks, we can’t promise “STI Flamingo” won’t be the latest bird to join our aviary of the insane.
What to listen to 🔊
Events 📅
FEATURED: SomX Healthtech Talks is back with a bang for a special (and important) conversation - June 30th, 2025, Google Tottenham Court Rd Office, London.
Pigeon was as shocked as everyone else when they arrived (almost) late to April’s event to find snaking queues out of the door - with the line up the SomX team have in store for this one, this is definitely a discussion you’ll want to be a part of. And yes - they’re keeping you guessing for a bit longer because as the saying goes, a little bit of mystery keeps the spark alive ✨
As they continue to work on securing a whole stadium (apparently Bey takes priority atm…) tickets are still super limited, so register your interest ASAP.
FEATURED: The Glastonbury of Healthtech is coming to Oxfordshire! Join us at THE FIX! - September 18th, 2025, Harwell Science Campus
Tickets are flying off the shelves (shelves are a metaphor, but the sales are real) for this healthtech festival like no other. WIth a bunch of new partners onboard, and a host of existing sessions planned (we’re trying to work out what an NHS reverse pitch is!) and a former government health minister on DJ duties (don’t worry, he’s got the chops), it’s probably not one to miss. Use the code SOMX15 for 15% off your ticket price.
SOSV’s VC-Founder Human Health Matchup
⏰ June 23-27
📍 Online
Healthtech Innovation & Clinical Safety: A Conversation with Women Leaders
⏰ June 24
📍 Online
BMJ Future Health: Raising the potential of virtual care: How to use digital technology to bridge gaps in care for hard-to-reach patients
⏰ July 10
📍 Online
HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum
⏰ July 10-11
📍 New York
Digital Technology and AI — The Future for Pharmacy & Medicines Usage
⏰ July 10
📍 London
Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomX’s events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events.
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
⭐️ Account Manager / Senior Account Manager, SomX — Not that Pigeon is biased or anything, but this is one opportunity you’d definitely want to apply for! SomX are on the lookout for an Account Manager or Senior Account Manager with a passion for health innovation, a strong foundation in content-led communications, and a proven track record of managing integrated campaigns. Above all? Someone who is a storyteller and loves what they do! Sound like you, apply now! Pigeon might even put in a good word if you’re lucky.
Inkfish Senior Research Scientist in Digital Health and AI Platform Lead, Kings College London — If you’ve got expertise in digital health, AI and wearables and a desire to develop scalable AI platforms for use in research and clinical decision-making, this could be the role for you.
Manager, Newmarket Strategy — Consultants, don’t miss this exciting role at one of the most prestigious consultancies working in the life sciences space.
Senior Business Manager, The Francis Crick Institute — One for the dealmakers among Pigeon’s readers. The Crick needs no introduction. You, on the other hand, will need a background in biosciences and expertise in technology assesment, marketing and licensing.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
Healthtech Pigeon is curated and produced by SomX, the 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.