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☆ Pharmacy startups are losing their battle with giants like CVS and Walgreens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Pharmacy startups like Capsule and Truepill are crumbling in the fight against pharmacy giants. But in the past year, the pharmacy startups have begun to crumble. Plus, each chain has thousands of stores across the country, providing the convenience that the pharmacy startups seek to replicate with tech. The digital-pharmacy shakeoutAnalysts suggested that healthcare startups with pharmacy components, rather than pure-play pharmacy startups, are best positioned to succeed. Truepill CEO Sid Viswanathan TruepillBut the pharmacy startups that have attempted to offer additional services have largely shelved those efforts in recent months.

☆ See the pitch deck Zus Health used to convince top VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime, and Maverick to back its solution for healthcare's $140 billion data-sharing problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zus Health launched in 2021 with $34 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Rock Health. Bush, Zus' CEO, told investors in a pitch, per a video Bush sent to Insider. Bush told Insider he was "blessed" to have his stake in the company diluted in this fashion, given the funding climate. "There's all these little pieces, but all of them are just re-clipboarding because nobody has a common clinical story," Bush told investors. Here's the deck Zus used to raise $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Jazz Venture Partners.

☆ We got the presentation health-tech veteran Jonathan Bush used to land $40 million for his new startup Zus Health
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zus Health, his new startup, aims to continue some of his work at Athena to digitize patient health. Zus Health launched in 2021 with $34 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, F-Prime Capital, Maverick Ventures, and Rock Health. Bush, Zus' CEO, told investors in a pitch, per a video Bush sent to Insider. Bush told Insider he was "blessed" to have his stake in the company diluted in this fashion, given the funding climate. "There's all these little pieces, but all of them are just re-clipboarding because nobody has a common clinical story," Bush told investors.

☆ How buzzy weight-loss drugs like Ozempic became the next craze in the hottest part of healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Healthcare companies are launching programs left and right to prescribe trendy weight-loss drugs. And Ro, a startup that prescribes and sells products like Viagra and hair-loss pills to consumers, is going all in with a program it launched in January to prescribe the weight-loss drugs to patients online. CalibrateFirst developed to manage type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 medications regulate blood-sugar levels, which can help people curb cravings and feel fuller after eating. The weight-loss market for GLP-1 drugs is relatively new, and not everyone is on board. But for some companies, stepping into prescribing these new weight-loss medications seems to simply be the natural next step for growth.

☆ Why buzzy weight-loss drugs are the next craze for healthcare startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Healthcare companies are launching programs left and right to prescribe trendy weight-loss drugs. And Ro, a startup that prescribes and sells products like Viagra and hair-loss pills to consumers, is going all in with a program it launched in January to prescribe the weight-loss drugs to patients online. Even startups like Noom, which quietly started a program prescribing GLP-1 medications, could stand to benefit from the drugs' popularity after a tumultuous year for the startup. The weight-loss market for GLP-1 drugs is relatively new, and not everyone is on board. But for some companies, stepping into prescribing these new weight-loss medications seems to simply be the natural next step for growth.

☆ Melinda Gates' venture fund just bet on hot women's health startup Tia. Here's the presentation it used to raise $100 million in 2021 to rebuild after COVID shutdowns.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Megan Hernbroth | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The women's healthcare startup Tia just landed funding from Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures. See the 30-slide presentation Tia used to raise $100 million in just three weeks in 2021. As gaps in reproductive healthcare worsen in the US post-Roe v. Wade, women's healthcare startup Tia wants to elevate the standards for women's physical, mental, and reproductive care. Before the pandemic, Tia was building in-person healthcare clinics for women without the virtual component. Here is the 30-slide presentation Witte used to raise Tia's $100 million Series B funding in just three weeks in 2021.

☆ These are the 13 healthcare startups that have already laid off employees in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Digital health startups are laying off employees in droves to cut spending in a tough market. These are the 13 healthcare startups to slash staff so far in 2023. Digital health layoffs have been on the rise since last year. Thirteen digital health startups have already cut staff less than two months into 2023. Here are the digital health startups that have cut staff so far in 2023, as of February 28:Have a tip about digital health layoffs that you want to share?

☆ Here's the 15-slide presentation Twentyeight Health used to raise $8.3 million to give Medicaid patients better reproductive healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twentyeight Health provides underserved groups with reproductive and sexual healthcare online. See the pitch deck Twentyeight Health used to bank $8.3 million in pre-Series A funding. Twentyeight Health provides reproductive and sexual healthcare primarily for underserved communities, like low-income patients and patients of color. Twentyeight Health provided Insider with the pitch deck it used to raise $8.3 million in pre-Series A funding. Here's the 15-slide pitch deck Twentyeight Health used to bank $8.3 million.

☆ Troubled mental-health startup Cerebral is cutting 15% of staff as it fights to stay afloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cerebral plans to cut 15% of its staff, or 285 employees, Insider has learned. Cerebral has been struggling to stay afloat following scrutiny of its prescription practices. Mental-health startup Cerebral is laying off 15% of its workforce, or about 285 employees, as the company reels from a tumultuous year of public scrutiny and federal investigations into its prescribing practices. Impacted employees will be notified through March 1, per Mou's email to Cerebral staff. Cerebral's rocky futureIn 2021, Cerebral called itself the fastest-growing mental-health company.

☆ See the 9-slide presentation that got General Catalyst to bet $5 million on a startup helping people with disabilities get accommodations at work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Managing requests for disability accommodations can be a tricky and time consuming process. Disclo grabbed $5 million in seed funding from General Catalyst in February using this pitch deck. In February, Atlanta-based Disclo raised $5 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst. Disclo provided Insider with the pitch deck it used to land $5 million from General Catalyst and other investors. Here's the deck Disclo used to get $5 million from General Catalyst.

☆ These are the 12 healthcare startups that have already laid off employees in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Digital health startups are laying off employees in droves to cut spending in a tough market. These are the 12 healthcare startups to slash staff so far in 2023. Digital health layoffs have been on the rise since last year. Twelve digital health startups have already cut staff less than two months into 2023. Here are the digital health startups that have cut staff so far in 2023, as of February 15:Have a tip about digital health layoffs that you want to share?

☆ Digital health's funding slump isn't a death sentence. Here's what startups are doing to stand out to investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's getting harder for digital-health startups to get investor attention. Fewer digital-health startups are fundraising, and the ones that are will be held to higher standards than before, investors told Insider. This year, a smaller group of digital-health startups is beginning to stand out. "It's been amazing to watch what this business has accomplished," she told Insider. Quantum is already earning enough to fund itself, Zane Burke, the CEO of Quantum, told Insider.

☆ Once-hot pharmacy startup Medly is officially shutting down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Medly is permanently closing its doors in February as the once-hot pharmacy startup's run comes to a turbulent end. Medly's chief people officer told employees in a separate email that Walgreens had expressed interest in interviewing Medly employees to work for the pharmacy giant. Months of turmoil come to a headFormer employees told Insider in November that Medly was crumbling under mounting losses as the pharmacy startup blew through cash. Medly closed many of its pharmacies without notifying patients, leaving many patients stranded without necessary medications, according to former patients and employees. Walgreens will pay $19.35 million to Medly for its patient data, pharmacy inventory, and intellectual property, according to a February bankruptcy filing, helping Medly to settle some of its debts.

☆ See the 12-slide presentation that a health-insurance startup used to land $58 million after its public competitors tumbled
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Angle Health wants to use tech to transform health insurance where other upstarts have failed. Angle Health raised $58 million to disrupt employer-sponsored health benefits using this pitch deck. Companies like Oscar Health, Clover Health, and Bright Health raked in investor cash on the promise that they could transform health plans with tech, and each went public in 2021 at a lofty valuation. Angle Health provided Insider with the pitch deck it used to raise $58 million in Series A funding from Portage and other investors. Here's the pitch deck Angle Health used to land a $58 million Series A.

☆ Walgreens is buying Medly's patient data as the pharmacy startup winds down after declaring bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two months after the pharmacy startup Medly declared bankruptcy, Walgreens is buying up its core business. The startup wanted to sell off the leases for its remaining stores, as well as other assets, Medly's lawyer said during the Tuesday hearing. But Walgreens didn't bid on those assets during Medly's February bankruptcy auction, leaving Medly in control of its remaining stores. The bankruptcy filings revealed that CVS also placed a bid for Medly's pharmacy scripts and other assets. The sale of its pharmacy assets to a major drugstore chain shows just how hard it is to innovate in the pharmacy industry.

☆ See the 10-slide presentation a hot mental-health startup used to win over Cigna Ventures and raise $34 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NOCD in January raised $34 million as digital-health funding tumbles. In a brutal time to raise money from investors, the mental-health startup NOCD, which provides care for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, just raised $34 million. Cigna Ventures, the health-insurance giant's venture-capital arm, and 7wireVentures, a prominent healthtech venture-capital firm, co-led the round, bringing NOCD's total funding to $84 million. NOCD shared with Insider the presentation that helped it land $34 million from Cigna Ventures and 7wireVentures. Here's the deck NOCD used to raise $34 million from top investors.

☆ The 15 billion-dollar healthcare startups facing a make-or-break year in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billion-dollar healthcare startups could take a hit to their valuations if they fundraise this year. These are the 15 highest-valued healthcare startups that could be hit by the market contraction. Throughout the year, 85 healthcare companies hit valuations of $1 billion or higher worldwide, according to CB Insights. Of the 15 startups with the highest valuations in healthcare, 11 companies haven't announced funding rounds since 2021. Here are the 15 highest-valued healthcare startups to watch.

☆ Inside digital health's reckoning, where once-hot startups are suddenly scrambling for cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Blake Dodge | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Analysts and CEOs told Insider more than half of healthcare startups will shut down by 2024. Healthcare startups looking to stay afloat have been laying off employees left and right. The online pharmacy Truepill burned through its cash as it struggled to fill prescriptions efficiently, two former employees told Insider. A spokesperson for Truepill told Insider in an email that the company's burn rate was in line with its projections. Courtesy NOCDWhile the broader economic pressures will hurt many startups that can't raise, it may help others, experts told Insider.

☆ See the 14-slide presentation that occupational therapy startup Kinspire used to land $3.6 million to treat kids with conditions such as ADHD and autism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kinspire, a startup offering occupational therapy for kids, just got $3.6 million in seed funding. Robert Seigel's oldest son started receiving occupational therapy at 4 years old to treat weakness in his abdomen that made it difficult for him to sit still. But in between the sessions, Seigel said he wasn't sure how to help his son progress. Kinspire shared with Insider the pitch deck it used to raise $3.6 million in seed funding. See the 14-slide presentation Kinspire used to land $3.6 million from Corazon Capital and Looking Glass Capital.

☆ A buzzy healthcare startup breaks down how it 'overextended' and is ditching its plans to build hundreds of clinics despite a $100 million investment from CVS
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Carbon Health on Monday landed $100 million from CVS Health as digital-health funding slows. Its CEO, Eren Bali, said it took a valuation hit to get clean terms for its long-term success. In digital health's dismal funding market, Carbon Health just notched a big win. The startup, which operates clinics offering urgent and primary care, announced on Monday that it snagged $100 million in Series D funding from CVS Health Ventures. The pharmacy giant also said it would open Carbon Health clinics at some CVS Health locations.

☆ A top healthcare banker predicts some digital-health startups will be able to go public in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB Securities' Jon Swope thinks some digital-health startups will IPO in the second half of 2023. In 2021, 15 US-based digital-health companies went public via IPO, according to Rock Health. Only one digital-health company has gone public this year: Akili Interactive Labs, which went public in August in a SPAC deal. Seeing the writing on the wall, digital-health companies like Komodo Health that sought to IPO this year are now putting those plans on hold. But SVB Securities' Jon Swope said he thinks the IPO market will reopen for certain digital-health companies in the second half of 2023.

☆ 7 top dealmakers share their biggest 2023 healthcare predictions, from new ways to use AI to a surge of new health insurance startups
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The market downturn will create opportunities for more M&A, Devin Carty, the CEO of Martin Ventures, saysDevin Carty. Martin VenturesIf 2021 was the year of big venture checks and wildly oversize valuations among healthcare startups, 2022 was when it all came crashing back to earth. But the down economy will be an opportunity for venture-capital and private-equity firms, said Carty. His Nashville, Tennessee, venture-capital firm invests in and launches healthcare startups, including companies transforming primary care, such as Wellvana, or kidney care, such as Evergreen Nephrology. So far in 2022, the firm invested in six new companies and nine startups already in its portfolio.

☆ 7 top bankers and investors share their boldest 2023 healthcare predictions, from a big bet on AI to more funding for startups selling directly to patients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Amazon has only gotten started with its ambitions to be a serious player in healthcare. Here are 3 acquisitions it could make next year.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The next month, it abruptly announced it would shut down Amazon Care, its app-based primary-care service for employers, three years after launch. In November, Amazon launched Amazon Clinic, a virtual service where patients can pay Amazon directly to get treatment for common conditions like allergies and acne. Natalie Schibell, a vice president and research director at Forrester, said that was a sign Amazon had learned from its mistakes at Amazon Care. When Amazon shuttered Amazon Care, it put those mental-health ambitions on hold. Lennox-Miller said Amazon could buy health data startups the company had already invested in, like the health-equity-focused Harmony Health or the value-based-care data company Clinify Health.

Funding raised: $27 millionNumber of employees: 20Why it's set to take off next year: Provider burnout is getting worse, and it's exacerbating healthcare's staffing crisis. Nof said he expected Abridge's technology to be in demand next year as hospitals worked to reduce the administrative burdens on doctors. "They've reached a tipping point where people are desperate to gain efficiencies in their workday with all the physician burnout," he said. Abridge's technology takes the audio from doctor-patient interactions and automatically turns it into documentation for billing purposes or a summary of the visit for the patient. That means doctors are relieved of the "hours of pajama time in the evening that they previously spent doing clinical documentation," Cheatham said.

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