Dublin-based medical adherence firm HealthBeacon to go public

Irish medtech firm HealthBeacon has announced plans to raise up to €25 million with an initial public offering (IPO) on Euronext Dublin’s growth market.

The company, which offers adherence solutions for injectable medications, will have a market value of around €100 million at the time of its planned flotation next month. 

It expects to increase the number of patients using its injection care management system tenfold from the end of 2021 to the end of 2023, with a near-term target of 100,000 units to be deployed by the end of 2023.

HealthBeacon CEO and cofounder, Jim Joyce, said: “HealthBeacon is at a pivotal stage of its development and this IPO is the natural next step to accelerate the company’s growth.

“In developing the world’s first FDA cleared smart sharps bin, which significantly enhances medical adherence for patients who need to self-inject medications, the IPO will facilitate a step change in building the company’s presence in its core markets across US and Europe, as well as helping to accelerate the deployment of HealthBeacon devices in these markets.”

AI startup Owkin scores $180M to advance oncology pipeline 

French artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medicine startup Owkin startup has achieved unicorn status, after scoring a $180 million (€135M) investment from pharma firm Sanofi.

The two companies will also collaborate on discovery and development programmes for breast cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma and multiple myeloma, with a total payment of $90 million (€79.7M) for three years plus additional research milestone-based payments. 

Arnaud Robert, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Sanofi, said: “Owkin’s unique methodology, which applies AI on patient data from partnerships with multiple academic medical centres, supports our ambition to leverage data in innovative ways in R&D.”

NHS launches platform to address mental health crisis in young people  

A new website has been launched by three London NHS trusts as part of an initiative to help young people requiring urgent mental health care. 

The Best For You platform combines specialist medical and mental health care with community services and digital tools for young people and their families looking for mental health support. 

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (FT), Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS FT and West London NHS Trust, collaborated with charity CW+ and other partners to create the project. 

The programme’s effectiveness is being measured by Imperial College and North West London NIHR Applied Research (NIHR) Collaboration with a view to being able to share the new model across the NHS. 

Healthtech startup Infermedica partners with German insurance giant

AI-driven health tech platform Infermedica has joined forces with Germany insurance firm Gothaer to provide customers with healthcare advice. 

Infermedica’s AI symptom checker will be integrated into the Gothaer health app, providing users with preliminary health guidance and streamlining the journey to additional health services. Gothaer serves more than 667,000 health insurance customers, who have access to the health app.

Natascha Jahn, health manager at Gothaer, said: “The sheer quantity of information available on the internet can be overwhelming, so we’ve implemented Infermedica’s symptom checker to provide preliminary guidance.”

Zanzibar healthtech programme improves access to maternity care  

A digital health initiative in Zanzibar is providing the community with life-saving maternal and child health services and increased access to healthcare.

The scheme was launched by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar with support from global digital health organisation D-tree International.

Under the Jamii ni Afya programme, launched by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar with support from global digital health organisation D-tree International, health workers are provided with mobile phones and an app that provides step-by-step guidance for health visits. 

Jamii ni Afya also provides the government with real-time data that can be used to make informed decisions on strengthening its health system.

D-tree International CEO, Erica Layer, said: “Now, thanks to the leadership of the Zanzibar government, Jamii ni Afya is bringing healthcare to people’s doorsteps and leveraging technology to radically change how care is delivered, so that every person in Zanzibar can live a healthier life.”

Finnish startup’s bone cutting tech gets first surgical use

Finnish startup Surgify has announced the first use cases on patients of its bone surgery technology.

The successful surgeries were performed at Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) last month.

Risk of soft tissue damage during surgery can be up to 30%, but Surgify says its technology, can help prevent such injuries and avoid bleeding, infections and nerve injuries.

Head of HUS neurosurgery, Professor Mika Niemelä. said: “Surgify’s device appears to push the soft tissue out of the way. This is a major advantage, as a typical surgical drill that spins tens of thousands of times in a minute can be very dangerous if it touches soft tissue.”

AI medical platform helps to create the medicine of the future in Moscow 

A unified digital medical platform for doctors and patients has been implemented in Moscow.

Metropolitan adult polyclinics in the city have been equipped with an AI system, which has helped generate more than 400,000 referrals for tests and provide more than two million preliminary diagnoses. 

Moscow’s deputy mayor of social development, Anastasia Rakova, said: “Personalisation and predication are impossible without the patient's clinical context. This is a very painstaking work, which involves developing a model for each person based on well-structured data, which reflects the state of their body, physiological and biological processes occurring in it.”