INSIGHTS
February 22, 2022

What’s next for DTx?

Akili Interactive recently filed an illuminating S-4 along their journey to the public markets. Should the deal go through, Akili will join the ranks of publicly-traded digital therapeutics (DTx) companies Pear Therapeutics and Better Therapeutics—an accomplishment certainly, but with significant hurdles still ahead.

DTx for behavioral health conditions, specifically, are on the march. Companies like Akili, Pear, BehaVR, OxfordVR, AppliedVR, and XRHealth are still in the early phases of go-to-market: building awareness around efficacy with therapists and the provider community. Negotiations with payers and PBMs are still nascent for most DTx, and will be until awareness leads to broader scale adoption. These companies are betting that their investments in R&D will pay off, and match the emergence of a strong market for their products. The timing of these factors coming together—clinical validation, provider and patient adoption at scale, and reimbursement pathways—will separate winners and losers in this space.

Headlines

HHS Puts $55M Toward Virtual Care For Underserved Groups
29 community health centers to receive funding for telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and more Healthcare IT News

Medicine’s Worst-Paying Specialty Is Luring Billions From Wall Street
+ Walgreens and VillageMD keep their pedal to the primary care metal Bloomberg

Surgical Patient Satisfaction With A Virtual Hybrid Care Hotel Model
A Mayo Clinic study points to positive impact on health outcomes and costs Annals of Medicine and Surgery

AI For Health Can't Leave Older People Behind, Says WHO
Strategies to address ageism and bias in machine learning Healthcare IT News

As States Push Privacy Laws, Health Tech Companies Fear Compliance Nightmare
Threading the needle on patient rights and preventing obstacles to innovation STAT

Where One Of UnitedHealth's First Tech Startup Acquisitions Is Today
A look back on how the industry has evolved CNBC
 

Recent Funding