December 4, 2023

A winter wonderland of biopharma partnerships

Recent weeks have seen a plethora of digital health and biopharma partnerships—and drug makers in particular are embracing opportunities to expand their AI, diagnostics, and clinical research capabilities. AstraZeneca debuted Evinova, a new company that will sell AstraZeneca’s digital solutions for clinical trials to CROs and other pharma players. Merck has partnered with startup Acclinate to boost the diversity of future clinical trials. And just months after launching a new unit focused on consumer precision health, Bayer announced a partnership with diagnostics startup Hurdle to commercialize a D2C saliva test for biological age. Additionally, AWS is partnering with Pfizer, Merck, and Amgen for cloud hosting and AI support, and Genentech signed a multi-year deal with Nvidia to combine the drugmaker’s molecular datasets and algorithms with Nvidia’s accelerated computing capabilities for drug discovery. While biopharma companies continue to evolve (and sunset) particular digital health strategies, partnerships continue to be a central feature in most innovation plays.

Nominations for this year's Top 50 in Digital Health are now open! The Top 50 in Digital Health Awards recognize digital health’s leading innovators in an array of award categories. Please nominate leaders who have made exceptional advancements in digital health in 2023. The nomination period closes Thursday, January 11, 2024—submit a nomination today!

Headlines

Humana, Cigna In Talks To Merge
Deal could exceed $60B in value—and attract fierce antitrust scrutiny Reuters

Obesity Management Set For A Shakeout
Obesity care startups have attracted $67M in funding through Q3 2023 Axios

GE Launches MyBreastAI Suite, An AI-Powered Platform For Mammography
Initial rollout includes three AI applications developed in partnership with iCAD FemTech Insider

Hims & Hers Weight-Loss Program Won't Prescribe Ozempic
Instead will offer cheaper generic weight loss medications Business Insider

Walgreens Rolls Out Rx Savings Finder Tool For Prescription Drug Discounts
11-month pilot saved patients over $70M Fierce Healthcare

Recent Funding

RepeatMD nabs $50M for its customer acquisition software for wellness clinics
Online medical payments and billing solution PayGround collects $19.7M
Culmination Bio raises $10M for its life sciences-focused data analytics platform
Virtual peer support and group counseling marketplace Forum finds $5.3M