Pear’s dare

Last week was a tough one for digital health, with the news that pioneer Pear Therapeutics would be closing up shop. Known as an early-mover in prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) innovation, Pear raised $250M in funding, received FDA authorization for three of its PDTs, and exited via SPAC in 2021—but now has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Pear pushed the limits of “what’s possible” for prescription digital therapeutics; as we celebrate their contributions to the ecosystem, we’re also chewing on what this outcome means for the future of PDT development and commercialization. 

Pear’s story emphasizes the significant challenges to “making a market” for a new solution type (R&D, market access, provider and patient education)—especially when that market remains limited by regulatory and reimbursement murkiness. As an innovation leader, Pear faced uphill battles on multiple fronts, a few of which are shared below. While we wait to see what becomes of Pear’s assets, we’ll be cheering for the next generation of startups that will pick up the mantle and continue the important work of developing new therapeutic modalities. 

Founder friends: this is for you! Rock Health Advisory launched a new survey to create digital health business model and financial benchmarks. We're inviting startup executives to participate in the survey by May 26, 2023—in return, participants will receive an exclusive report with aggregate data and insights. Take the survey and share it with your network.

Headlines

RockHealth.org Welcomes Rodney Foxworth And Dr. Dave Chokski To Board Of Directors
Two distinguished leaders join the mission of an equitable digital health future for all RockHealth.org

Confronting Your Fears In Virtual Reality Therapy
The next gen of exposure therapy The Wall Street Journal

Telehealth Startups Prep For Abortion Pill Decision
Complex and nuanced policy implications for reproductive health startups Axios

Foundation Models For Generalist Medical Artificial Intelligence
Potential applications for a new paradigm of AI Nature

Digital Mental Health Startups Scramble As In-Person Visit Rule Looms
What happens after regulatory flexibilities are rolled back? Digital Health Business and Technology

A Knee Replacement That Talks to Your Doctor? It’s Just the Beginning
“Smart knee” transmits data post replacement The Wall Street Journal

Recent Funding

• Tonal pulls in $130M for its at-home smart fitness training programs and equipment
• Spring Health raises $71M to expand its personalized virtual mental health benefits solution
• FHIR-native patient health data interoperability solution 1upHealth gathers $40M
• 98point6 lands $32M for its white label on-demand virtual primary care workflow solution
• App-based GI care navigation and management solution Oshi Health swallows $30M
• Multimodal medication adherence solution Scene Health connects with $17.7M
• SentiAR brings in $8.5M for its AR-based visualization technology for cardiac procedures
• MedArrive takes home $8M for its in-home care enablement and management solution
• Psychedelic-assisted therapy provider network Tara Mind finds $3M