Will Jessica stop laughing? Will we get the intro right? Who knows! 2022 is a big M&A year and this episode is no exception: ThirtyMadison and Nurx have merged, combined they have $300 million in revenue; Concerto Care acquires Crown Health; Kindbody buys Vios Fertility Institute; Calm merges with Ripple Health; Withings buys 8Fit.
-By Matthew Holt
TRANSCRIPT
Jessica DaMassa:
I can’t.
Matthew Holt:
I’ll start.
Jessica DaMassa:
No, you can’t start.
Matthew Holt:
Welcome to Health Tech Deals. The show where Jessica DaMassa normally does this part, but she’s can’t because she’s laughing too much. It must be February the 9th, 2022 edition. Possibly? Yes? Maybe? I don’t know. Maybe Jessica will stop laughing after the break.
Thirty Madison and Nurx are merging and here’s what Steve Gutentag, CEO of Thirty Madison and the soon-to-be-combined entity, is saying about the deal!
This is a merger of two well-funded, direct-to-consumer, virtual-care-plus-pharmacy startups that deliver specialty and expert care and prescription drugs to a combined 750,000 active patients, with or without insurance. To-date, Nurx has raised a total $110 million, and Thirty Madison closed a Series C in June 2021 that brought their total funding to $210 million with a then-valuation of over $1 billion.
Thirty Madison currently deals with migraines, allergies, GI issues, and men’s hair loss, while Nurx (once referred to as “the Uber of birth control”) brings a predominantly women’s health-focused portfolio of chronic condition care focusing on sexual health, contraception, STIs, and dermatology.
So, what makes sense about this combination? And, what’s the big-picture plan for differentiation against rivals like Hims&Hers or Ro’s Rory or Roman brands – OR, the myriad virtual-first primary care clinics that have popped up in-person and online and offer more traditional routes to care for these same such conditions?
Steve talks extensively about the chronic care focus of both businesses, how each is providing access to specialists and experts patients wouldn’t otherwise be able to see, and how both companies’ tech platforms are built to scale along with the addition of new conditions. Still…why bring together care for this assortment of conditions instead of, say, either Thirty Madison or Nurx looking to find a merger partner who could expand their platform into high-demand chronic care areas like diabetes management, heart health, or mental health care? Is that what’s next, after the paperwork on this merger is signed? Tune in for more on Steve’s plans for the future of the NEW Thirty Madison and how “longitudinal care models” factor into its strategy to win over more patients AND their employers and payers.
On Episode 143 of Health in 2 Point 00, we have all the alphabets in the raising series represented ;)! Jess asks me about Lumeon raising a $30M Series D for their care orchestration centers, Nurx raising a $22M Series C to develop out its online pharmacy presence, Thirty Madison getting $47M and Johnson & Johnson is an investor this round, Bodyport closing an $11.2 M Series A for their weighing scale platform that can detect early cardiovascular disease, and Kumanu raising a $3M Series A to grow out its platform that helps people figure out their lives’ purpose.
Be sure to check out our talk from the 7 competitor CEOs to Teledoc & Livongo who weigh in about the $19B merger. If you want to join our book club, we are reading UnHealthcare: A Manifesto for Health Assurance, which is a how-to for creating a platform for a revolutionary future for healthcare, by Hemant Teneja (VC at General Catalyst) and Stephen Klasko (CEO at Jefferson Health System). We will have a video on our discussion with the authors which will be published on the 3rd Wednesday of every month! —Matthew Holt
Somewhere in this long and rambling in-mourning edition of #HealthIn2Point00 Jessica DaMassa gets past my depression about England’s World Cup semi-final exit & asks me about NuRx’s funding round, and Verily’s move into sleep. But it’s mostly soccer depression! — Matthew Holt
Our annual Launch! competition is on the last day of the conference, Wednesday, October 7th. Ten digital health companies will demo their products for the first time. The audience votes for their favorites. Previous Launch! winners have included Castlight Health, Basis, and OM*Signal. This year’s finalists:
Bloom Technologieswill debut their discrete, wireless wearable for expecting mothers to track contractions and other changes to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Flow Healthconnects consumers, providers and payers around shared patient data including Patient Check-In, an iPad app replacing the standard medical clipboard.
Sensentiais a fully-automated inquiry using natural language processing and more to empower patients to make better health care decisions.
