In my other day job of advising companies, I was introduced to Carenostics by my friends at Bayer G4A. This is a super interesting company which is using AI to diagnose serious chronic diseases like kidney disease, asthma, and others much earlier. So far they are working with health systems like Hackensack in NJ and the VA, and have just raised a $5m round. Last week I spoke with father and son team, Kanishka Rao, COO & Bharat Rao, CEO. In particular look out for Bharat’s explanation of what has to go on behind the curtain to make AI become effective.
Rcube Health’s ‘Resony App’ Catches Bayer Support for Mental Health DTx for Resonance Breathing
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Digital mental health startups are leaning into the fact that mental health care is not “one-size-fits all” and, as a result, we’re seeing new offerings hit the market that seek to combine typical therapies and their human-plus-machine delivery in novel ways in order to better meet different patient needs. In this interview, we hear about Resony, a digital therapeutic that’s tackling anxiety and stress through a completely autonomous, AI-driven program that brings together resonance breathing and physical relaxation exercises with cognitive behavioral therapy. In other words… working on the physical side of that mind-body connection for the overall benefit of mental well-being.
Resony is just the first DTx coming out of Rcube Health, one of four early-stage startups that have gained the backing of Bayer G4A as part of their Digital Health Partnerships Program Growth Track. CEO and co-founder Ravi Janapureddy introduces us to the business that he’s building on the thesis that true scalability for digital therapeutics in mental health care relies on full automation – no clinical intervention. In a crowded space, how will Resony stand-out as a stand-alone business, instead of a ‘feature’ for a larger, full-service virtual-first mental health care provider? Is this where Bayer might see the opportunity for an “around the pill” or “alongside the pill” approach? Another digital mental health use case to explore!
WTF Health: Early-Stage Med Device Startup Acorai is Turning Smart Phones into Heart Failure Monitoring Devices
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Acorai is an early-stage medical device startup working with Bayer to improve the way we manage the world’s 65 million patients living with heart failure by using their own smart phones. CEO Filip Peters shows the Acorai device, which is basically an extended smart phone case packed with four different kinds of sensor technologies that work together to measure the pressure inside a patient’s heart, by simply holding their phone against their chest. Of course, the real magic is the algorithm that turns these readings into early detection of a potential incident. How does this stack up against the status-quo way we’re currently caring for these types of patients? Filip says that, right now, the alternative for such monitoring is an IMPLANTED sensor, which many patients aren’t even able to get. As a result, most of the early warning signs of impending heart failure are missed; Acorai’s tech has the potential to be truly revolutionary as it’s able to detect the signs that lead to heart failure hospitalizations up to 30 days in advance.
Acorai has been selected as one of four “Growth Track” companies in Bayer G4A’s Digital Health Partnerships Program, and Filip talks to us about the potential Bayer sees in the daily data stream of information Acorai’s device makes available to cardiologists. A fascinating look at the future of cardiac care!
Trendspotting with Optum’s Direct-to-Consumer VP: Behavior Change Science in Healthcare
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
It’s interesting enough that Optum’s Vice President for Direct-to-Consumer is not only a serial digital health entrepreneur, but she’s also a behavior change scientist. Dr. Kate Wolin stops by to share some background on behavior change science, and how healthcare companies large and small are looking to drive health and wellness outcomes by integrating its principles and techniques into product design strategy.
Behavior change science appears to be having a “moment” here in healthcare, peppering conversations about everything from business models and consumer engagement strategies to product design, particularly in the chronic care and mental health spaces. Optum obviously has an interest in the discipline, with Kate in such a critical leadership role. And, our friends at life sciences giant, Bayer, also seem keen on exploring the approach, as it’s both the focus of one of the sessions of Bayer G4A’s free digital health forum, Health for All, on September 9, AND the reason Kate’s here to provide a deep-dive into the subject as a special prequel to the event.
So, what are the key takeaways? Well, it turns out there are a lot of misconceptions about behavior change science. Kate sets us straight, explains why she’s NOT a fan of the term “nudges,” and talks about what digital health companies usually get wrong (and right) about incorporating behavior change techniques into their products and services. Does behavior change require human intervention in order to make it sticky? Or, can technology be just as effective in achieving the right levels of personalization needed to make an ongoing impact on a person’s behavior? We get smart on this trending approach, and Kate gives us her prediction for how healthcare will be looking to increasingly incorporate this science into its future.
Special Note: To hear more from Kate and a host of other healthcare experts during Bayer G4A’s special global event “Health for All – A Digital Health Forum” on September 9, 2021, register at www.g4a.health.
Digital Health: A Promise of Health for All
SPONSORED POST
In this interview Sophie Park, Chief Strategist at Bayer G4A, talks about the pandemic’s effect on the digital health landscape, digital health’s promise of Health Equity and Bayer G4A’s upcoming Digital Health Forum.
G4A is Bayer’s digital health partnerships and investments team dedicated to scaling digital health companies to change the experience of health. To attain this goal, G4A works with startups, innovation groups, commercial partners, thought leaders, health systems, and public institutions to accelerate and expand digital health innovations. In that context, G4A is offering opportunities for early stage to advance digital health companies to partner with Bayer.
Sophie, Covid-19 has clearly opened everyone eyes on the need to better our healthcare systems and raised awareness for digital health solutions. From your perspective, did the pandemic accelerate digital health on a long-term basis?
Clearly, the Covid-19 crisis spurred a momentum for digital health. During the crisis, I have observed two dynamics which advanced digital health in a never before seen pace.
On the one side, the needed adoption of digital health tools led to a mindset shift and more openness among health consumers and providers. The pandemic was a great chance for many people to get familiar with digital health tools and acknowledge their value. Covid-19 made it clear to individuals that their own health is a personal responsibility as well. Therefore, people more actively took care of their own health(care) and became more open to collect and securely share healthcare data. I believe that all these factors will lead to increasing use of digital health tools also in post-Covid times.
On the other hand, the pandemic exposed the pain points of our healthcare systems. The quality of care one gets is determined by social determinants- where you live, where you are from, what education you receive and what job you have. The pandemic left no doubt that there is still a long way to go to reach health equity and better health access. At Bayer G4A we believe that digital health can and should play a vital role in closing existing care gaps and ensuring health for all.
“Health for All” – that is the goal. Not only is it Bayer G4A’s leading vision it also is the title of this year’s Digital Health Forum hosted by G4A on September 9th. Why did you choose that theme for this year’s event?
Continue reading…Bayer G4A Agents of Change: Digital Health & the Future of Pharma
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Lots of changes at Bayer G4A: a new investment thesis, new additions to their portfolio, a new Global Head of Digital Health to meet, and a hot new virtual health forum (a free one!) coming up on November 18, 2020. Dominick Kennerson and Sophie Park join us from Berlin, where they’ve got their eyes on the trends shaping the worldwide digital health market. Are pharma companies changing the way they look at digital health companies in the face of the pandemic? Have we gone, well, beyond “beyond the pill”? Dom says Bayer’s been ahead of the curve when it comes to prioritizing digital innovation, and that we’re all going to be “very surprised” in the next 12-18 months about what we see come out of one of the world’s largest life sciences companies. For more clues and additional insight on Bayer’s priorities when it comes to digital health and the future of pharma, give this interview a quick listen then register for G4A’s Agents of Change event. HINT: From the “mad genius” herself…the agenda for the event is Bayer G4A’s roadmap. Bold move!
For more on the Agents of Change event, visit www.g4a.health.
Call for Applications: Bayer G4A Partnerships 2020
SPONSORED POST
By BAYER G4A
Digital health is changing the world
From chronic disease management to prevention, G4A’s goal is to empower people with the tools and access they need to take control of their health. G4A does this through fostering a diverse and vibrant ecosystem of digital health partners to support their growth and impact.
On April 20th, G4A launched its 2020 Partnership Program with an open call for applications. The aim of the Partnerships Program is to work with companies across the globe on healthcare’s toughest challenges and innovate together towards a future of integrated care. This year G4A is seeking to collaborate with companies that are making an impact in the following areas:
- Cardiometabolic and Renal Diseases – Heart health requires a 360-approach that encompasses lifestyle behaviors, remote monitoring, biomarker review, risk stratification, and more
- Oncology – Utilizing targeted therapies and patient performance technologies can identify patients efficiently and slow disease progression
- Women’s Health – Novel approaches are needed to manage gynecological conditions such as PCOS and Endometriosis, as well as Menopause, and provide answers to the unique needs of women’s health
- Pharmacovigilance – The opportunity for innovation in drug safety is huge, specifically as it relates to adverse event detection
From Ophthalmology Clinic to At-Home Device: Disrupting OTC Testing | Helge Sudkamp, Visotec
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Optical coherence tomography, otherwise known as OCT testing, gives eye doctors a glimpse of the retina to help detect eye diseases like glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinopathy, and more. So, what’s wrong with current methods of testing? Helge Sudkamp, CEO & co-founder of Visotec, explains how traditional OCT machines are huge, bulky and expensive — limiting scanning to infrequent visits at the doctor’s office. His company has a new take on OCT tech that puts the scanning into patients’ hands with a small, portable device that can be used daily AT HOME. What can daily at-home monitoring offer eye patients and their doctors? Never-before-collected data on the day-to-day progress of eye disease for one. Find out more about how Visotec ultimately hopes to leverage this new info to build algorithms into their devices that will be able to detect biomarkers that help identify eye diseases faster.
Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.
Disrupting How We Detect Asthma & Hypertension | Edward Allegra, BioLum Sciences
BY JESSICA DAMASSA
BioLum Sciences is introducing new chemistry that has the potential to completely change the way we test for respiratory illnesses, like asthma, and analyze blood samples to identify hypertension. CEO Edward Allegra talks through the science behind both their breath and blood tests, both of which are patent-pending and have the ability to completely bend the cost-curve when it comes to identifying and monitoring these two common chronic conditions. What’s next for the early-stage health startup? A range of applications to detect everything from COPD to lung cancer and more.
Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.
Digital Therapeutic for Chronic Condition Management in India | Abhishek Shah, Wellthy Therapeutics
BY JESSICA DAMASSSA, WTF HEALTH
As the adage goes, “health is wealth,” and Wellthy Therapeutics is a startup looking to improve the health of patients with chronic conditions in India by making treatment more accessible. Only 5% of Indians are insured and much of the population is not health literate, so CEO Abhishek Shah hopes the Wellthy app will fill a critical gap in care for those with type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions, and respiratory illnesses. With 15K users, the startup is focused on scaling up to truly capitalize on the potential of India’s enormous population. Learn more about their big plans, including those for a Series-A, to support that expansion.
Filmed at Bayer G4A Signing Day in Berlin, Germany, October 2019.
