| The Biweekly Deal Flow Update Issue #7 |
The Deal Flow Update is a publication to inform and educate those seeking diligence on healthcare innovation, deal flow and the trends in healthcare technology and diagnostics. Please subscribe or share with others and always feel free to send us tips or comments. Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend… -Neal Mody -Zoic Capital |
| Five Deals For Friday Zoic believes the benefits of improved diagnostics are potentially revolutionary. Better and faster predictions of impending health problems will allow for earlier interventions, fewer invasive procedures, improved clinical outcomes (including fewer side effects), and lower healthcare costs. In addition to noninvasive diagnostics, therapies that have similar benefits are also an important target. •We are currently actively reviewing several deals related to early detection of chronic conditions, especially Alzheimer’s. There is no current good way for screening for early signs of Alzheimer’s, and yet one would be very beneficial. There are some blood tests in development, but there are some debates about whether the biomarkers in the blood are truly reflective of what is in the brain. What we are most hopeful for are noninvasive, easily accessible, yet accurate tests that can determine the early signs of Alzheimer’s. And ideally, the same device can also determine the early signs of other chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease. •An important issue of diagnostics is ensuring that the result of a proposed system is linked directly to a therapy, and that therapy is actionable and traceable. For example, there have been numerous attempts to put a pressure ulcer diagnostic device on the market. These often use pressure sensors or heat mapping to find areas at risk of pressure ulcer formation and warn the patient and their physician. However, these dozens of attempts have often failed, usually before making it to the market. This is a crowded field because the need is great yet the failure is due to several factors. The first is that wound care, especially diagnosis, is a commoditized field and it is difficult to find enough reimbursement with existing codes for a new product, especially with constantly decreasing reimbursement amounts. Second, even if the diagnosis is given, the treatment (often off loading the pressure or changing walking / sitting habits) is entirely reliant on patient compliance. As of yet, there hasn’t been a diagnostic combined with a treatment that either bypasses or ensures that treatment is done by the patient. •Another trend with many recent innovations, entries and acquisitions is a rather broad one: minimally invasive surgeries. This a wide-ranging trend involving new devices such as implanted catheters and veins that can be used with minimally invasive methods. Another aspect are guidance tools that allow these surgeries to be done, and, of course, minimally invasive surgery tools themselves. This includes surgical robotics, a category of devices that had a great deal of attention. However, the robotics tools themselves can often be found to be used less than what was anticipated. Without a specific use case and the health economic value attached to that, a general use platform can be difficult to be implemented in general use, especially at a high capital and training cost. •In addition to new diagnostic devices described previously that can determine early disease onsets, another aspect is using existing or new biomarkers but detecting them using less invasive methods. Specifically, using fluids other than blood such as saliva, sweat or urine. These methods do have some advantage as the easier access to the samples can increase sample collection. Not only can this improve the diagnostic process itself but can also improve the development of the biomarkers. This is an important aspect as biomarker development can often be limited by the amount of patient samples themselves. We often find that the limiting factor of new diagnostics is not the hardware itself (of which there are plenty) but new biomarkers that allow, for example, much earlier screening of conditions such as cancer. At the moment, these biomarkers are still many years away from general use and more samples that research can access can certainly aid this process. •Lastly for this section, we have mentioned noninvasive energy delivery as not just a diagnostic trend we are seeing but also a therapy trend. For example, using directed magnetic fields to treat depression or ultrasound methods. Deep brain stimulation is another platform with potential, used for treatment of chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s. What is also interesting is these methods have potential in not just treating conditions, but also in improving mental performance. There is a great deal of interest, from the private and public sectors in at least exploring the possibility of using these methods to, for example, improve memory or one’s sleeping experience. Articles Of Interest •In two months, Biotech startups raised more money than in all of 2013. •Statistical and Machine Learning forecasting methods: Concerns and ways forward. •2018 Healthcare Prognosis •BioCentury – FDA adapting regulations for digital tech •How to Accelerate the Adoption of Digital Health Technology •Health Care Is an Investment, and the U.S. Should Start Treating It Like One •Whiteboard Session: This Is Your Brain on Mindfulness If you found this newsletter helpful or informative, I encourage you to forward it on. If you’ve received this from a friend, please subscribe to keep up with future issues. Thanks for reading and please send us any tips or comments! Neal Mody Connect With Zoic Capital |
| The Biweekly Deal Flow, curated by the team at Zoic Capital. |
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