| DEALFLOWUPDATE Issue #18. Friday, September 28 |
Hello everyone, When we look into a technology, a very important aspect is how it will be adopted once it reaches the market. It does seem obvious, but it can often be overlooked in the rush of bringing a novel technology to reality. When bringing a product to users in a medical application, especially with physicians, it is critical to determine how it will fit or possibly require changes in the current workflow for particular applications. Even if the product is intended for consumer markets, it is still important, even more so, to determine how it will incorporated into decision making. This is especially the case for diagnostics, which we, have a strong emphasis on. Diagnostics can drastically improve health care by detecting conditions early and accurately. However, the most important metric when thinking about how a diagnostic will be adopted is: what is the therapy or decision process once the diagnostic determines a result. If this is unclear (for example, there is no clear action or therapy to follow), then the diagnostic can suffer on the market as it becomes just another data point in a sea of metrics. A clear connection to subsequent diagnostics and eventually a therapy course is a requirement when looking at new technologies of this nature. We’ve provided clear examples within our following Dealflow section. -Neal P.S. Our readership continues to grow! please subscribe if you’re new and continue to share with others on social media. Connect with us, we would love to hear from you! |
Dealflow Guardant Health IPO: 5 things to know There is a great deal of promise in detecting cancer early, especially if that can be done with a “liquid biopsy” i.e. a blood, saliva or urine test. There is a great deal of activity in this area amongst many startups and large companies. If cancer can be detected early (and by early meaning years ahead of time) then it can drastically change health care. However, to the earlier points, it is also important that there are treatments that can be used after detection which can reverse or slow the progress of cancer when detected so early. It is possible that some of these treatments can be lifestyle changes, but not for all cases. Read More  Sequencing market to nearly triple in size by 2024 In a broader sense, detecting conditions earlier will be because of multiple technologies in the genetic space. One of the core technologies is sequencing, where our genetic code is determined. This can determine inherited risk and also how our code is being interpreted and implemented. Sequencing continues to be reduced in cost and complexity such that it will be a regularly used technology in diagnostic health, and the market will continue to grow. However, also with above, when a genetic cause for concern is determined, a therapy to either correct or mitigate its effects is also critical, as the information needs to be acted upon. Read More  A device that can detect and prevent seizures The same theme of combining diagnostics with therapy can also be applied to other areas, of course. For example, mental health and conditions is a strong recurring theme within our deal flow. Epileptic seizures, for example, are a major health issue and do not have adequate current diagnostics. Technologies that can both detect and, with possibly the same device, treat the condition would be of high interest to us. Read More  CorFlow completes $9.7M seed funding Another recent example of combining diagnosis and treatment is a technology that can be used for addressing vascular obstructions. This can be very important for addressing cardiac arrest and other heart conditions earlier and faster. Read More  Medtronic agrees to buy Mazor Robotics in $1.6B deal Lastly, just to introduce something different than this issue’s theme but to keep in mind other technologies that we are keeping an eye on, is the continued growth we are seeing in robotic surgery. A recent deal by Medtronics exemplifies this growth. However, this may not be as different as it seems from our theme of diagnostics. Robotic surgery is often used to determine what is occurring inside the body, either as part of a surgery or as preparation for one. Read More Spotlight  #PortfolioHighlights Optina Dx President and CEO, David Lapointe presented at the SplashX Invent Health – Future of Precision Health – on Thursday evening at HP headquarters in Palo Alto. David presented the focus of Optina Dx and its role in developing precision health to change health outcomes. David shared a quick Q&A session with us: Companies I’ve founded or co-founded: Advanced Molecular Imaging, Facten, Sirius Medical Wilderness Companies I work or worked for:Optina Dx, GE Healthcare, Gamma Medica IdeasProducts built: PET scanners for research Retinal cameraAwards: CDL finalist Western Investment Forum AwardMy favorite startups:ShopifyWhat’s most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?Most Frustrating – not moving fast enough. Startups often evolve at a different past then partners (Academia, gov, commercial partners)…Most Rewarding: achieving something, building moving forward.What’s the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?Lack of vision alignment between stakeholders.What are the top three lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?Learned to take a beating and listen sometimes Focus on the right objectives/problems Surround yourself with great people ShareTweetForward What We’re ReadingPB The startup that thinks blood could be the fountain of youth SL The new media barron’s EY Teaching AI the value of trust L2 The end of Snap & Tesla Connect With Zoic Capital |
| The Biweekly Dealflow Update, curated by the team at Zoic Capital. |
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