Health Startup Digest - 3/4/16

March 4 - Issue #3 Health Startup Digest Curated by R. Scott Munro, the latest news and information about startups and innovations in healthcare. Startup Highlight: BiomemeThe Biomeme device allows for fast, cost effective DNA testing using an add-on to a standard IPhone 5s. You’d think something like this costs a lot, but it doesn’t. There are some really cool applications of this technology in the field, and they’re already using it at Drexel University for sexually transmitted infection testing. Also, they are developing rapid diagnostic tests for a number of different minor disease. In fact, the company was founded based on a rather horrid, and costly experience the founder had having his daughter tested for chicken pox.As always, if you come across news, announcements, videos, or podcasts that you think the other 4,500+ subscribers would benefit from, e-mail me at scott.munro@startupdigestmail.com or tweet @R_Scott_Munro and subscribe to the digest, here. Articles: Why direct-to-consumer models are hard in healthcare vator.tv With HIMSS this week, I’ve seen a lot of articles pop up around the same old topics: interoperability, security, patient engagement. This one caught my eye because it was on something I find rather interesting in health care today: the trend towards B2C and why many consumers aren’t quite ready for it. The article is mainly a highlight of Vator Splash’s health care event last week, but it brings up some good points, mainly that we still live in a B2B2C world where selling to a physician or institution is the path to success vs. selling directly to consumers. This fact is likely scary to folks as selling to physicians is notoriously difficult (even the best of the best end up spending well over 50% of their top line revenues to make it work). Regardless of how scary it is, it’s a fact that digital health companies need to get wise to, and quick. Investors: Dumb Money For Digital Health Will Vanish As Quickly As It Came In www.fastcompany.com One could argue that I post just about any Christina Farr piece, but this one is particularly good. There has been a huge uptick in the hype associated with digital health over the last few years, and along with that there has been an associated jump in venture funding. But what happens when the hype dies down and many of the tech investors remember they don’t know much about healthcare? Well, as Christina points out, and I would tend to agree, you get a much more intelligent average investor and average entrepreneur as the wheat gets separated from the chaff. Inside the Intersection of Neuroscience and VR www.bloomberg.com I’ve mostly thought of VR as having implications in medical education, but this new VR company is also working to improve outcomes for patients with traumatic brain injuries including strokes. As it turns out, patients that use VR to train themselves to move limbs in the virtual world can move those limbs in the real world at faster rates. The kicker is they’ve already gone through the relevant clinical trials and its available today. The link above is an interview on Bloomberg with Tej Tadi, MindMaze’s CEO. The Digital Health Market is a Bear But I'm feeling Bullish www.bvp.com Stephen Kraus of Bessemer had a pretty solid piece on why he is still bullish on digital health despite the public markets pummeling recently IPOed companies. There are a few points that I think are important to pull out: 1) “tourist investors” will slowly move away from the industry which will make some of the hype die down (and help with the high levels of “noise”) and 2) With many new companies moving into the M&A market for digital health/health tech, there will be appetite for acquisitions for many years to come. I’m not sure his point about the overall market correction impacting public digital health companies is 100% accurate, these companies got killed well before the broader market correction. The Human Body, According to Venture Capitalists graphics.wsj.com WSJ put out a great set of interactive graphs on venture funding by “body part” over the last 16 years. Mostly interesting to see trends, like the recent spike in Immune System and Brain investing, and the lack of investing in ears and liver companies. Quote of the Week: “So we frequently see entrepreneurs who come in, wanting to do a B2C approach, and then a year later, understanding that, to really get true volume of patients and consumers and providers on the system, you really have to go to a more B2B2C approach.”- Lynne Chou // Partner, Kleiner Perkins This Digest is curated by: R. Scott Munro - Utility Infielder @ DocMatter www.startupdigest.com I am a classical languages nerd turned digital health geek. I spend my days researching medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotech companies + helping clinicians efficiently collaborate. I have a passion for the intersection of health and technology, and wholeheartedly believe we are at the beginning of the most exciting era of healthcare. Do you enjoy receiving this? Please share it:     Tweet     Share   Carefully curated by Health Startup Digest with Revue If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.