Digital health funding smashes expectations, hits $1.62bn in Q1
A report by Rock Health has highlighted how the growth of digital health continues to accelerate rapidly, as the healthcare industry continues to evolve.
The implementation of new digital tools and solutions has seen funding smash last year’s figures at $1.62bn for this year’s Q1 in 77 deals. This time last year, deals made up $1.41bn, showcasing a significant rise. The report has also found that the average deal size has also risen from $21mn, from £16mn last year.
In this year so far, Heartflow has raised $240mn in a Series E funding round, whereas genetics start-up company Helix has amassed $200mn. Additionally, Collective Health has acquired $110mn to expand the development of its patient centered solutions for its workforce.
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Whilst digital diagnostic solutions gained the most funding, disease monitoring gained the most deals out of any other category at $270mn. Thirdly, the rise of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes has led to significant investment in this space, with start-ups keen to gain significant market share. Consumer Health Information technologies and services, however, are not far behind, totalling $267mn in recent deals.
“We continue to see digital health start ups both tackling the clinical aspects of care (Diagnosis of Disease, Monitoring of Disease) and reducing friction between patients and the healthcare system (Health Benefits Administration, On-Demand Healthcare Services),” the report has explained.
The establishment of a new Center of Excellence on Digital Health, unveiled by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, is set to further drive patient engagement and the demand for digital health solutions. To this end, the FDA are set to develop a Pre-Certification Pilot Program to support the industry in tackling some of its most important challenges.
