startups
Rune Labs raises $12 million for Parkinson's app
The startup behind an Apple Watch app designed to track Parkinson's disease-related symptoms raised a $12 million round led by Nexus NeuroTech, a fund that backs brain disorder ventures, my colleague Mario Aguilar reports. He's been following the company, Rune, for a while: Last year, it scored Food and Drug Administration clearance for its app StrivePD, which uses the Apple Watch's sensors to track tremors, involuntary movements known as dyskinesia, and sleep, activity and medication data.
Rune is among a growing group of companies tracking Parkinson's symptoms; today, the clinical standard is infrequent, in-person symptom evaluation. Their goal is to use monitoring devices to paint a more detailed picture of an individuals' condition, which could help them manage it better: Doctors could change medications, and drug companies could observe disease progression and design better treatments, for instance. Read more from Mario.
GC leads Harbor Health's $95.5 million round
While it searches for a health system to scoop up, venture firm General Catalyst is still investing in other health companies — including Harbor Health, a primary care and speciality clinic group based in Austin. General Catalyst led the $95.5 million round with participation by Alta Partners and 8VC. There's appetite for health care that "prioritizes outcomes, enhances consumer engagement, and is proactive by design," General Catalyst managing director Chris Bischoff said in a release.
The clinic group says it'll use the funds to grow its primary care business, expand its speciality offerings, and design health plans employers can use both to lower costs and improve workers' health.
The "pay-vider" model lines up General Catalyst's interest in what's known as "value-based care": Rewarding providers for certain health outcomes instead of volume of care, and a key part of its plan to buy a health system.
Lizzy's device digest Doctors are in the dark about FDA approval process
A recent national survey in Health Affairs finds that most doctors don't feel they know much about the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory process: Just 17% felt they knew how devices scored approval, and 41% felt they understood the process for drugs, Lizzy Lawrence writes. That's why a group of safety experts are pushing for more medical education focused on regulation, she found.
"At the very least there should be nuts and bolts information during undergraduate medical education that helps physicians understand what the approval standards are for drugs and medical devices, as well as issues like diversity and clinical trial populations," Sanket Dhruva, one of the study's lead authors, told Lizzy. "We really want to make sure docs understand FDA regulation because they're the ones with the pen to write prescriptions to recommend devices, and they need to be able to adequately advise patients about the benefits and harms of these therapies." Read more here.
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