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Featured Story   Digital Health's Latest Unicorn: Why Investors Are Backing Midi's Model for Women's Health The moolah The healthcare startup world spawned a new unicorn this week, with Palo Alto-based virtual care provider Midi Health closing a $100 million Series D financing round that took its valuation to more than $1 billion.. The round, led by Goodwater Capital, brought Midi's overall fundraising total to $250 million since its founding in 2021. Other investors participating in the round included Google Ventures, Foresite Capital, Emerson Collective, Serena Ventures, McKesson Ventures, Advance Venture Partners and SemperVirens. The platform Midi provides insurance-covered virtual care for women, specializing in patients going through perimenopause and menopause. Patients meet virtually with Midi's clinicians, who talk through their situation and give patients a plan with steps that they can act on. These providers then follow up with patients, adjust their treatment and stay connected over time. What makes it unique? Since Midi works with insurance, its care is accessible to women in all 50 states, far more than traditional specialty clinics. This business model is also different from most of its competitors. Other companies in the space, such as  Maven Clinic, Carrot Fertility, Kindbody and Progyny, largely sell through employers, whereas Midi provides direct-to-consumer, insurance-covered care. In CEO Joanna Strober's view, what makes Midi unique is that it was built from the ground up for women. "Our care model isn't episodic — it's ongoing, personalized and designed to meet women where they are, with clinicians who truly listen and follow their health journey over time," she declared. Why are investors interested? For investors, Midi's appeal appears to lie in a model that pairs a large, underserved market with insurance reimbursement, creating a path to scale that looks less like a niche benefit and more like durable healthcare infrastructure. — By Katie Adams Sponsored   Boost Patient Referrals, Engagement,and Operational Efficiency Presented by RingCentral Healthcare organizations are facing more pressure than ever to keep patients loyal and keep referral pipelines full. John Poli breaks down how modern cloud communications are doing more than just connecting calls—they are turning raw patient data into a competitive advantage.  Learn how. Top Stories   DexCom's CEO Believes Diabetics On GLP-1s Should Also Wear CGMs A healthy alphabet soup CGMs are continuous glucose monitors that give diabetics an estimate of their glucose levels by measuring glucose in the interstitial fluid surrounding cells. GLP-1 ( glucagon-like-peptide-1) is a hormone that the gut produces, which regulates blood sugar by stimulating insulin release, thereby slowing stomach emptying, and signaling fullness to the brain. GLP-1s have been successful in significant weight loss. And both have an impact on type 2 diabetes. CGMs help to manage the disease and achieve better glycemic control, whereas GLP-1s have a treatment effect improving A1c levels. Now DexCom's new CEO, Jake Leach, wants providers to prescribe CGMs to GLP-1 users who are also type 2 diabetes patients. Why? He explains that CGMs can help patients understand how different nutrition and diet choices, activity levels, have an impact on glucose levels. You get an immediate understanding of glucose levels, basically around the clock. Soundbite: "If you're not monitoring glucose, the only real feedback you have on how you're doing is your weight. Potentially, that could take a while — an A1c, which takes 90 days to really adjust to the appropriate level. The CGM can tell you that you're immediately doing better in the same day." Will it convince the markets? Investors have hammered DexCom's stock over the past two years for a variety of reasons, including missteps in a sales restructuring and an FDA warning letter involving two of its manufacturing plants. The opportunity to increase the footprint of the CGM user base is one among a few strategies to write DexCom's turnaround story. But it's an open question whether Leach can persuade the markets. The next signal will come on Feb 12 when DexCom will report its fourth-quarter and 2025 fiscal year's earnings. Veradermics Goes Public to Fund Pivotal Tests of Hair Loss Drug A hairy IPO Veradermics joined the public markets with an upsized stock market debut. The company's lead drug candidate, VDPHL01, is an oral version of minoxidil, an old hair loss drug that first reached the market as a topical solution. Investors showed strong interest in the company and its drug. Veradermics was able to boost the IPO size to more than 15 million shares priced at $17 each, raising $256 million. In the company's first day of trading, its stock price more than doubled. Veradermics's shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the fitting stock symbol "MANE." The problem Oral formulations of minoxidil have limitations. While this drug was initially developed for high blood pressure, it also introduces cardiovascular risks. Hair growth was reported as a side effect in clinical trials, but the pill version of the drug does not stay in circulation long enough to sufficiently benefit hair follicles. The solution Veradermics developed VDPHL01 with proprietary extended-release technology. The drug stays in circulation longer, but does not reach peak concentration levels high enough to spark cardiac activity. In preliminary Phase 2 data reported last fall, results showed an increase in hair count and no cardiovascular complications. Three pivotal studies are underway testing the drug in both men and women. The most advanced study is expected to yield data in the first half of this year. Soundbite "VDPHL01 may deliver improved outcomes versus existing treatment options across the product attributes most desired by patients," Veradermics said in the IPO filing. "In particular, we believe VDPHL01 will raise the hair growth ceiling with improved speed, consistency and intensity of effect by enabling greater sustained exposures to minoxidil throughout the day, without driving peak concentrations of systemic minoxidil associated with known cardiac effects."  —By Frank Vinluan  Cancer Detection Startup Secures $4M to Expand Access in Underserved Communities The news Cancer detection startup beHuman announced Wednesday that it has secured $4 million in seed funding, which it will use to expand its footprint and make cancer screening more accessible to underserved communities. What's the company? beHuman offers screenings for hereditary cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer. Patients schedule an appointment with beHuman online, and then meet with their clinician virtually. The clinician reviews the patient's health history and tailors the screening plan specifically to the patient. They then receive their screening results and follow-up care if necessary. Its AI-powered platform automates administrative tasks such as eligibility verification, scheduling, chart review and follow-up. Its services are covered by insurers, including Medicare, Medicaid, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Aetna. Soundbite "The premise behind beHuman is very simple," said Steve Yaskin, founder and CEO of the company. "We spend, as a nation, more than half of our healthcare budget annually on cancer treatment, and beHuman is not designed to treat cancer. beHuman is designed to prevent cancer before it becomes late-stage." The funding The $4 million seed round was led by Santé Ventures, with participation from DHVP.io. It will be used to expand into additional states, including California and Texas. The company will also deepen partnerships with diagnostic laboratories, improve its AI platform and scale its virtual care teams. — By Marissa Plescia Video   Video: Doomed to deskilled dumb docs? Want to know more about deskilling? Read what a Lancet study found.

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