Digital health valuations will recover from their recent dip, CRV general partner Kristin Baker Spohn on Friday said at an Axios Pro Insights event.
"The pendulum swung a bit too far one way and has swung a bit too far back the other way ... I think we'll see an evening out over the next few quarters. In advance of that, I think we'll see increased consolidation."
The COVID-19 pandemic helped supercharge investment in lab testing startups, which were one of the "last areas" of health tech innovation, Everly Health CEO Julia Cheek said Friday during an Axios Pro Insights event.
What they're saying: "Everyone needs a lab test annually, if not more often, but most Americans compared it prior to COVID to going to the DMV," says Cheek, whose company is valued at nearly $3 billion by venture capitalists.
New analysis shows how badly most nations' economic responses to COVID-19 have failed to heed calls for green-tinted recovery.
Driving the news: The study in Nature, conducted by Johns Hopkins University analysts, explores $14 trillion-plus in G20 stimulus and recovery packages.
Democrats who hoped they'd have transformational new health legislation in place by next year could insteadbe facing one of the largest increases in the U.S. uninsured rate in recent history.
Why it matters: Temporary pandemic-era reforms to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces caused enrollment in each to swell, but these policy changes are due to end soon, and millions of people could lose their health coverage.
Having even one drink a day could reduce one's overall brain size over time, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications.
Why it matters: The study found the greatest risks with heavy drinking, but alcohol consumption was linked to reduced brain volume among far more moderate drinkers. The findings could throw cold water on other studies suggesting that lighter alcohol consumption has no impact on, or may even benefit, the brain.
Health professionals, transgender teens and their families are fearful and angry over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's new directive to have a state agency investigate parents for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care for their children.
Driving the news: Texas officials have already begun investigating parents of transgender children in accordance with Abbott's order, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal on Tuesday.
Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma have reached a deal with U.S. states to pay as much as $6 billion in cash to end widespread litigation against the OxyContin maker over its role in the nation's opioid epidemic.
Why it matters: The deal, which was announced on Thursday but still must be approved by a judge, would give states and local governments billions of dollars for treatment programs.
COVID case rates continued a steep decline over the last two weeks with the seven-day rolling average dropping to roughly 59,000 cases a day.
The big picture: These falling case rates prompted the CDC in the last week to loosen its mask guidance, recommending universal masking for less than a third of the U.S. population. The White House is also taking steps to bring back the federal workforce and otherwise promote a return to some form of pre-COVID normal.
