All Access

Health Tech Deals

Health Tech Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Health Tech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Health Tech Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Research associate Natalie Breymeyer here with your weekly digest.

👀 Situational awareness: Walgreens said this week it's exploring options for VillageMD, including a sale, citing the primary care provider's cash needs.

Insurance coverage of GLP-1s for obesity is limited — Ro CEO Zach Reitano thinks that's wrong.

Why it matters: Ro has a weight loss program centered on use of the drugs prescribed via telehealth.

The program is available through a $145 monthly subscription, which doesn't include the drugs themselves but does help patients navigate their insurance coverage of them, if they have it.

"I think that GLP-1s could be so effective in terms of bridging the health inequity gap that I think there should be almost the equivalent of an Operation Warp Speed for equal access to GLP-1s," he told Axios.

Here's a lightly edited transcript of Axios' Q&A with Reitano: 

Q: What is transformative about what you are working on?

A: Right now, great health care is a handmade luxury good, and we are trying to turn it into a product that anyone can access by leveraging technology and trying to give providers leverage so that more people can access great health care.

Q: One trend transforming health care that we're not paying enough attention to?

A: I don't think we're paying enough attention to the reasons behind the U.S.'s decline in life expectancy. When you tease it apart you see regions and groups of people whose life expectancy continues to rise, and you see others fall precipitously because of obesity, addiction and suicide.

A: The incentive structure. Every single industry naturally follows the incentives that have been set up, and the U.S. health care system is not incentivized to fight for patients and to continuously increase the quality while decreasing the cost for patients — because they are not the customer.

Q: Speaking from experience, what would you tell a 25-year-old founding a company as CEO?

A: Two things: Feedback is data and the person who suffers the most by not being great at receiving it is you. The second is the best cultures are strong attract, strong repel.

1 fun prediction: Tell us something about what health care is going to be like in 5-10 years that's different from today.

A: I think in 10 years you'll have more people on GLP-1s than statins.

Ro CEO on GLP-1s via subscription model

Photo illustration of Ro CEO Zachariah Reitano besides various shapes and an image of a doctor at a laptop

Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Ro

Aug. 5 — Digital health could be a new frontier for personalized medicine — but it needs more evidence-based research and payer buy-in, says Scan Health Plan and Scan Group CEO Sachin Jain, who last week joined the board of diabetes-focused Omada Health.

The big picture: Investors and founders should avoid pitfalls that took down high-flying unicorns of 2021.

Go deeper: Read Monday's newsletter, plus Monday's Pro Rata on Mars reportedly weighing a takeover offer for Kellanova (NYSE: K).

Scan CEO on digital health's next era

Photo illustration of Sachin H. Jain surrounded by health pluses and abstract shapes.

Photo illustration: Gabriella Turrisi. Photo: Courtesy of Scan Group & Health Plan

Aug. 6 — Guidehealth, a value-based care enablement company, raised $14 million in seed funding led by nonprofit health system Memorial Hermann, CEO Sanjay Doddamani told Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Guidehealth and Memorial Hermann are working to serve uninsured and under-insured patients, for whom hospitals absorb significant costs.

Go deeper: Read Tuesday's newsletter, plus Tuesday's Pro Rata on reasons why the recent stock market rout didn't kill prospects for a burst of IPO activity after Labor Day.

Guidehealth raises $14M to enable VBC

Illustration of a person wearing scrubs using a blood pressure cuff made of money.

Aug. 7 — Drug diversion detection firm Bluesight is profitable and pursuing add-ons, just a year after being acquired by a financial sponsor for the first time.

Why it matters: The inventory management software space is expected to surpass $4.05 billion by 2030, per Fortune Business Insights.

Go deeper: Read Wednesday's newsletter, plus Wednesday's Pro Rata on investors differing on the economic policies and record of Tim Walz.

Bravo-backed Bluesight eyes M&A

Illustration of medical pills with half of the capsule created from paper money.

Aug. 8 — AmorSui, a sustainable personal protective equipment (PPE) startup, raised $3.5 million in seed funding, CEO Beau Wangtrakuldee told Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Hospitals can save up to 50% by reprocessing single-use devices.

Go deeper: Read Thursday's newsletter, plus Thursday's Pro Rata on defense tech upstart Anduril Industries raising $1.5 billion in new venture capital funding at a $14 billion valuation.

AmorSui seeds $3.5M for sustainable PPE

Illustration of a hundred dollar bill as a surgical mask. 

🏊‍♀️ Natalie is grateful for all the swimming she's been able to do in nearby lakes the last few weeks.

🙏 Thank you to Egan Millard for today's edits.

Thank you for reading us this week! Please ask your colleagues, friends and family to sign up.

1 big thing: Ro CEO on GLP-1s via subscription model

2. Scan CEO on digital health's next era

3. Guidehealth raises $14M to enable VBC

4. Bravo-backed Bluesight eyes M&A

5. AmorSui seeds $3.5M for sustainable PPE

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

August 09, 2024

1 big thing: Ro CEO on GLP-1s via subscription model