Earlier this month PricewaterhouseCoopers published its Innovation Scorecard for the medical device industries in nine countries. The bottomline conclusion was that the US will continue to dominate but emerging markets like China, India and Brazil. In other words: Nothing new here, folks.
The scorecard evaluated each country based on five criteria, which PwC says has helped the US stay on top for decades: "Powerful financial incentives, such as reimbursements for adoption of new technologies; resources for innovation, such as academic medical centers; a supportive regulatory system; demanding and price-insensitive patients; and a supportive investment community of venture capitalists and other investors."
The investment community has been rather supportive of mobile health during the past year. Mobile health startups don't always announced their new rounds of investments, but make no mistake -- money is flowing into mobile health. In fact, MobiHealthNews spent the past few days tallying up the venture capital deals it reported on during 2010 -- as well as a handful that only saw ink in the SEC's archives -- to determine an estimate for the amount of venture capital and strategic investments in mobile health startups last year.
By our count: About $233 million was invested in mobile health startups during 2010.
Here's our list of venture capital and strategic equity investment deals last year, but be sure to let us know if we missed any and we'll add it to the list. Here's the list by size of the investment and the slide show that follows includes images of some of the devices plus a brief description of the company's services and other details surrounding the deals (who invested?) if those details were available. (Click on a deal to jump to it):
1. CardioMEMS raked in $97.88 million.
2. AirStrip Technologies secured $30 million.
3. Phreesia scooped up $19.78 million.
4. MicroCHIPS snagged $16.5 million.
5. AeroScout took in $16 million.
6. Zeo received $12.33 million.
7. Sotera Wireless pocketed $10.75 million
8. FitBit collected $7.98 million.
9. Healthrageous launched with $6 million.
10. Telcare's total came to $4.46 million.
11. Bodymedia: $4 million.
12. ISIS Biopolymer scored $3 million.
12. Catch (formerly Snaptic) brought in $2.3 million.
13. Wellcore rounds it out with $2 million.
14. FitnessKeeper took in $1.11 million.
MicroCHIPS: $16.5 million
January 10, 2010: MicroCHIPS announces a $16.5 million round of investment. The company is developing an implantable medical device that will deliver drugs inside the body. This third round of funding brings the company’s total funding to just north of $70 million. InterWest Partners joined previous investors Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Novartis and Medtronic.
ISIS Biopolymer: $3 million
IsisIQ™
March 3, 2010: ISIS Biopolymer files an SEC document disclosing a $3 million round of investment. The IsisIQ by Isis Biopolymer is a compact, wireless, active iontophoretic patch using a patented design that implements advances in microprocessors, thin film batteries, biopolymers and proprietary adhesives that allow for widespread use. The device also employs patented drug delivery techniques that will enable multiple drugs, as well as a wide variety of drugs, to be delivered. The IsisIQ is supported by a proprietary software based patient care management system for physicians and pharmacists. This system allows healthcare professionals to manage and monitor drug delivery through the IsisIQ.
Sotera Wireless: $10.75 million
April 4, 2010: Sotera Wireless files an SEC document disclosing a $10.75 million round of investment. (MobiHealthNews reported on the Sotera filing at the time.) Sotera, formerly Triage Wireless, is creating a "new generation" of vital signs monitors for both the hospital and home.
CardioMEMS: $97.88 million
May 7, 2010: CardioMEMS files an SEC document disclosing a $37.88 million round of investment. In May we reported that the company’s total raised capital amount comes to about $145 million. In September we reported that St. Jude Medical had made a strategic investment of $60 million into CardioMEMS with an option to acquire the company for $375 million if certain milestones are met. CardioMEMS is developing a wireless implantable sensor for heart failure patients, which it recently showed reduced the number of hospitalizations for heart failure patients by 38 percent.
Catch: $2.3 million
June 2, 2010: Steve Brown's startup Snaptic received $2.3 million in seed funding from Excel Venture Management. Snaptic offers the 3Banana app for iPhone and Android device users. The app is a general note taking app, but Brown said the interest among investors was because of the app's ability to more easily enable users to record and keep information on their fitness, diet and health. Brown founded, built and sold the Health Hero Network.
Healthrageous: $6 million
June 9, 2010: Healthrageous, a Partners Healthcare spinoff announced a $6 million first round of investment. North Bridge Venture Partners led the investment round while Egan Managed Capital and Long River Ventures also participated. Healthrageous has developed a health technology platform that provides personalized, interactive, self-management tools to help individuals shed unhealthy habits and improve adherence to medical advice. Healthrageous will leverage wireless biometric sensors, smart phones, individualized coaching, incentive programs and social networks. The platform can connect up to some 60 wireless biometric sensors.
Wellcore: $2 million
July 12, 2010: Wellcore files an SEC document disclosing a $2 million round of investment. The Wellcore fall detection device connects to a docking station via Zigbee wireless technology while at home and can even pair via Bluetooth with some cell phone models when the user is on-the-go.
Phreesia: $19.78 million
August 3, 2010: Phreesia files an SEC document disclosing a $19.78 million round of investment. In June the round of investment was up to about $16 million and news broke that Ascension Health Ventures was leading the round. In September we reported that VantagePoint bumped the round up to about $20 million. Phreesia’s devices, called PhreesiaPads, are wireless-enabled and allow patients to verify and update demographic and insurance info — all of which transmits right into the EMR and practice management system so that care providers have it up-to-date for that day’s visit.
AirStrip Technologies: $30 million
August 20, 2010: AirStrip Technologies files an SEC document disclosing a $30 million round of investment. A week earlier, AirStrip announced that Sequoia Capital had made an undisclosed investment into the company. AirStrip OB captures vital patient waveform data, including fetal heart tracing and maternal contraction patterns, in “virtual real time” and sends it to the physician’s mobile device. AirStrip's RPM suite of apps focuses on heart failure more generally.
FitBit: $7.98 million
September 10, 2010: FitBit files an SEC document disclosing a $7.98 million round of investment. Fitbit provides users with metrics like: Amount of steps you took today, miles traveled, calories burned, calories consumed, time you went to bed, time it took to actually fall asleep, number of times you woke up during the night, total time in bed, actual time sleeping. It’s certainly a tool for those seeking to live a “quantified” life.
BodyMedia: $4 million
October 22, 2010: Bodymedia files an SEC document disclosing a $4 million round of investment. BodyMedia offers a number of devices that help users track calorie burn, activity levels and sleep. Most of those devices transmit data to users’ nearby phones via Bluetooth. A recent deal with Sprint sends the data to the cloud via Sprint's cellular network.
AeroScout: $16 million
November 4, 2010: AeroScout announces a $16 million round of investment led by Evergreen Venture Partners with contributions from its return backers. AeroScout offers a WiFi-based real-time location services for healthcare and other verticals.
Zeo: $12.33 million
December 28, 2010: Zeo files an SEC document disclosing a $12.33 million round of investment. Zeo’s offering currently includes a wireless-enabled, sensor-equipped headband and bedside display/alarm clock that tracks users' sleep patterns by mapping their sleep stages.
Telcare: $4.46 million
December 29, 2010: Telcare amends an SEC document disclosing a $4.46 million round of investment. Telcare has developed a cellular-enabled blood glucose meter, which is not yet FDA approved.
FitnessKeeper: $1.1 million
JUST ADDED: November 30, 2010: FitnessKeeper, the makers of the popular running and fitness app RunKeeper, announced a $1.11 million round in November. The round was led by a new investor O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV). Return backers included LaunchCapital and a handful of angel investors.. Total funding for the startup is now $1.51 million.
For more news, analysis and roundups on mobile health in 2010, be sure to check out our State of the Industry Q4-Year-End Report
