A brief summary of noteworthy news, health IT M&A activity, IPOs, and public company performance during the month of March.
Noteworthy News
Amazon, JP Morgan, Berkshire Names New Joint Venture Haven
Amazon, J.P. Morgan, and Berkshire Hathaway name joint venture Haven. In January 2018, the three founding companies announced plans to create this independent organization, now called Haven, which is free from profit-making incentives and constraints. Haven’s focus is the 1.2 million
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Cancer Diagnostics
Guardant Health to Acquire Cancer Diagnostic Company Bellwether Bio
Precision oncology company Guardant Health, Inc., announced that it
has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
Seattle-based Bellwether Bio, an
oncology startup developing next generation cancer diagnostics using cell-free
DNA. The acquisition is expected to close in April 2019. Financial terms of the
acquisition were not disclosed.
Bellwether Bio Background
Spun out of the University of Washington in 2016, Bellwether
Bio (formerly known as Haverhill Genetics) is developing
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Mayo Clinic to Develop New Diagnostic Test Using Patients’ Breath to Detect Lung Cancer
Mayo Clinic Laboratories is teaming up with Breath Diagnostics to develop new clinical diagnostic tests that use patient breath samples to identify individual biomarkers that can predict a spectrum of diseases. The first collaboration will focus on a diagnostic test that detects lung cancer using patients' exhaled breath. Benefits of BiomarkersBiomarkers are measurable substances that help in predicting the severity of a disease or infection. Examples of a biomarker include an individual's pulse
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Syapse to Utilize NCCN Biomarkers Compendium for More Personalized Care
New partnership between National Comprehensive Cancer Network and Syapse will augment health information technology around cancer care. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network(NCCN) announced a new agreement with Syapse, a precision medicine company, to expand the use of best practices in precision medicine when treating people with cancer. Syapse delivers solutions for scaling enterprise precision oncology programs. For Syapse, the data contained in theNCCN Biomarkers Compendium will
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Inspirata Acquires Caradigm to Expand its Cancer Information Data Trust
Inspirata, Inc., a Redmond, VA-based cancer informatics and digital pathology workflow solution, today announced it has acquired Caradigm from GE Healthcare. Inspirata plans to leverage Caradigm Intelligence Platform (CIP) and population health management platform to accelerate our Cancer Information Data Trust (CIDT) development. Inspirata’s Cancer Information Data Trust (CIDT) is a cancer big data platform that securely ingests, structures and manages clinical data, diagnostic images, anatomic
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Cernostics Raises $2.5M for Next Generation Cancer Diagnostics
Cernostics, a Pittsburgh, PA-based diagnostics company focused on delivering better cancer diagnosis and prognosis through a unique approach to tissue analysis has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding led by Illumina Ventures. With the recent investment from Illumina Ventures, Cernostics has raised a total of $13 million, including investments from UPMC Enterprises, Novitas Capital, Geisinger Health System, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of
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Zebra Medical Vision Unveils AI-based Algorithm to Detect Brain Bleeds
Zebra Medical Vision, the machine and deep learning company that is creating the next generation services for the healthcare industry. In the past two years Zebra-Med launched different algorithms on a monthly basis to better diagnose breast cancer, heart attacks, and other life-threatening diseases, and now the company is officially releasing the first ever algorithm to detect brain bleeds. This algorithm has just been granted CE approval. The timely detection of brain bleeds is critical to a
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University of Michigan, Tempus Partner on Personalized Breast Cancer Medicine Initiative
Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. In 2017, it is estimated that more than 250,000 U.S. women will be diagnosed with new cases of invasive breast cancer. That’s why the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has partnered with Tempus on a personalized cancer medicine initiative aimed providing most effective care for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer.As part of the initiative, Tempus will use
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Backed by UPMC, Cancer Diagnostics Startup Cernostics Lands $5M
Cernostics, a Pittsburgh, PA-based cancer diagnostics startup has raised $5 million in funding led by UPMC Enterprises, UPMC's venture capital arm with participation from Novitas Capital. The company plans to utilize the funding to accelerate the introduction of new diagnostic test for people with an esophageal condition called Barrett’s Esophagus that can lead to cancer. The latest round brings the company's total funding to date to $12.4M. Founded in 2008, Cernostics is an oncology diagnostics
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