Sam Thomas

Day Zero dispatchs from HLTH Europe For an event that hadn't officially opened yet, there was a huge amount going on yesterday. Adequately fueled and hydrated, your intrepid avatar launched into the festivities. What were some of the highlights? HealthXL hosted an event looking at AI in Lifesciences and Pharma. They always draw a huge crowd on leaders from industry, and today was no different. Chandana Fitzgerald started with the news that they have merged with HLTH, becoming HLTH Community! Robert Garber led with a VC summary of the state of AI, and how to avoid the infamous Trough of Disillusionment. With 82% of companies looking to implement AI governance, it's a good time for those looking to make AI safe and effective. Unsurprisingly, hes also seeing greatest focus on the less complex, administrative side of healthcare. Cristina Ortega Duran gave a lively presentation on their successes with Evinova, which integrates trail data into a single platform. Stephen R. called on the audience to follow 3 rules: focus on the customer problem first, learn quickly, and follow the evidence. Yes, he's turning everyone into Product Managers. During the panel we had great questions about bias and representation from Aahuti Rai, which underlined the role that synthetic data and telehealth have to play in filling gaps and reducing the burden of trial participation. The final workshop focussed on priority use cases for AI in Drug R&D and Clinical Development. Some suggestions included Ambient Documentation for researchers, summarisation of content translation to ease recruitment, and the identification of novel outcome metrics. Shout out to whoever arranged the "AI in the NHS" session, because it was packed to overflowing. If anyone was lucky enough to find a seat, let me know how it went because I couldn't get in! After hours we had the customary networking events, including a brilliant get together from AlbionVC (thank you Molly Gilmartin!) where I finally got my chance to meet with Hello Self's Charles Wells, reconnect with AI legend and founder of Newton's Tree Haris Shuaib, Kelly Klifa & Alexandra (Sasha) T. from Ally Health, Samantha Fay from SiSU Health UK, and welcome back Dr. James Somauroo & Jessica Somauroo after their 5 week honeymoon. Given how hard they work, the absolutely deserved it. For all the clenched teeth and hair pulling that our industry can cause, today showed that the determination and drive to fix the problems we face are still there. HLTH really does know how to bring all the boys (and girls) to the yard! ALSO: Shout out to my former Babylon colleagues Nirvana Luckraj Darshak Sanghavi and Tom Breeze. The network remains *strong* #hltheurope #healthcare #innovation #digitalhealth #healthtech

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Great post! In summary: Don't give up hope of selling to the NHS, but tell founders to: 1️⃣ Prepare for the long run. 2️⃣ Prioritise developing evidence for your solutions. 3️⃣ Develop great assets that communicate your product's value proposition. Thanks Dr. Zhong Wei Khor!

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🚀 Is Your Healthtech Startup Overlooking Stakeholder Relationships? Here’s a question for the healthtech community: Are you focusing enough on building strong relationships with key stakeholders - healthcare providers, regulatory bodies, and patients? 🔍 In markets like the NHS, it’s not just about having a great product. It’s about: 1️⃣ Navigating complex operational dynamics. 2️⃣ Understanding cultural nuances. 3️⃣ Demonstrating real value and collaboration. 💬 What strategies have you found effective in building these relationships? Share your experiences and let’s discuss how to prioritise stakeholder engagement. #Healthtech #StakeholderRelationships #NHS #Innovation #Healthcare

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🎅 New poscast episode out! "80% of HealthTech startups fail. Why? And what can we do about it?" In the latest episode of Walk the Valley, Will and I take an honest look at why so many promising healthcare startups stumble in the valley of death. 🎁 We unpack: ➡️ The bigger picture issues: overestimated adoption, funding declines, regulatory hurdles, and the challenges of integrating tech into real-world healthcare systems. ➡️ The tough reality of getting from “a great idea” to “a product hospitals will actually buy.” This episode is full of lessons for anyone navigating healthcare innovation—especially if you're trying to make it through the valley. Curious to know how even well-funded startups lose their footing and, most importantly, how you can avoid the same mistakes? 🎧 Tune in here: https://lnkd.in/d_zw_tny

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In vitro diagnostics for early cancer detection has often been a graveyard for investors. Investors are attracted by the undoubtedly huge market potential. If a company can develop a diagnostic test that is implemented as a population level screening tool, this is the definition of a venture scale opportunity. However, multiple factors are at play that make the journey far from easy. You need a highly sensitive and specific test that allows you to minimise false positives and false negatives. This is because the burden of over diagnosis and over treatment against a change in overall mortality rates is a finely tuned balancing act. You'd also want to ensure that the screening tool was applicable to multi-cancer detection, going further than just a rule-out test, by predicting the origin site of a particular cancer. As a pre-seed/seed investor what we are often looking for is deep scientific domain expertise, coupled with credibility to achieve a proof-of-concept data point and/or prototypes. Our latest investment at Empirical Ventures into Xgenera and the dynamic duo Dr Andy Shapanis and Prof Paul Skipp might just be the right starting point for approaching this opportunity. Their multi cancer early detection test (MCED) called miONCO was developed from analysing relative expression profiles of microRNAs in 20,000 patient samples. Xgenera’s two step test would detect cancer using a computational algorithm to identify microRNA profiles extracted from patient blood samples, and can predict the site of origin of the cancer. As a screening test this could improve patient lives significantly. I believe Xgenera has the right technology, at the right time, based around recent advances in computational speed and power, post-COVID knowledge moats related to qPCR scale-up and novel biomarkers such as microRNAs to capitalise on this potential. Read more about it below. I can't wait to join the board to support the team as they navigate the 0 to 1 phase of this journey. CAPITAL AT RISK. FOR PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY. https://lnkd.in/dNpuSERg

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Forget about flashy revenue projections or $100B market size, it’s all about the go to market strategy. Early stage healthcare investors need to understand how a company navigates the 0 to 1 phase of the commercialization journey. Otherwise, 0% of a $100B market...is still worth zero dollars. Here are some questions we at The Healthcare Syndicate like to ask founders: (h/t to Omar M. Khateeb for the excellent video on early market adopters) 1️⃣ Capturing 1% of the market? Why not 15%? Capturing 15% of the market, not just 1%, is critical for crossing the chasm from early adopters to the mainstream. Investors should evaluate the founder's ambition to capture a significant part of the market, and ask how they plan to get from early adopters --> mass market. 2️⃣ How will you [the founder] lead sales? In the early stages, emotional appeal and vision drive sales to market innovators. A corporate sales hire might scale later, but a founder’s passion resonates best with first movers. 3️⃣ Are you leveraging your early adopters properly? Innovators are essential for early traction, but they’re not the best advocates for the mainstream market. Startups must nurture innovators into credible key opinion leaders (KOLs) to gain mass-market acceptance. For more insights, check out the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gyfzfxjv #healthcareinnovation #venturecapital #angelinvesting

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👉🏼 AI in the repurposing of potential herbs for filariasis therapy 🤓 Somsri Wiwanitmkit 👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/edD44fmh 🔍 Focus on data insights: - 📊 ChatGPT provided relevant medication suggestions for all ten hypothetical clinical scenarios, demonstrating its potential utility in clinical decision-making. - 🧠 The AI's recommendations aligned with current medical literature, indicating a strong foundation in existing research. - 🔄 Insights from ChatGPT highlighted possible drug repurposing strategies, which could enhance treatment options for filariasis. 💡 Main outcomes and implications: - ✅ ChatGPT's effectiveness suggests that AI can play a significant role in supporting healthcare professionals in selecting appropriate therapies. - ⚠️ Limitations were noted, including the need for more clinical context and the inability to replace traditional treatment protocols. - 🔍 Further research is necessary to refine AI applications in therapeutic settings, particularly for complex diseases like filariasis. 📚 Field significance: - 🌱 The study underscores the importance of integrating AI tools in healthcare, particularly for drug repurposing and enhancing treatment strategies. - 💡 It opens avenues for future exploration of AI in other therapeutic areas, potentially transforming how healthcare providers approach medication selection. - 🏥 The findings advocate for collaboration between AI technologies and medical expertise to improve patient outcomes. 🗄️: [#AI #filariasis #drugrepurposing #healthcare #ChatGPT #clinicaldecisionmaking #tropicalmedicine #pharmacology]

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AI's dominance in venture capital is significantly impacting medtech fundraising. With AI/ML investments reaching $77B and medtech investments down 20% from their peak, roughly half of all VC dollars are now chasing AI. This shift has led to fewer life science exits, making it harder for medtech companies to secure funding. It's crucial to assess whether your innovation is indispensable and adjust your strategy accordingly. Source: Spencer Jones PitchBook #fundraising #ai #medtech #VC #MergersandAquisitions

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Private equity consolidation within healthcare can lead to efficiency and quality benefits, but has instead too often led to poor outcomes and underinvestment in fundamental innovation. I wrote the linked article in HIT Consultant Media suggesting a few ways for private capital investors to improve how we fund healthcare. Accel-KKR Cerberus Capital Management Warburg Pincus LLC Blackstone Apollo Global Management, Inc. Bain Capital THL Partners Hg American Securities TA Associates Thoma Bravo TPG Clayton Dubilier & Rice Trilantic North America Summit Partners Oak Hill Capital Patient Square Capital Francisco Partners Vista Equity Partners Ampersand Capital Partners General Atlantic Berkshire Partners Lee Equity Partners, LLC Silversmith Capital Partners HGGC DW Healthcare Partners Charlesbank Capital Partners HealthQuest Capital

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📌 Founders raising via SAFE—read this! Dan G. does a fantastic job explaining the rationale behind discounts vs valuation caps. So many VCs have blanket responses to a SAFE that is discount-only and doesn’t provide a valuation cap. Understandable at a basic level but does not take into account the differences in types of businesses. My lawyers at Troutman Pepper (Michael Seymour & Jake McDonough) advised on a discount-only SAFE. To be honest, it was frustrating when VCs would say “we don’t invest in discount-only…”—no rationale ever given, just a stance set in stone, I guess. However, Dan does a great job of outlining why a SAFE should be discount only vs valuation cap. For businesses where the future valuation is less predictable (e.g. deeptech—tech solutions based on scientific or engineering challenges) rather than a me-too downstream application (the next best Angry Birds)—a discount is the best approach. It's good to have thoughtful lawyers to provide guidance on making the right early decision on what is best, and thanks to Dan G. for making it clear that there is value (for the company and the investors) in this approach. Other founders will find this article interesting if you are considering which avenue is most appropriate for your business—and that is what is most important. Not creating a structure because VC firms “don’t invest in that one…”-- choose the vehicle that is right for your business and industry. Those that are supposed to partner with you, will find their way to you and will see that vehicle as an opportunity to drive down the path of market-defining opportunity with you. https://lnkd.in/efm6RmGT

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Struggling with how I feel about the $200 million investement in Flo yesterday.. On one hand at least the #economic benefit of #FemTech is being recognised. It is clearly #investible! (But, it isn't like women haven't been saying that for decades now or anything..☝️). I hope this means I no longer have to defend the commercial benefits of improving women's health for our entire #global #economy.. when this #disparity in women's healthcare, means that currently over half the population are limited from contributing to the #economy during their most productive years! 😡😡😡 But on the other hand, it is #disappointing that out of all the incredible #FemTech companies that exist, which are founded by brilliant women founders - that the one that gets the biggest #valuation and #investment is the one founded by two #men.. What #angered me the most, was I saw comments from men such as "maybe they just had a really good pitch..", - how about as commercially minded as these founders may be - they will never have as good domain expertise as a #woman, when it comes to managing #reproductive #health, and the #barriers that #women experience every day in the #health-#care #system. If this doesn't highlight the #gender #bias in the investment landscape, I do not know what does. https://lnkd.in/gae_f8SR #genderbias #investment #genderequity #femtech #startup #entrepreneur #reproductivehealth #womenshealth #venture #success #acheivement

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The shift in Series A to Series B graduation rates is a stark reminder of how the startup landscape has evolved, particularly post-2020. The "sugar rush" analogy fits well—easy access to capital led to rapid growth and inflated valuations. But as interest rates have gone up and funding has become more selective, startups are now having to return to solid business fundamentals. For MedTech and FemHealth startups, the journey from Series A to Series B was never easy, even in more favorable times. Now, with the additional pressure of financial conservatism, these companies must show not only potential but tangible progress in product-market fit, regulatory paths, and revenue generation. This is where smart money, strategic partnerships, and a clear focus on health outcomes can differentiate those startups that are essential from those just chasing the next round. With venture capital taking a closer look at impact and sustainability, founders should focus on aligning with investors who understand the long-term value of innovation in healthcare. For founders currently raising, it's about knowing that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, the competition is tough, but it also means there's an opportunity for those who stay nimble, pivot intelligently, and keep an eye on profitability and growth potential without sacrificing the mission. What do you think will help startups stand out the most as they aim for Series B in today's market? 🚀 Thank you Peter Walker for your incredible insights!! #MedTech #FemHealth #VCFunding #SeriesA #SeriesB #HealthInnovation #Founders

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Over 950 medical devices that are AI augmented have been approved to date by the FDA and there are thousands of startups in the health tech space. 1. How do we ensure best patient outcomes and not aggravate bias or inequities? 2. What are the optimal methods for workflow integration? 3. How can we best prepare users and stakeholders such as doctors and clinicians to ensure safety, privacy and best practices? I am excited to speak on these topics at the upcoming AI Med conference in Orlando, Florida in November. As AI and innovation evolves, it is essential that the healthcare team understands the fundamentals and is well-prepared to ensure optimal results. Join me! Harvey Castro, MD, MBA.Anthony Chang, MD, MBA, MPH, MS Gemma Lovegrove Sharief Taraman, MD, DABPN, DABPM, FAAP Emily Blum Mara Schenker, MD, MBA Amanda Azadian Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades, MD Austin Lee Chiang, MD MPH Daniel Kraft, MD #ai #innovation #outcomes #healthequity #healthcare Madhu Mazumdar Nancy Spector Healio

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At Pacmed we stand for clinical AI beyond the hype, developed and implemented in a responsible way. In (Dutch) health care we hear a lot of hype and promise about how AI will solve all problems around accessibility in a few years. We are convinced it won't. The technology is not there yet and AI alone will not bring the needed change. Hospital care is one of the most change resistant industries for multiple reasons (some good, most not). In line with this resistance to change we also often hear that AI won't bring any value or real change. There is a lot of shallow discussion between the hype and no value camps, but there seems little focus on in depth understanding of the AI developments. This video of Demis Hassabis at the Times Tech Summit of about 20 minutes is accessible, yet gives a good understanding of AI developments and a taste of the future. He also touches on the risks of AI and whether and how we can mitigate those in time. Striking to me is that Demis (who recently won the Nobel prize in Chemistry for using AI to be able to predict how proteins fold) shares he has been working on AI for 30 years (since his early teens) and has been on a steady and predictable road to Artificial General Intelligence (an AI that can surpass any human cognitive ability). I don't know if we are indeed going to have AGI in 10 years (and whether we will ever reach it) but to me this video confirms that AI will be the most transformative (digital) technology ever, and is coming at us at an accelerated pace. Time is now for hospitals to truly prepare for and gain experience with AI. Not with pilot projects, having someone develop an algorithm or carelessly using (unvalidated) tools. But in a responsible and scalable way, with maximal learning, reasonable expectations and the intention to truly enable future proof health care. Thanks Quinten Bent for the recommendation.

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Health tech founders: Are you tired of the endless fundraising cycle? Here's why your pitch deck isn't cutting it anymore and what you need to do instead: 🔔Ditch the generic investor outreach 🔔Leverage the Capital Readiness Scorecard 🔔Streamline due diligence (save 118+ hours!) 🔔Master every funding stage from pre-seed to Series C In today’s #LinkedinAudio event, we dive deep into the challenges and strategies of capital fundraising in health tech. Here's what you'll learn: 💰Why many startups get caught in a perpetual fundraising cycle 💰How to target the right investors and stand out from the crowd 💰The power of the Capital Readiness Scorecard in streamlining due diligence 💰Key strategies for successful fundraising at every stage Don't miss out on these game-changing insights! Tell us: What is one of the biggest frustrations when fundraising for your innovative solution? Can't make it to the Audio event? Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast app. It will be published on Sep 17th. See the specific link in the comments below. #HealthTech #Fundraising #StartupAdvice #CapitalReadiness

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How should HealthTech companies approach clinical evidence generation? Dr Saira G. from Prova Health delivered an amazing masterclass yesterday on this very topic. 👇 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬: 1. 𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Three key questions founders should ask is: - Who am I generating this evidence for? (Investors, NHS, Clinicians, Procurement) - What stage of product development are we in? (Early product development, Regulatory approval, Reimbursement) - What key endpoints do I have to demonstrate? (Clinical safety, efficacy, value for money, reliability) Depending on your answer, your choice of study design would vary wildly. 2. 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. Clinical evidence is table stakes. (Without which, the conversation cannot even start.) But there is now a major shift towards the economic evidence of any product. - Is it cost effective? - Can it reduce expenses? - Is it cash releasing or cost saving? - Does it reduce healthcare utilisation? Economic evidence is increasingly popular amongst payors and investors, so it will be prudent to plan for this too. 3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 2 of the biggest challenge to generating evidence are: - Finding a suitable/willing clinical site. - Securing funding needed for this. 🤝 Finding a clinical site is a matter of relationship building. Any clinical study comes with its own risk. Be it reputational, risk to patient or risk of time wasted. Companies should invest time and effort to build trust with clinicians and site managers - approaching them via NHS accelerators and health innovation networks can help build credibility too. Lastly, founders should keep an eye out for the various grants available out there - as there are quite a few that does support evidence generation in the early stages! _____________________________________________ All in all, a great talk with a good turnout! Thank you Saira for taking the time! Do check out the recording if you want to learn more! (Links in comments) Gianluca Fontana | Ben Porter | Dr. Sam McInerney | David Lowe | Nina Sesto, PhD | Simba Mavhunga | Jacob Mathew, MD | Guy Parsons |

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According to the latest report from Rock Health, digital health funding in Q1 2024 totaled $2.7B across 133 deals, with an average deal size of $20.6M. It doesn’t break out device-related investments, but most medtech founders I meet these days are being forced to chase tiny rounds made up of endless little checks, consuming valuable energy and slowing their progress. The benign neglect of this next generation of diagnostic and therapeutic devices is counterproductive and surprising. Given the crowded virtual care market, for example, I’d expect more such companies would be exploring medtech partnerships, investments or acquisitions that'd enable them to back integrate into delivering sharper, and more differentiated, care and treatment. This is exactly what Maverix Medical is doing from the other direction: Reshaping the entire spectrum of lung cancer care by integrating more advanced + effective approaches to screening and diagnosis, treatment and therapeutics, and even palliative care…And putting it all to work through an innovative provider network. One notable investor exception is Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna who’s been backing great teams like Selera Medical (YC W24) doing foundational work on ambitious medical devices. Without more support from investors like her, we’re going to increasingly find ourselves stuck with the incremental portfolio improvements from the incumbents, and that’s just not nearly enough.

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