MedTech - the intersection of patient care and technology - remains one of the most commanding sectors of research and development.
Bettering healthcare systems for diagnosis, treatment and general wellbeing lies at the heart of MedTech. With more than 500,000 MedTech products and services on the market and an estimated market size of $140b, just in Europe, there’s no shortage of innovators or investors when it comes to saving lives.
In Europe, an average of approximately 10% of GDP is spent on healthcare. Within this, around 7.4% is attributed to MedTech companies.
The fallout from COVID-19 further revealed the importance of MedTech research & development, as lockdown orders encouraged the digitalisation of healthcare, and innovators around the world pushed for viable treatments.
But MedTech spans much wider than that.
This year, mental health was the top funded subsector, raising $3.1b in investment. There are countless avenues of MedTech innovation, all working towards making the healthcare ecosystem a more sustainable place.
In this article, we’ll be looking at four MedTech companies that are paving the way in 2021, and are set to maintain exciting growth moving forwards.
1. Spring Health
Spring Health is a global mental health solution for employers, who just last month secured $190m in Series C funding.
Spring Health strive to break down every barrier that prevents people all over the world from tending to their mental health.
They provide employers with an online platform featuring a comprehensive mental health plan for employees, with diverse, inclusive care.
By taking an approach that’s rooted in clinically proven models and personalised data, Spring Health allows its users’ distinct needs to be identified. Following assessment, various methods of care are introduced, from meditation or therapy, to coaching or medication.
Spring Health’s total investment to date is $300m, bringing the company’s current valuation to $2b.
This latest instalment of fundraising came off the back of an impressive 6x revenue growth over the past year.
In the wake of a mental health crisis, it’s evident that the mental healthcare landscape is set to undergo fundamental change. Spring Health is spearheading the modernisation of mental health treatment and lowering risk of individual mis-diagnosis.
2. Orthox
UK-based Medtech startup, Orthox, provides regenerative implants which allow patients with damaged cartilage and meniscus in the knee to return to an active, pain-free lifestyle.
This solution comes from their development of FibroFix™; a natural biomaterial which is specifically targets and repairs damage to cartilage tissue.
Injuries to the knee cartilage reap long-term issues across generations, leading to osteoarthritis and contributing to the current epidemic of total knee replacements. Orthox is a shining example of how medical intervention can join with technology to address critical health issues for millions of sufferers.
With funds raised to the value of £18m from Seed and Series A investment alongside success within multiple grant funding competitions, clinical trials of the startup’s FibroFix™ regeneration are well underway.
3. Circadia
One of the many R&D projects driven by COVID-19 is Circadia, which announced in June that it has received an FDA 510(k) clearance for its C100 System – a contactless bedside monitor which measures respiration rate and other bio-signals in patients up to four feet away.
The product uses data-driven insights to identify warning signs of COVID-19 in high-risk patients, several hours or days in advance. Designed with care homes and shared facilities in mind, the Circadia system generates automated daily reports across all monitors, in the aim of lowering hopsitalisations.
Circadia’s diagnostic technology isn’t a fleeting solution for COVID-19, but an ongoing opportunity to revolutionise how all respiratory illnesses are identified.
CEO and co-founder Fares Siddiqui told DeviceTalks Weekly podcast that from C100 radar analysis, Circadia “can pick up your respiratory rate and patterns and then apply machine learning in order to predict and prevent respiratory complications”.
Pre-pandemic, pneumonia was the cause of 20,098 hospital fatalities, according to a 2018 report from the Office for National Statistics. Demand of Circadia’s technology will be prevalent long after the effects of COVID-19 are behind us.
4. Oviva
Oviva is a digital health platform offering a series of remote nutrition and lifestyle programmes to help users manage weight-related health conditions. Oviva provides programmes for individuals who need expert guidance when it comes to:
· Type 2 diabetes (prevention, support and remission);
· Paediatric allergies;
· Adult undernutrition;
· Specialist weight management.
Since it’s birth, Oviva has gained influential partnerships in the NHS and Digital Health London, and in January 2020, gained funding of £16.1m.
Oviva pairs users with a specialist dietitian who, based on an expert assessment, creates a tailored nutrition and lifestyle plan to advance the patient towards their wellbeing goal.
Personalised plans include recipes, behaviour modification techniques and evidence-based information on foods and nutrients.
Through the course of the program, patients can track their progress through the Oviva App, are have access to round the clock support from their assigned dietitian. On average, Oviva users onboard the program for Type 2 Diabetes improve their blood glucose levels by 11.7mmol/mol.
Social isolation and stay-at-home orders brought about by COVID-19 have had noticeable effects on the UK’s relationship with food.
Many scholars have reported strong potential linearity between the enforcement of lockdowns and the development of eating disorders. Oviva offers on-demand nutritional guidance available at your fingertips.
It’s simple, Oviva’s mission is to help people live healthier, happier lives.
Medtech is helping us advance towards a win-win scenario, where quality of care is improved, healthcare costs are driven down and strain is reduced for medical staff.
The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that, by 2030, the digitalisation of healthcare could save from $1.5 trillion to $3 trillion a year, thanks to remote monitoring, artificial intelligence and automation.
These four companies are just a glimpse into the trailblazing Medtech industry, and how the sector is a crucial driver of societal wellbeing in the UK and beyond.