Hello,
Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and this week in healthcare news:
- We explore what industry veterans and execs think about a company selling a smart sock for babies;
- See the presentation that convinced 2 billionaires and Dr. Oz to invest in a new way of helping doctors care for patients at home;
- Walmart has a secret plan to stop losing out to Amazon.
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Comments, tips, advice for bracing for a major Denver snowstorm? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Now, let's get to it…
This week, I've been reflecting on where we've come in the past year. In my then-weekly newsletter a year ago, I was filling you in on how eerily quiet the streets of Brooklyn were getting.
Hope is on the horizon. The CDC says people who've been vaccinated can hug and gather indoors without masks.
And President Joe Biden pledged to make all adults eligible to receive vaccines starting by May 1.
I'm very much looking forward to hearing what everyone's July 4 plans are.
Courtesy Owlet Baby Care
Recently SPAC-ing companies are facing scrutiny
Going public via a SPAC deal has catapulted a number of startups on to the public market.
There, they can face heightened scrutiny.
- Wall Street analysts are raising fresh questions about the ambitious growth plans Clover laid out before going public in a Chamath-backed SPAC, Shelby Livingston reports.
- and Hims has been hit with a a class-action lawsuit in California over alleged spam text messages, Megan Hernbroth reports.
Meanwhile Owlet, a company that makes smart baby socks, is going public via SPAC in a $1.1 billion deal.
Patricia Kelly Yeo took a closer look at the company's investor presentation. She also spoke with experts to gut-check the promise of the device.
Find the full analysis here>>
A company selling a smart sock for babies is going public in a $1.1 billion SPAC deal. Industry veterans and pediatricians aren't sold on the device.
100Plus' devices track several markers of patient health, and feed that information into a software system that can be used by physicians. The software will also send out warning alerts if a patients' health signals deviate from the normal range.
100Plus
100Plus
How 100plus raised $25 million
This week, Allison DeAngelis and Megan took a closer look at 100plus, a startup that offers services that help doctors monitor their patients at home.
They got their hands on the unredacted presentation the startup used to raise $25 million in a round valuing 100plus at $150 million.
See the full presentation here>>
Here's the presentation that convinced 2 billionaires and Dr. Oz to invest in a new way of helping doctors care for patients at home
Walmart workers.
Walmart
Walmart
A non-healthcare scoop
Blake Dodge and Shelby Livingston teamed up with Áine Cain to nail down a scoop about Walmart.
It might not be healthcare-related, but for those taking notes on what the retailer is doing in healthcare, it's helpful context for what else is on Walmart's mind.
The three got their hands on a presentation for a secret initiative about Walmart's e-commerce strategy. It lays out how Walmart plans to stop losing out to Amazon.
Get the full scoop here>>
Walmart is betting on a secret initiative called 'Project Glass' in the war against Amazon. See the full presentation outlining its plan.
Inside the rise of university psychedelic centers
Funding from wealthy donors and promising early results from scientific studies are making psychedelic research more mainstream.
It's leading universities to establish centers to study compounds like psilocybin and MDMA, Yeji Lee reports.
That could lead to potential new treatments for depression and new tools to help people quit smoking.
Check out the full feature here>>
Wealthy donors are fueling a psychedelics renaissance as universities vie for funding to study 'magic mushrooms' and MDMA
- Lydia