Meet the 34 startups investors say will take off in 2022

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum.

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Now let's get to today's stories:

• We asked top healthcare VCs which startups are poised to take off in 2022;
• Oracle is in talks to acquire medical-records giant Cerner;
• A phenomenon called exponential growth could explain why Omicron is skyrocketing;

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it…

34 healthcare and biotech startups that are set to take off in 2022, according to top investors

• We asked top healthcare and biotech investors to name the startups most likely to take off in 2022.
• The investors named startups they have invested in as well as ones with which they have no financial ties.
• The startups range in size from a handful to hundreds of employees, and span gene therapies to new virtual-care ideas.

See the full list now>>

Oracle is reportedly in talks to acquire a medical-records giant, challenging big tech rivals looking to healthcare for growth

• The software giant Oracle is reportedly in talks to acquire Cerner, a medical records company.
• That would dwarf some of the progress made by other big tech companies to expand in health.
• But investors and analysts were skeptical about how disruptive the deal could be.

Check it out>>

Exponential growth may explain why Omicron cases are skyrocketing in parts of the US

• In pandemic terms, "exponential growth" means infections accelerate over time.
• In New York City, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 doubled over three days.
• Exponential growth causes huge outbreaks in short time periods. But we know how to stop the virus from spreading.

Dive in>>

More stories we're reading:

• New York reports 21,027 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, the highest the state has ever recorded (Insider)
• Despite the wave of the Omicron variant, hospitalizations in South Africa are down (Bloomberg)
• Pfizer says kids under 5 may not get shots until mid-2022 after trial found low-dose vaccine didn't work in kids aged 2-5 (Insider)
• The CDC is now recommending that people not get the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if others are available instead (NBC News)

-Leah