From PitchBook, January 13:
Healthcare's premier conference brought an estimated 10,000 participants to San Francisco this week.
Our healthcare analyst team attended the private company presentations and spoke with investors, service providers, and both established and up-and-coming companies throughout the week.
Download our full recap on the key themes that emerged and why they matter for healthcare PE and VC investing:
Top trend: AI
1. AI—though not necessarily generative AI—was the headline theme of this year's conference.
2. Hype swirled around the potential of AI to transform drug discovery, but savvy investors are looking for proof of clinical impact over the long term. We believe AI will make drug development faster, not less expensive, primarily because of the substantial expense associated with software development and computational power.
3. Consumer-focused digital health companies jockeyed to position themselves as AI forward, while addressing provider burnout and improving explainability continued to dominate conversations around AI in healthcare IT.
Trends to watch
4. Three approaches are emerging for startups in the pharma-dominated obesity drugs market: improve on existing biology; develop treatments for GLP-1 side effects, such as muscle and bone density loss; or pursue entirely new approaches or modalities.
5. Partnerships are emerging as a key go-to-market strategy for digital point solutions and AI technologies. Headspace announced an intention to partner with digital providers in subspecialties such as PTSD, OCD, and SUD treatment, while Arcadia will partner with clinical-decision-support company Atropos.
6. Genomic sequencing is becoming more competitive as newer entrants muscle to take share from Illumina. Element Biosciences and Ultima Genomics have been competing on price, throughput, features, and quality.
7. Private companies like Levels, Nutrisense, Signos, and Veri have been further expanding the glucose monitoring market to nondiabetics. Dexcom launched a new glucose sensor, Stelo, for FDA approval and expects a summer launch of the device, geared for diabetics who do not regularly take insulin.
Headline deals and announcements....
....MUCH MORE
Related:
December 19, 2023 - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI to See ‘Major Second Wave (NVDA)
January 1, 2024 - We Are Going To Hear More And More About Digital Biology (NVDA)