WellDoc Secures $22 Million Series B Funding to Advance BlueStar, the First FDA-Approved Prescription Digital Therapeutic for Type 2 Diabetes
Today's Highlights:
Mobile Health Pioneer WellDoc Secures $22 Million in Series B Funding
Ping An Good Doctor Partners with Ping An Bank
Novartis: To Deploy Five Major Categories of Oncology Drugs in China
China’s First Electronic Medical Record Database Project Officially Completed
Kaiyi Hospital, with a total investment of $100 million, officially settles in Wuxi
Doctor Review Site Vitals Raises $41 Million in Series D Funding
Pioneer of Mobile Health, WellDoc, Secures $22 Million in Series B Funding
According to foreign media reports, on December 17, WellDoc, the pioneer of mobile health, secured $22 million in Series B financing led by Samsung Catalyst Fund. Five other institutions participated as co-investors: Merck Global Health Innovation (GHI) Fund, Alexander Venture Capital, Aphorism Capital Management, Superior Risk Managers, and Hudson River Ventures. To date, WellDoc has completed six funding rounds, raising a total of $48.43 million.
WellDoc stated that the company would use the funds to develop its flagship product, BlueStar. Launched in June 2013, BlueStar is the first mobile app approved by the FDA as a prescription drug, primarily designed for the management of type 2 diabetes.
BlueStar requires that prescriptions be authorized by healthcare providers, enabling pharmacies to dispense medications through the platform and process reimbursements under health plans. Powered by WellDoc’s proprietary automated expert analysis system, BlueStar empowers patients to self-manage diabetes through real-time motivational, behavioral, and educational coaching, thereby enhancing adherence to their treatment regimens.
BlueStar can also analyze patient data, compare it with historical trends, and transmit the analytical results to the patient’s healthcare team. Based on each patient’s data, it provides clinical decision support to healthcare providers to optimize treatment decisions.
Ping An Good Doctor and Ping An Bank Reach Partnership
Following Ping An Bank’s announcement on December 14 of a strategic partnership with WeDoctor Group, the bank further entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Ping An Good Doctor in Shanghai on the 18th. As both entities are subsidiaries under the Ping An Group, they will engage in comprehensive, in-depth collaboration across all segments of the health industry chain, including health management, medical care assistance, and health insurance. Additionally, the two parties will deepen their cooperation in integrated financial services such as payment and settlement, online banking, and investment and financing solutions.
Under the agreement, in the field of medical health management, Ping An Good Doctor will provide Ping An Bank’s retail financial customers with a series of O2O health management and medical assistance services—including family doctor services, physical examinations, home-based testing, specialist consultations, appointment registration, home medication delivery, health records, and chronic disease management—based on the needs of Ping An Bank and its clients. This aims to achieve comprehensive coverage across the entire patient journey, encompassing pre-diagnosis, during-diagnosis, and post-diagnosis stages. Meanwhile, the corporate version of Good Doctor will also serve Ping An Bank’s corporate finance clients by establishing “Mobile Cloud Clinics,” helping these enterprise clients enhance the cost-effectiveness of their employee health management and medical welfare investments.
In terms of comprehensive financial services, Ping An Bank will assist Ping An Good Doctor in streamlining the payment process, exploring family-based medical credit lines, and enhancing the value of funds in personal health insurance and commercial insurance accounts. Furthermore, Ping An Bank will provide Ping An Good Doctor with a comprehensive suite of financial services, including electronic accounts, cash management, personal wealth management, and investment and financing solutions.
Novartis: To Deploy Five Major Categories of Oncology Drugs in China
Recently, Bruno Strigini, Global President of Novartis Oncology, revealed that Novartis is constructing a world-class innovative drug R&D center in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong, Shanghai. Upon completion, this facility will become Novartis’ third-largest global R&D center, following its R&D hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Boston area), USA, and its headquarters-based R&D center in Basel, Switzerland.
Bruno revealed that Novartis Oncology has currently prioritized its strategic layout across five key areas: breast cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma. In the treatment of hematologic malignancies, the covered indications already include chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), myelofibrosis, and multiple myeloma. Meanwhile, in the field of CML treatment, following Gleevec, a product named Tasigna has demonstrated higher molecular response rates and superior efficacy.
In the field of breast cancer treatment, Novartis is also poised to announce significant achievements, having demonstrated promising results in Phase III clinical trials of its CDK4/6 inhibitors. In the future, by leveraging its already marketed breast cancer drug Femara and renal cell carcinoma drug Afinitor in China, Novartis will maintain an internationally leading position in its product portfolio.
China's First Electronic Medical Record Database Project Officially Completed
Recently, the acceptance conference for the Foshan Resident Electronic Medical Record Database System (Phase I) project was successfully held, marking the successful implementation of China’s first electronic medical record database project. Jointly developed by the Foshan Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission and Neusoft, the project completed its Phase I construction after two years.
It is reported that the first phase of the project will integrate five hospitals, including the First People’s Hospital of Foshan, to enable compatibility with heterogeneous systems across various medical institutions and establish unified data exchange standards and content. The project aims to achieve standardized coding of electronic medical record (EMR) content for consistent presentation across medical institutions, develop unified EMR templates for standardized display of medical record data, and implement functions such as cross-institutional patient identification and data archiving.
He Liquan, Deputy General Manager of Kingdee Medical, stated: “The key innovations of the Foshan Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Database System project include the establishment of a regional EMR dataset standard aligned with international and domestic standards such as HL7. Based on this standard, rapid achievement of information interoperability, transparent sharing, and business collaboration is enabled. Furthermore, through data analysis and utilization within the EMR database system, the project helps physicians enhance their diagnostic and treatment capabilities and standardize clinical practices; assists hospitals in improving clinical service delivery and management capabilities; and provides robust data support for medical research. These efforts collectively further elevate the capacity and quality of healthcare services, thereby improving patients’ healthcare experience.”
Kaiyi Hospital, with a total investment of $100 million, officially settles in Wuxi
On December 17, Kaiyi Hospital, the first general hospital established in China by Columbia Pacific Management Group, was officially launched in Wuxi, marking it as Wuxi’s first foreign-invested general hospital. The hospital is planned to cover an area of approximately 36 mu, with a total investment of USD 100 million, and is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2017.
It is reported that Columbia Pacific Management Group, headquartered in Seattle, USA, is the largest assisted living and healthcare investment group in the United States, with over 40 years of experience in the medical industry. Kaiyi Hospital will introduce Columbia Pacific’s international management and healthcare concepts, provide high-standard allocation of medical resources, and serve as a model project for promotion and implementation in other regions of China.
Doctor Review Website Vitals Raises $41 Million in Series D Funding
Recently, the physician review website Vitals announced that it had secured $41 million in Series D financing, led by Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Since its founding in 2008, Vitals has raised a total of $86.32 million. The funds from this round will be used to expand Vitals’ platform and products.
Vitals was founded in 2007. Its product is a review website similar to Dianping, but focused on rating physicians. Patients can post reviews of doctors on Vitals regardless of whether they have actually consulted them; additionally, users can find suitable physicians based on reviews from other patients. Each month, Vitals’ 9 million users browse 6.5 million user reviews covering more than 1.7 million physicians on Vitals.com, a volume that surpasses other comparable platforms such as ZocDoc, Healthgrades, and RateMDs.com.
Vitals also provides web tools and analytics services to healthcare providers, helping them streamline workflows, attract users, and foster user loyalty. Additionally, Vitals offers health insurers a platform to connect with patients and guide them toward high-quality, cost-effective care.