HealthiestYou Secures $30M Funding; Fossil to Acquire Misfit for $260M
Today's Highlights:
Fossil Group to Acquire Misfit for $260 Million
Tu Youyou to Attend Nobel Prize Award Ceremony on December 10
Firestone Maps Out a New Landscape for the Healthcare Industry, Joins Forces with WeDoctor Group to Launch an Innovation Lab
Jiangsu to Ban Outpatient IV Infusions in Hospitals at Level II and Above Starting Next Year, with Children’s Hospitals Exempted
HealthiestYou, a Health Management Company, Secures $30 Million in Funding
HealthiestYou Secures $30 Million in Funding from Frontier Capital for Its Employee Health Management App
The app, named HY, is available for both iOS and Android. Employees can use the app to locate nearby pharmacies, read reviews, and view pharmacy ratings and background information. Additionally, employees can compare prices for over 500 medications across more than 100,000 pharmacies and set price alerts to safeguard their interests and save money. Over the past two weeks, employees have also been able to consult with doctors via video calls on HY through online platforms, mobile devices, and television.
According to the company, more than 4,000 employers in the United States use the HY APP.
HealthiestYou, founded in 2012, launched its app for the first time this March. Prior to this, HealthiestYou provided services exclusively to online paying members.
Fossil Group to Acquire Misfit for $260 Million
On November 12, U.S. watchmaker Fossil announced that it would acquire health wearable manufacturer Misfit for $260 million. Sonny Vu, CEO and co-founder of Misfit, will serve as Chief Technology Officer of the Fossil Group. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Fossil’s brand portfolio includes Skagen and Zodiac, and it also manufactures watches under contract for brands such as Adidas and Burberry. With annual watch shipments of approximately 50 million units, Fossil’s acquisition of Misfit reflects its strategic pivot from a fashion-focused brand to the smart wearable market.
Misfit was founded in 2011 and has secured a total of $63 million across three rounds of financing to date. The company’s flagship product is a fashion-forward smart wristband. Approximately one month ago, Misfit launched in ChinaShine 2Fitness tracker. Misfit has also engaged in deep collaborations with fashion brands such as Speedo and Swarovski.
Misfit’s sales in China account for 30%–40% of its total volume. The company secured investments from Xiaomi, JD.com, Shunwei Capital, and GGV Capital at the end of last year, raising a total of $64.4 million.
Greg McKelvey, Fossil’s Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Digital Officer, stated that Fossil would integrate Misfit’s functionalities, design, and brand. Misfit’s innovations in battery life were particularly attractive to Fossil. Furthermore, Fossil would absorb all of Misfit’s employees.
Tu Youyou to Attend Nobel Prize Award Ceremony on December 10
On November 13, sources from the Swedish Nobel Committee revealed that Chinese scientist Tu Youyou had agreed to attend the 2015 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony.
In addition, Chinese scientist Chen Qijun, who has made outstanding contributions in the same field as Tu Youyou, was invited to attend the award ceremony and deliver a conference presentation. It is reported that the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony will be held on December 10 at the Stockholm Concert Hall in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, with the Nobel Banquet to take place on the same day at the Stockholm City Hall.
Tu Youyou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her outstanding contributions to the discovery of artemisinin and its application in the treatment of malaria, becoming the first Chinese female scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in the sciences.
Firestone Charts a New Map for the Healthcare Industry, Joining Hands with WeDoctor Group to Build an Innovation Lab
On November 5, the 2015 China Medical and Health Industry Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference was held in Hangzhou. At the conference, Yang Hongfei, Founder and CEO of Huoshi Creation, stated that, with a disease-centric approach, Huoshi would provide industry roadmaps for healthcare entrepreneurs and investors and launch a Joint Innovation Lab.
Yang Hongfei believes that entrepreneurship in China’s healthcare sector can currently be described by three words: randomness, disorder, and difficulty in getting started.
Yang Hongfei stated that to address these issues, Huoshi has developed an Entrepreneurship Map designed to help entrepreneurs understand the positioning of their projects within the same field both domestically and internationally. Centered on diseases, the Entrepreneurship Map covers three major categories: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and services. By simply entering a specific disease type, users can determine how many companies are currently operating in that field and whether their primary business focuses on pharmaceuticals, devices, or services. This tool aids entrepreneurs in driving innovation and identifying their niche within the Map.
In addition to the Entrepreneurship Map, Huoshi will also launch a Joint Innovation Lab. Its objective is clear: to center on diseases, map out methods and key technologies for disease management, and foster collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship by bringing together physicians, entrepreneurs, industry resources, and capital. Notably, this Innovation Lab is being developed in partnership with WeDoctor Group (formerly known as Guahao.com). Healthcare entrepreneurs launching ventures on this platform will not only receive expert guidance, seed funding, and technology sharing, but also gain access to WeDoctor Group’s user base, thereby addressing the common challenge of user acquisition in the early stages. This provides critical support for healthcare projects.
Jiangsu to Ban Outpatient IV Infusions in Hospitals at Level II and Above Starting Next Year, with Children’s Hospitals Exempted
On November 11, the Jiangsu Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Clinical Application of Antibacterial Drugs," stipulating that outpatient clinics are no longer permitted to prescribe intravenous infusion medications. Patients requiring such treatment must seek care in emergency departments or be hospitalized.
Specific regulations are as follows: Starting from July 1, 2016, all hospitals at the secondary level and above (excluding children's hospitals) throughout the province will completely cease intravenous infusion of antibiotics for outpatients; by the end of 2016, these hospitals will completely discontinue all intravenous infusions for outpatients.
However, children's hospitals, emergency departments, and community hospitals are not included in the current restrictions.