A Roundup of the latest MedTech News: The top stories you need to know in medical technology and business.
BetterDoctor, a technology platform for validating government-mandated provider information, has been acquired by Quest Analytics for an undisclosed sum. The combined company, led by BetterDoctor CEO Ari Tulla, stands to benefit from consolidated data management and network analysis capabilities as it aims to helps providers avoid costly data inaccuracies. Continue reading here.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of the lawsuit-riddled medical testing startup Theranos, has officially been indicted on charges of wire fraud. If convicted, she and her former COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, face up to 20 years in jail for allegedly defrauding investors, doctors, and patients. Continue reading here.
A recent filing with the U.S. Patent and Technology office suggests Walmart is exploring methods to apply blockchain and wearable technology to electronic medical records, for secure, decentralized storage of patient information. While the technology may or may not be years from completion, it highlights Walmart’s diversification efforts in the wake of increased competition from the likes of Amazon. Should Walmart undertake this effort, it would find itself in the company of several other non-healthcare giants that have attempted to move into the space, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Continue reading here.
A year and a half after merging with one of its competitors, GoodRx is in acquisition talks that could value the Silicon Valley startup up to $3.0B. GoodRx provides drug transparency tools to its under- and uninsured users, offering them coupons to significantly reduce the price of their prescription medications (up to 80%, according to GoodRx). Though large PBMs are suspected to be in play, full details of the buyer and acquisition price have yet to be disclosed. Continue reading here.
The FDA announced updates to its software pre-certification program, re-emphasizing the program’s focus on startups and small companies while promising future updates that will include processes for certifying software components of existing medical devices. The program as it stands has set up a streamlined process for FDA approval for software related products by certifying firms as opposed to individual products, given the speed of development in the space. Continue reading here.
