Healthcare Analytics
Business Wire | October 04, 2023
AirLife, a leading North American manufacturer and distributor of consumable medical devices for anesthesia and respiratory care formerly known as SunMed, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Avanos Medical, Inc.’s (NYSE: AVNS) (“Avanos”) respiratory health business, including the BALLARD*, MICROCUFF* and endOclear® product lines.
The acquisition adds three complementary brands, the R&D expertise behind them and two manufacturing facilities into AirLife’s growing platform. The transaction advances AirLife’s strategy to enhance its leading portfolio of the most trusted products in anesthesia and respiratory care and serve even more customers as a one-stop source for the highest-quality consumable breathing solutions that support the best patient outcomes.
“We’re thrilled to complete this exciting milestone in AirLife’s evolution as we strengthen our leadership as a premier, completely dedicated consumable breathing products company,”
said Hank Struik, AirLife CEO.
We are especially pleased to welcome the exceptional team that has driven the success of these market leading brands to our company. As some of the most trusted closed suction and endotracheal consumables used to treat patients in critical care, this addition to AirLife unlocks new opportunities to accelerate our growth, serve more healthcare practitioners and drive innovation across our comprehensive portfolio of leading brands.
[Source – Business Wire]
Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal counsel to AirLife.
About AirLife
AirLife, formerly known as SunMed and headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan with manufacturing and distribution sites in the United States, Mexico, China and Europe, is a leading medical device manufacturer, offering one of the most comprehensive portfolios of consumable anesthesia and respiratory care products. AirLife’s product portfolio spans the continuum of care from first responders to hospitals and home care, with safety, patient comfort and clinical performance in mind. AirLife’s comprehensive portfolio of trusted anesthesia products and respiratory care include premier brands such as Salter Labs®, Ethox Medical™, Ventlab™, Westmed™, AirLife™ and Vital Signs™. Currently, AirLife has over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space, providing comprehensive expertise in all plastics materials and conversion—supported by a world-class Quality Management System. Frazier Healthcare Partners, a leading healthcare investment firm, acquired a majority ownership stake in AirLife in 2021.
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Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
PR Newswire | September 29, 2023
Virgin Pulse, a leading global digital-first health, wellbeing, and navigation company, today announced its intent to merge with HealthComp, a next-generation benefits and analytics platform. The merger will create a technology and data powered health platform-as-a-service organization poised to tackle some of the industry's biggest challenges. The combined entity will aim to improve health outcomes and lower costs for members and employers by empowering better information and decision making. By using an advanced technology and data platform that leverages AI, the combined organization will deploy innovative and flexible health plan designs that drive improved member health outcomes, engagement, and awareness across the most important aspects of a person's healthcare journey.
As the healthcare industry evolves, the desire for an integrated experience in the employer-sponsored benefits ecosystem has grown exponentially. This combination will create a set of assets that will integrate plan design, plan management, payment integrity, health navigation, preventative care, and digital therapeutics through the Homebase for Health® user-centric platform. Together, the combined entity expects these assets will create a better experience and lower costs for members and employers, while providing expanded opportunities for insurers and brokers to continue to partner with the combined entity.
"This combination with HealthComp creates a new category in the health space that will change the way employers address the two-fold challenge of reducing costs and improving member outcomes. Our two companies have a shared mission to improve individual outcomes by engaging users early and often, and making health and wellbeing more accessible, affordable, and personal for all," said Chris Michalak, Virgin Pulse CEO. "Together, we are addressing a problem that has plagued the industry for years – a misaligned, complex benefit structure that results in unmet needs and escalating costs. We are eliminating waste, friction, and preventable risks by putting members and their needs at the center of the ecosystem."
"Self-insured employers pay for almost half of the nation's healthcare expenditures and now require more innovative and affordable solutions,"
said Chad Harris, HealthComp CEO.
"With concierge-level service, rich analytics, and expert medical cost management, HealthComp ensures that employers can make informed benefits decisions that align with the needs of their employees and businesses. Powered by Virgin Pulse's daily wellbeing engagement and data-driven personalization, this transaction creates an end-to-end platform that will radically lower costs and improve member outcomes."
[Source – PRNews Wire]
"The combination of Virgin Pulse and HealthComp creates the first national value-based care platform company focused on employee health and outcomes. We are excited to work with Morgan Health, Blackstone, and Marlin to bring innovation at scale to this market," said Matt Holt, President, Private Equity and Managing Director at New Mountain Capital.
"We have been working to build an innovation platform company in the employer space for more than five years. This transaction represents a significant milestone by forming a leading platform-as-a-service company focused on delivering better outcomes and greater affordability," added Kyle Peterson, Managing Director at New Mountain Capital.
"The employer-employee health landscape is ripe for change and the mission of the combined HealthComp and Virgin Pulse is aligned with Morgan Health's mission to improve the quality, equity, and affordability of employer-sponsored health care," said Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health.
Upon closing of the transaction, Chris Michalak will serve as CEO of the combined entity, where he will continue building upon the Homebase for Health vision and expanding the value proposition for clients and the market at large. The combined entity will serve more than 20 million members and address costs for more than 1,000 self-insured employers. HealthComp's powerful analytics will also benefit Virgin Pulse's health plan and health system clients by providing closed-loop data on health outcomes and the true ROI of investing in member experience and wellbeing programs.
The merger is expected to close in Q4 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of all closing conditions under the definitive agreement. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. HealthComp is backed by New Mountain Capital and Virgin Pulse is backed by Marlin Equity Partners. New Mountain Capital will be the majority owner of the combined entity. Blackstone Credit has committed to support the deal with strategic financing.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor to HealthComp. HealthComp's legal counsel was Ropes & Gray LLP. Evercore acted as financial advisor to Virgin Pulse, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP serving as legal advisors.
About Virgin Pulse
Virgin Pulse is a leading digital-first health, wellbeing, and navigation company that empowers organizations across the globe to activate populations, improve health outcomes, and reduce spend in an era of accelerating cost and complexity. Virgin Pulse's Homebase for Health® connects data, people, and technology to deliver high tech, human touch experiences that engage and reward individual journeys. Virgin Pulse impacts over 100 million people across 190 countries by helping Fortune 500, national health plans, and many other organizations change lives – and businesses – for good.
About HealthComp
HealthComp, a New Mountain Capital company, has a customized and responsive approach to health benefits administration. We advocate for our members to get the best possible care suited for their unique needs. Our next generation benefits and analytics platform brings together concierge-level service, best-in-class operations, powerful analytics, and expert medical cost management. HealthComp integrates seamlessly with any benefits ecosystem to drive a personalized experience that delivers higher clinical outcomes at lower costs. HealthComp has offices in California, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.
About New Mountain Capital
New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, credit and net lease investment strategies with over $45 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies.
About Marlin Equity Partners
Marlin Equity Partners is a global investment firm with approximately $9 billion of capital commitments. The firm is focused on providing corporate parents, shareholders and other stakeholders with tailored solutions that meet their business and liquidity needs. Marlin invests in businesses across multiple industries where its capital base, industry relationships and extensive network of operational resources significantly strengthen a company's outlook and enhance value. Since its inception, Marlin, through its group of funds and related companies, has successfully completed over 200 acquisitions.
About Morgan Health
Morgan Health is a JPMorgan Chase business unit focused on improving employer-sponsored health care. Through its investments and the advancement of accountable care, Morgan Health is working to improve the quality, equity and affordability of employer-sponsored health care for JPMorgan Chase employees, their families and the U.S. health system. The business is led by Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, reporting to Peter Scher, Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a member of the firm's Operating Committee. Morgan Health is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $1 trillion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
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Health Technology, AI
Aidoc | October 12, 2023
Aidoc, a pioneer in clinical AI technology, has entered into a collaborative partnership with Mayo Clinic Platform to enhance healthcare by facilitating access to Aidoc's AI technology and platform.
Aidoc uses AI to help medical teams in charge of diagnosing, caring for, and treating patients stay in touch with each other. This ensures that essential data is always available to make smart decisions about healthcare interventions and what to do next.
Ed Simcox, Vice President of Solutions at Mayo Clinic Platform, confirmed that Aidoc is well-positioned to deal with several common issues with AI-based healthcare solutions, such as the costs of implementing them only once. By eliminating these barriers, healthcare providers of varying scales can readily implement AI, promoting improved patient outcomes and enhancing the overall care experience.
Elad Walach, Aidoc's CEO, said,
We're excited about Mayo Clinic Platform's vision to transform care at scale. Together we are improving clinical workflows, enhancing patient outcomes and driving the evolution of healthcare through the power of AI.
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
Mayo Clinic has integrated Aidoc's innovative AI solutions for clinical decision support since 2020. Its collaboration with Mayo Clinic Platform is expanding access to these advanced tools for a broader range of healthcare providers and patients. Aidoc's offerings encompass 13 FDA-cleared image and partner algorithms, facilitating the prioritization of clinical findings. It also has a built-in risk stratification system, a mobile app for real-time notifications in time-sensitive cases, and seamless integration of EHR data, which makes it easier for people from different departments to talk to each other and coordinate care.
Aidoc's aiOS system confronts prevalent issues integrating artificial intelligence within practical healthcare environments. These challenges encompass the management of unstructured data, the efficient utilization of staff resources, the quantification of return on investment, and the resolution of fragmented organizational structures.
About Aidoc
Aidoc is a pioneering force in clinical AI, focusing on aiding and empowering healthcare teams to optimize patient treatment, resulting in improved economic value and clinical outcomes. Aidoc's proprietary aiOS builds the foundation for analyzing and aggregating medical data, enabling care teams to operationalize the unexpected and work seamlessly with a continued focus on the patient. Used in more than 1,000 medical centers worldwide, Aidoc has the most FDA clearances (13) in clinical AI, and its AI-based solutions cover 75% of patient populations, enabling physicians to make informed decisions based on real-time data.
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Health Technology
Business Wire | November 02, 2023
Absolute Software™, the leading provider of self-healing, intelligent security solutions, today announced the launch of Absolute Application Health. This new feature empowers digital enterprises to strengthen cyber resilience and boost end user productivity with the industry’s most resilient application health monitoring capabilities. With this latest innovation to the company’s Secure Endpoint product line, customers can monitor the health of more than 2,000 commonly used Windows and Mac applications – including security controls, business, and productivity tools – to ensure they are installed, running, and properly configured on all devices.
“Organizations deploy millions of endpoint devices to support growing remote workforces around the world, and they invest billions of dollars into security controls needed to protect their networks against advanced threats and costly compliance violations,” said Sarah Pavlak, Industry Principal, Frost & Sullivan. “Despite all these efforts and money spent, organizations continue to experience increasing attacks and complexity challenges that severely disrupt business operations. This is leading to a continual need for innovations that can mitigate software failures and close security gaps.”
Absolute’s 2023 Resilience Index reveals that on average, enterprise endpoint devices have 67 applications deployed, with 10 percent of these having more than 100 applications installed. In analyzing 10 of the most widely deployed security tools, the report also shows seven of those 10 apps were installed and healthy on less than 80 percent of deployed devices, on average. In some cases, apps were only functioning correctly 47 percent of the time.
said John Herrema, Chief Product Officer, Absolute Software.
Today’s digital enterprises are investing billions of dollars in mission-critical security and business tools, and we believe those applications should deliver their intended value. The complexity and fragility of endpoint applications, however, means that all too often they are failing. And if the tool you use to monitor your other applications is subject to those same failures, then you’re really in trouble, because it’s impossible to fix what you can’t reliably see or diagnose. This latest innovation builds on Absolute’s unique Persistence technology to provide the industry’s most resilient visibility and monitoring capabilities. This allows our customers to achieve maximum security, productivity, and return on their software investments.
[Source:Business Wire]
With Absolute Application Health, IT and security practitioners gain the deep visibility needed to ensure applications are installed, running, up-to-date, and properly configured across their entire device fleet. They also have access to detailed, interactive reports and widgets that enable them to swiftly diagnose why an application is failing and then take remedial action.
Embedded in the firmware of more than 600 million devices, Absolute’s patented Persistence® technology provides a secure, always-on connection between the Absolute Platform and the endpoint. The new Application Health feature leverages this digital tether to ensure health monitoring and reporting remains uninterrupted.
Absolute Application Health is available now to Absolute Secure Endpoint customers subscribed to eligible Absolute Resilience licenses. For more information, including how to access and activate this new feature, visit our latest blog.
About Absolute Software
Absolute Software makes security work. We empower mission-critical performance with advanced cyber resilience. Embedded in more than 600 million devices, our cyber resilience platform delivers endpoint-to-network access security coverage, ensures automated security compliance, and enables operational continuity. Nearly 21,000 global customers trust Absolute to protect enterprise assets, fortify security and business applications, and provide a frictionless, always-on user experience.
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