Coffee Talk: How Digital Health Startups Respond and Thrive in a Global Pandemic

10/12/20 • 17 min

Digital Health Today 360 with Dan Kendall

Imagine this: You’re the founder of a digital health startup. You’ve been carefully selected and invited to participate in a brand new accelerator in Barcelona. At the start of the year, you say goodbye to your friends and family, you find a place in Barcelona to call home, and you focus on growing your business with the mentorship and support of one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

And then, COVID-19 happens.

How does that impact your strategy? How will it affect your success? And will the fight you wage for survival have an impact the healthcare sector at large?

In this Coffee Talk we speak with Carlos Gallardo, the CEO and Founder of CG Health Ventures and a board member at Almirall. He has invested personally in about a dozen companies - including Washington DC-based Babyscripts, whose co-founder Juan Pablo Segura was a guest on episode 67. Carlos is based in Barcelona, and he often takes an active role in helping his companies develop their product market fit.

Background:

At the end of 2019, Almirall selected and invited 4 companies to participate in their first cohort - aka "First Harvest" - at the Digital Garden in beautiful Barcelona. Like all things in 2020, the plans had to change to adapt to our new reality. In the face of this global crisis, the startups have embraced and benefited from opportunities that no one predicted in January. And Almirall itself has benefited from the Digital Garden as well.

In October 2020, Almirall launched their call for their second cohort - or, as they like to call it - their "Second Harvest."

Find out more by visiting the Almirall Digital Garden Website. Applications are open until October 31, 2020, so don’t delay.

View transcript

Links and Resources:

Apply to Almirall Digital Garden - Deadline is Oct 31, 2020!
Connect with Carlos Gallardo: LinkedIn | CG Health Ventures

Digital Garden's First Harvest:

Connect on Digital Health Today:

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And then, COVID-19 happens.

How does that impact your strategy? How will it affect your success? And will the fight you wage for survival have an impact the healthcare sector at large?

Background:

In October 2020, Almirall launched their call for their second cohort - or, as they like to call it - their "Second Harvest."

Find out more by visiting the Almirall Digital Garden Website. Applications are open until October 31, 2020, so don’t delay.

View transcript

Links and Resources:

Apply to Almirall Digital Garden - Deadline is Oct 31, 2020!
Connect with Carlos Gallardo: LinkedIn | CG Health Ventures

Digital Garden's First Harvest:

Connect on Digital Health Today:

Browse Episodes | Twitter | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram

Connect on Health Podcast Network:

Browse Shows | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Thank you to:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

S11: #108 - What the Clearance of Akili's EndeavorRX Means for the Company, Users and the Industry

If you’ve been tuned into nearly any news channel recently, you’ve probably seen the announcement by Akili about the clearance they announced on June 15 for their product EndeavorRX. It is the first prescription treatment delivered through a video game which is designed to treat Pediatric ADHD. This was quickly followed by an announcement on June 23, 2020 of their CE Mark certification.

Like many of you I’ve been tracking the work and progress at Akili for a long time, and I was excited to hear about this important milestone, and when the Akili team contacted me to see if I wanted to have a closer look at and try Endeavor RX, I couldn’t resist.

I’ve downloaded it to my iPad and gave it a try, and I’m impressed. I can’t speak to the clinical aspects of the product, but based on the standards and expectations that we have from consumer focused products, this was a great experience. It’s well-designed, was easy to get set up, and it uses a great combination of graphics and sounds to engage the player. I love the way they are positioning this with the simple and memorable tagline - “Play your medicine”. That sort of sums it up.

To learn more about the importance of this milestone and go a little deeper behind the headlines, I grabbed a few minutes to connect with Eddie Martucci, the Co-Founder and CEO at Akili Interactive Labs.

Eddie shares what the recent FDA clearance and CE Mark approval mean to the business. We also discuss the commercialization plans, the volume and value of data created by digital tools, and how Digital Medicine and Digital Therapeutics will continue to transform the relationship between companies and people.

View transcript

Links and Resources:

Connect with Eddie Martucci, PhD: Twitter | LinkedIn
Connect with Akili Interactive Labs: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn
Read the Press Release for FDA Clearance
Read the Press Release for CE Mark Certification
Lancet Digital Health Journal summary for STARS-ADHD
Download the App

Connect on Digital Health Today:

Browse Episodes | Twitter | Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram

Connect on Health Podcast Network:

Browse Shows | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Digital Health Today is made possible by the support of our sponsors. Thank you to:

Next Episode

Coffee Talk: How Corporations Adapt in the Face of New Challenges

In this episode I welcome two executives from Bayer G4A. Bayer G4A has been a longtime sponsor of Digital Health Today. I caught up with Dominick Kennerson, Global Head G4A, Digital Health Partnerships at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. I also spoke with Sophie Park. Sophie is a veteran guest on the Digital Health Today program, and the Chief Strategist for Bayer G4A Partnerships.

Dominick shared how a chance meeting at a Washington, D.C. bar began his path to a career in Europe. We also spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on the Bayer organization, and how it has changed the expectations and opportunities for companies of all sizes working to make a dent in healthcare. He also traces the early use of the term 'digital health' back to his time at Revolution Health.

Agents of Change - A Virtual Digital Health Forum:

Earlier this year, Bayer G4A had a call for applications. They are looking for innovative companies that are ready to make a difference in specific key challenge areas. After months of hard work and vetting all the applicants, they’re about to announce the finalists for this year’s Bayer G4A Program. While we don’t know the companies they’ve selected at the time of this recording, they will be announced very soon at a global virtual event taking place at 11am Eastern (5PM CET) on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.

So, if you’re listening to this episode on or before Nov 18, click here to register to attend.

And - if you missed it, scroll down to find names and links to the companies that have been accepted.

Now without further ado, let’s tune into the conversation with Dominick Kennerson and Sophie Park

View Transcript

Meet the 2020 G4A Partners in the G4A Program!

Caria - Manage menopause with confidence.
Decipher Biosciences - A commercial-stage precision oncology company committed to improving patient care
Sweetch - A clinically validated, personalized, AI disease management optimization platform.
Oncare - Connects you with your care team, so that they can digitally support you in your therapy
Elly - Daily motivation and support for people living with a chronic condition