Investments in mobile healthcare applications are soaring – in the US at least!
According to MobihealthNews, the investments in mobile health applications in the United States increased more than twice from 2010 to 2011, based on total investments of $ 233 million in 2010 and counting over $ 500 million in 2011. Last year also brought a large number of new investment firms to the table, such as Qualcomm creating a $100 million wireless health venture fund (Qualcom Life Fund), the Washington D.C.-based investor group Hickory Ridge, setting up a $50 million investment fund to jump-start development in the mobile health market and the West Health Investment Fund, launching a $100 million investment fund in October. The scene on the Canadian side, it is quite different: while overall VC investments increased by 51% in the 3rd quarter of 2011 to C$ 388 million, very few investments were relating to mobile health investments. Latest announcements in Q4 include Quebec-based TechnoWait launching its virtual waiting room application in November 2011 and MaRS Innovation which announced end of December 2011 an investment in VitalHub, a spin-off of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital focusing on mobile, hand-held technologies for doctors, nurses and administers.
Creation of a new European e-Health Network, opeing of a telemedicine center in Germany, disappointing e-medication project in Austria
On December 22, 2011, the European Commission adopted the establishment of a
pan-European e-Health Network with the objective to find modern, innovative solutions for providing better and safer healthcare for all Europeans. National authorities are invited to join the e-Health Network on a voluntary basis.
In its press release, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli said
: "eHealth has the potential to deliver better healthcare to more people in a more sustainable manner. I am confident that the eHealth network will play a key role in making eHealth a reality across Europe: so that routine medical checks are performed in the comfort of our homes via telemonitoring; so that we take our ePrescription along with our eTicket when we travel, with the confidence that our medical information follows us everywhere in the EU; so that all Europeans can access the best possible healthcare wherever they are". The eHealth network is mandated to draw up guidelines on a minimum set of common data to be included in patients' summaries; on methods to enable the use of medical information for public health and medical research; and on common identification and authentication measures to ensure transferability of data in cross-border healthcare.
The German province North RhineWestphalia has already "joined the club" and is planning to open a
telemedicine center to provide health applications in the areas of teletherapie, telemonitoring and teleradiologie, besides others. The project budget for this initiative of 10 mill. Euro is jointly financed by the EU and North Rhine-Westphalia.
At the same time, the Association of Medicins in Austria declared that its
pilot project e-medication was a "total desaster" (according to its vice-president, Johannes Steinhart) due to a disappointing number of participating patients and doctors.
US medtech firms lauch first in Europe
What we had already noticed as a trend in June 2011, when attending a seminar on "Market Acces Germany", is being confirmed by Tom Sommer, CEO of MassMEDIC, the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council. He confirms the paralysing effect of FDA policies which are inciting US firms to launch their products in Europe, where the review process is more reliable and predictable (and as well much more cost-effective).
Listen to the interview.
