For the second month in a row venture capital fundraising among healthcare startups is down year-over-year, according to an analysis conducted for Forbes by Pitchbook. Spread among 128 deals, healthcare startups raised $1.5 billion in venture capital funding in March.
Bright Health, the Minneapolis-based health-insurance startup that provides health plans for individuals and families and to seniors, made $145 million in gross revenue in 2018, its second year offering health plans. According to state filings, Bright lost $17.5 million in 2018, the same as in 2017. At the same time, it doubled its membership base to more than 24,000 from 12,000.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc shares fell 13 percent on Tuesday after the company cut its 2019 earnings forecast and reported a disappointing quarterly profit in the face of stubbornly low generic drug prices in a crowded market.
Americans borrowed an estimated $88 billion to pay for health care last year and one in four people skipped care because of costs, according to a new Gallup survey funded by a nonpartisan health group. The nationwide survey of 3,537 adults also found that lower-income adults were more likely to skip care or fear bankruptcy over spiraling medical costs. But even affluent households have deferred care over concerns about finances.
Bristol-Myers Squibb won endorsements from two key advisory firms on Friday for its acquisition of Celgene, making the deal much more likely to pass muster with shareholders. For holders of Celgene, the endorsements make the stock a little less interesting, because it rose on the news and is now a lot closer to the deal price. That led UBS analyst Carter Gould to downgrade Celgene stock (ticker: CELG) to Neutral from Buy on Monday.
A financial recovery effort at Southwest Memorial Hospital is gaining momentum, officials said during a public forum Wednesday. About 40 residents and hospital staff attended the quarterly joint board meeting between the Montezuma County Hospital District and Southwest Health System, the nonprofit corporation that operates the hospital.