Private equity has touched nearly every corner of healthcare from cardiovascular to orthopedics, but does it have a place in gastroenterology? Robbie Allen, CEO of One GI, recently connected with Becker’s to discuss what role private equity should play in gastroenterology. Read More
Author: Praveen Suthrum
We read with interest the Article by Eva Morris and colleagues,
United Digestive acquires Florida GI group | Ingestible sensor to detect GI disorders Ingestible sensor could help doctors pinpoint GI difficulties (MIT News)The sensor sends out its location as it moves through the GI tract, revealing where slowdowns in digestion may occur. United Digestive Acquires GGN and GEC, Strengthening Its Position as a Leader in GI Care (PR Newswire)This is the third Florida-based group to join United Digestive and represents the company’s first acquisition of 2023. How to ‘see through the hype’: 6 hospital digital, GI leaders on AI’s potential for gastroenterology (Becker’s GI & Endoscopy)AI is becoming increasingly common…
I asked Jonathan Ng, founder and CEO of Iterative Health (formerly known as Iterative Scopes, an AI in GI startup) why investors recently gave them $150 million in funding. We didn’t exactly get to the answer but I can fathom a thesis. Iterative Health’s investors include the founders of Flatiron: Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg. A digital health company that advances cancer research. Pharma company Roche acquired Flatiron for $1.9 billion in 2018. Other investors of Iterative Health include Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly amongst others. Further key team members from Flatiron have been joining Iterative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9P87G-1D_I&feature=emb_imp_woyt My reading of the play here is straightforward. It’s possible that…
Gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Owens did a thought experiment during the pandemic period. He asked himself, what would I do with my time if I’m not doing as many colonoscopies? That question led him to leave his large GI group to start up a multi-specialty GI group that takes advantage of the trends shaping the future of GI. For example, trends such as value based care, the microbiome, AI, colonics, single-use devices, genomic tests, liquid biopsy and so on. As he implies, Mike literally implemented the central premise of the book Scope Forward to build future on his own terms. He stands as a great example for GI…
Dr. Larry Kosinski needs no introduction. As a leader, he’s known for innovating, for breaking away from the norm and be a guiding light for the industry. After a successful private practice career, he helped his group transition to a PE platform to work on SonarMD, a venture-funded company he founded. Now, he’s onto a surprising new startup, a stool-smelling e-nose called Voconomics (patent filed). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQf_t2jjWWA&feature=emb_imp_woyt In this freewheeling interview, we chat about everything that GI doctors must pay attention to. The risks of running non-diversified “colonoscopy factories” (as he calls them). The shift to digital that would catch most of the industry by surprise. How…
As I write this note, I’m beginning to wonder what GI care means anymore. Just a few years ago, we were so sure of the role of the gastroenterologist in clinical care. Today, a flurry of digital innovations are urging the clinician to rethink her/his role. Surgeon and scientist and CEO of Alimetry, Professor Greg O’Grady reaffirmed how exponential technologies could make current clinical skills relatively obsolete. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tPy7Uj2zgQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt Gastric Alimetry is a FDA approved device (below) that non-invasively senses motility of the stomach. Sensors capture activity of the stomach, relay it to an app, advanced algorithms spot patterns and generate a report for the clinician.…
Data is indeed the new oil. Consider the strangeness of the scenario. GI doctors are supplying the fuel everyday that’s going to set the old norm on fire but don’t realize it. Because they are too busy generating the data! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIVaYNC5G2M&feature=emb_imp_woyt The wrong approach to this scenario is to fear this shift to digital and block it. You really can’t. It’s multiplying exponentially. The right approach is to figure out how to play the game or prepare for this changing scenario. Educate yourself on the future of GI and go there before the industry gets there. Erik’s company Centaur Labs…
In November 2021, a month after Dr. Haytham Gareer joined Geneoscopy as CMO, the company raised $105 million in funding. The company is developing an RNA analysis platform to detect colorectal cancer (to be launched in 2023). A clinical study showed that when compared against the gold-standard colonoscopy, the platform demonstrated better sensitivity data in detecting advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer than other non-invasive tests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrWqo4f4Mec&feature=emb_imp_woyt Dr. Gareer says Geneoscopy is going to increase the number of colonoscopies being performed. However, it’s obvious to me that digital biology is disrupting not just GI but many other specialties that are diagnosing cancer. I couldn’t hold my…
While COVID was on and people sought help through meditation apps, the business world of behavioral health made a big announcement. Headspace (an app started by a former Buddhist monk) merged with Ginger.io to create Headspace Health in a $3 billion merger. You read that right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDpIarkSVJs&feature=emb_imp_woyt It’s only natural that behavioral health showed up in gastroenterology. Curious, I reached out to GI psychologists Dr. Megan Riehl from Michigan Medicine and Dr. Madison Simons from Cleveland Clinic. What were these large institutions up to in this space? Why were they hiring psychogastroenterologists? Was there patient demand for something like this? What role would cognitive behavior therapy…