London-based HealthTech firm Medopad has announced a rebrand as it acquires two UK tech start-ups.
Medopad, now called Huma, has acquired AI and wearable technology businesses, BioBeats and TLT.
The firm, which has offices in New York and Shanghai boasts partners including Apple, Tencent, J&J, Bayer, Johns Hopkins University and the NHS. The company has raised more than $50m from Bayer, NWS Holdings and more.
The rebrand and acquisitions are part of the company’s goal to use insights gathered by remote monitoring to help healthcare, life sciences and innovation partners understand, treat and prevent poor health.
London-based BioBeats is a digital health and artificial intelligence start-up that specialises in creating corporate and personal wellness solutions.
The company, founded in 2013, creates software which identifies stress patterns using smartphones and wearable device sensors after a collaboration with Google.
Its mobile app, paired with biosensors and a wearable device, gathers biometric data (e.g. heart rate variability) and psychometric measures to provide users with a personalised wellbeing score.
Combining applied research and AI, its BioBase product is designed to improve mental health through tailored insights, biofeedback tools and digital therapeutics for a preventative mental health intervention.
David Plans, BioBeats co-founder and CEO commented, “We share a vision with Huma for pioneering preventative health. We want people to go from simply surviving to thriving.
“By creating clinically-validated products to predict, diagnose and treat mental health disorders, we allow everyone to flourish. We are excited to join Huma to realise our ambition for preventative mental health and wellbeing to people around the world.
“With Huma’s experience, global partners and innovation capabilities, we look forward to joining the Huma team to help people live longer, fuller lives.”
TLT is a Hertfordshire-based medical technology which has created technology for blood pressure monitoring with a wearable device on a person’s wrist.
Its sensor utilises light modulation to detect motion, including continuous beat-by-beat flow motion forces that determine arterial blood pressure.
Through this new, clinically-validated technology, it provides continuous blood pressure monitoring without a cuff.
Tamir Strauss, Huma’s Head of Customer Solutions & Hardware said: “We were attracted to the patented technology and the innovative approach to monitoring blood pressure, a field that has remained unchanged for nearly 100 years. We saw an opportunity to help create new cardiovascular and other digital biomarkers with the unique dataset the device generates.”
Former UK Secretary of State for Health The Right Honourable Alan Milburn has also been appointed as chairman of the Huma board of directors. He served as a Member of Parliament for Darlington from 1992 until 2010, including serving as Health Secretary from 1999 until 2003.
Since leaving government, he has focussed on the health sector through a number of global roles. He is Chairman of the European Advisory Board at Bridgepoint Capital and Chair of PwC’s UK Health Industry Oversight Board. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He also serves as Chancellor of Lancaster University.
Milburn said: “I’m pleased to work with Huma to help transform the health sector by developing a new understanding of the human body through digital biomarkers.
“We’re at the very early stages of what could be breakthroughs in how we understand health, diagnose and treat illnesses and Huma could become a true leader in this promising new area for life sciences, innovation partners and healthcare.”