Health Distilled by Liverpool Lane

Entrepreneurial ecosystems, healthcare incumbents ⇄ startups, AI, nurse practitioners...

Andrew Steen — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Holding down the fort here in Louisville.

Two cool things people asked me not to talk about yet, so… 🤐

Tech-Enabled Healthcare Services

If you know me, you know that tech-enabled healthcare services have long been—dare I say it—my jam.

Tech-Enabled Healthcare Services Will Be the Winners of the AI Era

Alyssa Jaffee is a Partner at 7wire Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on digital health companies that empower individuals to take an active role in managing their health.

Second Opinion • Alyssa Jaffee

We can do tech-enabled healthcare services here.

Example given; homegrown and still Louisville-based 3DR Labs.

Speaking of homegrown…

"The median annual wage for registered nurses in the U.S. is $93,600, compared with $49,500 for all occupations, according to the Labor Department. For nurse practitioners and others with advanced degrees, it is $132,050.”

Nursing Is the Surefire New Path to American Prosperity

Plentiful jobs and potential six-figure incomes draw young people as other industries falter; ‘modern middle-class jobs engine’

www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/nursing-jobs-pay-prosperity-b2769391?st=8oK3Xf

Shared this last week in a different context; Nurse Practitioner Entrepreneurship Report 2024 by Chris Turitzin.

Double down with support, Louisville.

Colonoscopy patient outreach

This caught my attention. Why?

Atlantic Health Reduces Colonoscopy Screening Gaps Using Artera's AI Agents

/PRNewswire/ -- Colorectal cancer is expected to claim the lives of more than 55,000 Americans in 20262. Despite the fact that early-stage detection carries a...

Artera

From circa 2019—work by a local startup, MedaPrep, and UofL:

MedaPrep is no more, but this is an example of a healthcare incumbent helping to validate a concept. We need more of that.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems

“Our finding that hospitals serve as platforms for testing and validating healthcare innovations while acting as hubs for collaboration, resilience, and also the internationalization of the ecosystem, is [in] line with previous literature,” from Healthcare organizations in entrepreneurial ecosystems: an integrative framework and future research agenda.

More of that, Louisville.
Incumbent healthcare organizations, help local startups get signal.

Hold the Mayo

Pretty cool.

Accelerating AI innovation in healthcare: real-world clinical research applications on the Mayo Clinic Platform - npj Health Systems

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds promise for healthcare, but real-world implementation remains difficult. The Mayo clinic platform (MCP) addresses this by providing scalable, multi-institutional, de-identified data and analytical tools. Through four research projects, we demonstrate MCP’s ability to support efficient cohort identification, AI model development, and real-world evidence generation. MCP enables broader accessibility and standardization compared to institutional EHRs, positioning it as a powerful platform for advancing translational research and precision medicine.

Nature

Speaking of AI innovation in healthcare

Oh, and bitcoin.

Our next Louisville Health Innovation Meetup is Tuesday, April 14 at Mashup Food Hall.

Gil Roberts will give a short talk titled “Healthcare Innovation: Bitcoin & AI.” You'll want to hear it. But you have to register at the link below.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup · Luma

We connect the people building the future of healthcare in Louisville. Interested in healthcare, healthtech, digital health, the life sciences and adjacent…

luma.com/odr4mlb6

Sign up. Then show up!

Nothing AI generated.
Rock on.

Hospital market competitiveness, CVD, NPs, microbiome... Read on!

Andrew Steen — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

🌳 🤧

Market for inpatient hospital care

If my math skills serve me well, Norton and UofL Health control 77% of the market for inpatient hospital care in the Louisville MSA, according to KFF.

https://www.kff.org/health-costs/one-or-two-health-systems-controlled-the-entire-market-for-inpatient-hospital-care-in-nearly-half-of-metropolitan-areas/

Hercules! Hercules!

“AMCP Foundation’s Steven G. Avey Award is the highest honor in managed care pharmacy, recognizing visionary leaders for distinguished service and lasting contributions to the field.”

Shout out to William Fleming!

Steven G. Avey Award | amcpfoundation.org

AMCP Foundation’s Steven G. Avey Award is the highest honor in managed care pharmacy, recognizing visionary leaders for distinguished service and lasting contributions to the field. Nominate a colleague, peer, or mentor.

amcpfoundation.org/steven-avey-award?utm_content=374194458&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-10101423

Cardiovascular disease

Interesting perspective from 7wire Ventures. Here’s one of their four inflection points:

Also, I like a good market map.

https://www.7wireventures.com/perspectives/the-heart-of-the-matter-why-cardiovascular-disease-is-digital-healths-next-frontier/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Right, so read this…

Remote digital intervention targeting heart failure medical therapy: a randomized controlled trial

Heart failure (HF) causes substantial morbidity and mortality, in part because evidence-based pharmacotherapies remain underused. Remote, asynchronous…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667193X26000876

…and call our friends at Revitalized Solutions + All Hearts Cardiology.

Nurse practitioners

Prax Health is a platform that helps nurse practitioners start, run, and grow independent practices.

Special Announcement: Prax Health announces nearly $10 million in financing to help NPs open up independent practices

NPs seems like our best chance at meeting the provider shortage challenges, and Prax Health is building out infrastructure to help them meet this demand.

www.healthtechnerds.com/p/special-announcement-prax-health-announces-nearly-10-million-in-financing-to-help-nps-open-up-indepe

“Cool, but what does that have to do with Louisville,” you ask?

From Chris Turitzin’s Nurse Practitioner Entrepreneurship Report 2024:

Our last meetup

If you missed our March 24 Louisville Health Innovation Meetup, you missed hearing Ram Bastola share One Care Portal.

What you also might not know is that Ram works at Louisville-based 360care.

That’s cool.

Diet–microbiome associations

Neat paper.

“Our findings demonstrate that diet is strongly associated with microbiome composition, diversity and function, and highlight its potential for guiding personalized interventions.”

Diet–microbiome associations in 10,068 individuals from the Human Phenotype Project to guide personalized nutrition - Nature Medicine

Analyses of more than 10,000 participants from the Human Phenotype Project revealed distinct, persistent food–microbiome associations that can be used to simulate personalized dietary interventions to improve cardiometabolic health.

www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04312-x

Reminded me of this some 🤡 wrote in 2014. Another Nature publication from 2012 quoted in it; “A nursing-home diet has a marked effect on an individual’s gut microbiome.”

Nutrition and aging; a sub-niche for Louisville?

This tweet caught my attention in April 2014. Louisville is home to the largest concentration of nursing-home and extended-care companies in the nation. Aging Care Atria Senior Living, Inc., in par…

louisvillelifescience.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/nutrition-and-aging-a-sub-niche-for-louisville

Yeah.

Healthcare innovation runs on relationships.

We’ve built relationships.

Let’s build more.

Local startup funding, AMC VC, 👼s, dementia care...

Andrew Steen — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

From our radar to yours…

RAAPID round

Making sure y’all didn’t miss this. Louisville-based RAAPID.

RAAPID Secures Series-A Extension to Scale Neuro-Symbolic AI-Powered Medical Coding

UPMC Enterprises joins M12 (Microsoft's venture fund) in backing RAAPID's compliance-first Clinical AI Platform for Medicare Advantage risk adjustment and medical coding.

www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260318977628/en/RAAPID-Secures-Series-A-Extension-to-Scale-Neuro-Symbolic-AI-Powered-Medical-Coding

UPMC Enterprises is the innovation, commercialization, and venture capital arm of UPMC, a $28 billion health care provider and insurer based in Pittsburgh, PA.

AMC VC investments

Related…

Venture Capital Investments by Academic Medical Centers in Health Care Companies

This cross-sectional study investigates how US academic medical centers used their own venture capital funds to invest in early-stage health care companies from 2014 to 2024.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2840371

As defined by Definitive Healthcare, “academic medical centers (AMCs) are hospitals that provide patient care and educate healthcare providers in partnership with at least one medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).”

VC investment in neurology companies

“This study found substantial growth in VC investment in neurology companies.”

Venture Capital Investment in Neurology Companies

This cross-sectional study categorizes and quantifies temporal and thematic trends in investment in neurology from 2000 to 2023.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2831632

Angels

“In this paper, we document the professional origins of angel investors and explore how different backgrounds shape investment strategies and performance.”

Where do angels come from?

Angel investing offers experienced entrepreneurs an opportunity to contribute to entrepreneurial ecosystems, with prior entrepreneurial experience bel…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119925000835

👼

(Multi-)omics and AI

I’d add a big ‘ol dollop of GIS on there, too.

npj Digital Medicine publication on the “convergence of (multi-)omics and artificial intelligence is transforming precision medicine by enabling data-driven diagnostics, treatment prediction, and patient stratification.” And lagging regulatory frameworks.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-026-02553-1

Y’all know UofL has a Center for Geographic Information Sciences, yeah?

Persons with dementia

This piece from UKNOW features work by Alaine E. Reschke-Hernandez, PhD, MT-BC with the IMAGN Lab.

UK study: ‘Person-centered care’ improves lives of dementia residents, caregivers

A new University of Kentucky study shows that prioritizing joy and engagement through enrichment activities is vital for the health of both residents and the caregivers who support them. This research highlights how advancing Kentucky’s health care means looking beyond standard measures to support the holistic well-being of the aging population.

uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-study-person-centered-care-improves-lives-dementia-residents-caregivers

“Staff also benefit from reduced stress and improved morale.”

Really interesting findings.

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AI, older adults, a request for startups, a Reconstruct Challenge recipient 'n more...

Andrew Steen — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

🏀

Leqembi study

This study, published in Nature Communications, was based on a collaboration between the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Norton Neuroscience Institute in Louisville. Really cool, ICYMI.

UK study finds blood clues to serious side effects of new Alzheimer’s drug

A team of University of Kentucky researchers has uncovered a surprising clue in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease that could help doctors predict, and ultimately prevent, a common side effect of the newest generation of Alzheimer’s therapies. Their findings, recently published in Nature Communications, reveal a distinct immune “fingerprint” in the blood of patients who develop amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) after treatment with lecanemab — the first FDA-approved drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s disease progression. The study was recognized as an Editors’ Highlight by Nature Communications, a designation the journal reserves for research its editors consider particularly noteworthy and impactful.

uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-study-finds-blood-clues-serious-side-effects-new-alzheimer-s-drug

Also, ponder this concept; the Louisville aging-care cluster as the clinical research arm for the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

Clinical trials and AI

“Even if AI can help design more effective drugs, timelines will not compress until we solve the operational and regulatory bottlenecks of trials.”

AI Won't Automatically Accelerate Clinical Trials

A critique of a snippet from Dario Amodei and Dwarkesh Patel’s recent interview.

press.asimov.com/articles/ai-clinical-trials?_bhlid=b2b66a55a6ded8ea4af395b6db3c43c57c361efd

Sounds legit. What say you, ACRP Kentucky Chapter?

Pear VC Request for Startups

Pear leads and co-leads pre-seed and seed rounds.

Healthcare themes in their request for startups:

Verified consumer health marketplaces
Foundational datasets for biological intelligence*
Systems of record → Systems of coordinated action in healthcare
From paying for tools to paying for validated outcomes

Pear's Request for Startups - Pear VC

Here are some ideas and opportunities we’re most excited to see founders tackle next at Pear VC.

pear.vc/request-for-startups/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Foundational datasets for biological intelligence*
“We’re looking for founders building the canonical training datasets for biological foundation models: companies generating proprietary human biological data at scale (multiplexed perturbation screens, longitudinal multi-omic cohorts, paired genotype-phenotype datasets), or infrastructure that integrates and harmonizes existing fragmented human data into model-ready representations.”

What if…? A repository of data built from the Louisville aging-care cluster.

BP in older adults

“Clinicians’ decisions to intensify antihypertensive treatment in older adults are influenced by age, falls, frailty, perceived benefit, and access to digital monitoring data.”

Preferences for Antihypertensive Prescribing in Older Adults: A Discrete Choice Experiment

www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2026.01.044

So. Digital monitoring via virtual care, like that offered by Revitalized Solutions?

AI usage among doctors

2026 Physician Survey on Augmented Intelligence from the American Medical Association.

More than 80% of physicians use AI professionally: AMA survey

The top use is to summarize medical research and standards of care. Catch up with the latest trends on physicians’ use of health AI.

www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital-health/more-80-physicians-use-ai-professionally-ama-survey?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8sstBBLw4O0HPWLxCFEu65CW4MKRMrKGg27Vw0aKNE77FQIqdiw8wTjgmygglnR34BNNm4ZrMw0w7dNpWrVtYJSTGCyQ&_hsmi=25213370&utm_content=25213370&utm_source=hs_email

Monteris Medical

“…along with participation from several new investors including OSF Ventures, the investment arm of Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, and the Colorado University Healthcare Innovation Fund. Both are healthcare system venture funds affiliated with institutions that offer the Monteris NeuroBlate technology to their patients.”

Monteris Medical Secures $28 Million in Growth Equity to Accelerate Revenue and Innovation in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery

Monteris Medical, a private company leading the field in minimally invasive neurosurgery with its NeuroBlate® System for magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), announced today that it has closed $28 million in Series E equity financing. The equity capital will support the company's technology innovation program and other growth initiatives. Monteris also announced that it has refinanced its current debt and established a new $35 million credit facility with Trinity

finance.yahoo.com/news/monteris-medical-secures-28-million-132500812.html

Unrelated; heard of Louisville-based EndoNavis, LLC?

Malama Health

“Malama Health, a doula-led maternal care provider focused on Medicaid, has closed a $9.2 million seed round.”

New Medicaid-focused doula provider Malama launches with $9.2M

Malama Health, a doula-led maternal care provider focused on Medicaid, has closed a $9.2 million seed round. | Malama, which means “to nurture” in Hawaiian, was built to address inequities and high-risk pregnancies by shifting from episodic to continuous care.

www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/new-medicaid-focused-doula-provider-malama-launches-92m

“That name sounds familiar.”

Yeah, good memory. Malama was a 2023 Reconstruct Challenge “winner.” The Reconstruct Challenge is powered by Access Ventures

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup

March 24 at Story. Register.

Familiar with Louisville-based One Care Portal? Here’s your chance to find out what they do.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup · Luma

Interested in healthcare, healthtech, digital health, the life sciences and adjacent spaces? Real innovation happens when people show up to give, not just to…

luma.com/m7mgkqct

We're committed to sustained connection. Show up.

Healthcare innovation runs on relationships.

We create spaces for Louisville's health innovators to connect.

Aging (AI, falls, 💊), health systems → startups, a perspective on GLP-1s and more...

Andrew Steen — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

We back up…

AI to Rewire Senior Care

Big Series C for Sage.

Sage Raises $65M to Expand AI Senior Care Platform - AgeTech

Sage secures $65M Series C led by Goldman Sachs to scale its AI-powered senior care platform, utilizing predictive analytics to prevent falls.

hitconsultant.net/2026/03/05/sage-ai-senior-care-platform-funding/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

“Any local companies working on fall prevention strategies?”

Funny you should ask. Yes. Caregiving is Healthcare.

Aging in Time

Written by an ARPA-H program manager.

Aging Is Medicine’s Biggest Blind Spot

Age-related decline is not an unavoidable fate, but a problem that can be addressed with modern medicine, writes Andrew S. Brack.

time.com/7381303/aging-medicine-disease-arpa-h-longevity

Some other Andrew penned this in 2014. 🤡

Drugs for seniors; aging an opportunity for Louisville

PhRMA has released its Medicines in Development for Older Americans 2014 report. From The Search for Antiaging Interventions: From Elixirs to Fasting Regimens; “The current US population repo…

louisvillelifescience.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/drugs-for-seniors

UPMC Enterprises backs AI startup

BrainCheck uses AI to assess and care for cognitive conditions.

UPMC backs AI startup in $13M investment

UPMC backs startup 13M — UPMC backs startup $13M funding round to expand BrainCheck's AI platform for cognitive condition screening and care across…

www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/upmc-backs-ai-startup-in-13m-investment/?origin=DigitalE&utm_source=DigitalE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=9128I7569089J3D

UPMC Enterprises is the venture capital arm of UPMC.

Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate

18 national and international healthcare technology companies.

Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate welcomes new cohort of healthcare technology startups - Mayo Clinic News Network

Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate welcomes 18 healthcare startups to develop and validate AI-driven solutions advancing patient care and health innovation.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-platform_accelerate-welcomes-new-cohort-of-healthcare-technology-startups

Prescription transparency

Thought this was kind of cool:
“Through the partnership, Bluesight customers can view Cost Plus Drugs pricing alongside traditional wholesaler options within their existing procurement decision workflows.”

Bluesight Partners with GraphiteRx and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs to Expand Access to Cost-Saving Medication Sources

/PRNewswire/ -- Bluesight, the leader in hospital intelligence solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with GraphiteRx that brings marketplace data,...

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluesight-partners-with-graphiterx-and-mark-cuban-cost-plus-drugs-to-expand-access-to-cost-saving-medication-sources-302701449.html?utm_campaign=prescription-transparency-is-getting-practical&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=bonnefire.beehiiv.com

Global Air Cargo Hub Review

ICYMI, UPS overtakes FedEx to become world’s largest express air cargo hub.

UPS overtakes FedEx to become world’s largest express air cargo hub - Air Cargo News

UPS’s hub at Louisville Muhammed Ali International Airport (SDF) now has more daily flights and tonnage capacity than any other express air cargo hub in the world. In fact, UPS Worldport's hub at SDF has taken over the number one hub position from FedEx's Memphis International (MEM) hub, found the "Global Cargo Hub Review" report

www.aircargonews.net/cargo-airport/2026/02/ups-overtakes-fedex-to-become-worlds-largest-express-air-cargo-hub/?utm_source=louisvillespark.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=our-global-crown-more-national-shine-and-good-news-in-bourbon&_bhlid=5c3c90167447654aef718e088a50ff822d85a35e

Biologistics, y’all.

Lilly and peptides

This is a really interesting piece out of Dria Ventures.

The Peptide Paradox: Why Miracle Drugs Might Be Making Us Weaker

AI is overshadowing the rise, and risks, of healthcare's wonder drug

memphistomars.substack.com/p/healthcare-enters-the-trillion-dollar?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

And, of note, Richard Goldstein, MD, PhD is a Venture Partner with Dria. Some of you might remember Richard from his time at UofL.

Let the madness commence.

Unicorns, seed to Series A, exposomics and more...

Andrew Steen — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

🦄, shave your horn…

“Unicorn-versities”

This is an interesting piece of work from SignalFire.

Unicorn DNA — Where today’s billion-dollar startup founders come from

A data-driven analysis of 2,000+ founders behind 800 U.S. unicorns reveals where billion-dollar founders come from, why experience beats hype, how AI is reshaping founder pipeline, and how top engineering schools are outpacing the Ivy League.

www.signalfire.com/blog/unicorn-founder-origins-data-report

“The top 6 engineering schools produced 16.3% of unicorn founders (Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, CMU, and Caltech).”

So…

The NSF HERD Survey is the primary source of information on research and development expenditures at U.S. colleges and universities. The data table(s) of relevance here are “Higher education R&D expenditures in engineering fields, ranked by FY 2024 total.” 2024 is the latest year available.

The University of Kentucky ranked 78th.
UofL ranked 141st.

“Yeah, but what about a more secular ranking?”

Will 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings do?

The University of Kentucky is ranked 86.
UofL 125.

It’s just a data point.

Startups that get to Series A?

Remember the discussion of venture-backable startups—or lack thereof—in Louisville from January 20, 2026? Here it is for your convenient reference. Followed by “Seed fund(s) in a community correlation to Series A levels?”

Example thought...
US communities with a dearth of seed funds, do they produce fewer startups that get to Series A? Or do funds find those deals for Series A regardless?

I asked Victor Gutwein, Founder and Managing Partner at Chicago-based M25:

Noting, too, that “the bar for Series A has gotten MUCH harder post-2022.”

Health systems

“Mr. Arnold said Tampa General has built an AI governance framework designed not to slow innovation but to accelerate it responsibly.”

Tampa General has 61 AI applications with little appetite for pilots

Tampa General has AI applications in production, scaling quickly with 61 tools deployed across clinical and administrative settings.

www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/tampa-general-has-61-ai-applications-with-little-appetite-for-pilots/?origin=BHRE&utm_source=BHRE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=9128I7569089J3D

“Canary Speech… announced a partnership with Intermountain Ventures, the venture capital and innovation arm of Intermountain Health.”

Canary Speech and Intermountain Ventures Launch Groundbreaking Study to Identify Multiple Sclerosis Using Vocal Biomarkers

/PRNewswire/ -- Canary Speech, a leader in vocal biomarker technology, today announced a partnership with Intermountain Ventures, the venture capital and...

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canary-speech-and-intermountain-ventures-launch-groundbreaking-study-to-identify-multiple-sclerosis-using-vocal-biomarkers-302684086.html?utm_source=Elion&utm_campaign=e77b69fcbe-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3c06e90c2e-571582163

Cool.

Frist Cressey Ventures

“Fund IV continues FCV's established success in partnering with leading healthcare organizations, including The Cigna Group Ventures, MedStar Health, and OhioHealth…” A payor and two health systems.

Frist Cressey Ventures Announces Oversubscribed $425M Fund IV to Reshape Care Delivery

/PRNewswire/ -- Frist Cressey Ventures (FCV) announced today that it has closed an oversubscribed $425 million Fund IV, bringing total assets under management...

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frist-cressey-ventures-announces-oversubscribed-425m-fund-iv-to-reshape-care-delivery-302691405.html?tc=eml_cleartime&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=innovationrx&cdlcid=66c73ba59e1a4fe59293cdb9§ion=

By the way, if Louisville had such a person, who would be Louisville’s community counterpart to Nashville’s Sen. Bill Frist, MD?

What is exposomics?

Watch.

Big fan of this space. Genomics ⇄ exposomics ⇄ GIS.

Predicting onset of Alzheimerʼs disease

“The samples were collected over a period of up to 10 years…”

Some of y’all already know what I’m going to say so I won’t. This time.

Study finds blood test can predict age of Alzheimer's onset

Newly FDA-cleared blood tests are now making it easier for doctors to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But could a single blood test also predict when patients' symptoms will appear? | Newly FDA-cleared blood tests are now making it easier for doctors to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But could a single blood test also predict when symptoms will appear?

www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/study-finds-blood-test-can-predict-age-alzheimers-onset

But… Yo. Louisville.

No newsletter next week, so click here and read an old one.

And share with a friend.

Health systems. Physicians. Startups. 💥

Andrew Steen — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:00:12 +0000

“Charlie don't surf!” 😢

Health system VC

“…Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health’s venture capital arm had a successful and active 2025.”

How Bon Secours Mercy Health became a leader in digital investing

Bon Secours Mercy Health leads in digital investing with targeted venture capital and strategic startup partnerships across six states.

www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/digital-health/how-bon-secours-mercy-health-became-a-leader-in-digital-investing/?origin=DigitalE&utm_source=DigitalE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=9128I7569089J3D

“Mr. Szczuka said other health systems often reach out for advice on starting or revamping their venture capital arms…”

TGH Innovation Week

This is cool. I especially love this part:

“The event continues with a Shark Tank–style pitch competition where team members present innovative concepts designed to elevate patient care, enhance the team member experience and strengthen the Tampa Bay community…”

Tampa General’s Innovation Week Returns with New Programming to Showcase Breakthroughs in Patient Care and Technology | Tampa General Hospital

https://www.tgh.org/news/tgh-press-releases/2026/february/tampa-general-innovation-week-returns-with-new-programming

Health systems ⇄ startups

This is from Joshua Liu. Pretty accurate.

AI Bubble?

“Major health systems tout AI deployments as innovation victories, yet many are essentially beta-testing unproven technologies from vendors surviving on venture capital rather than revenue.”

The Coming Clinical Correction: Why Health Care Needs Its AI Bubble To Burst

Maxim Topaz Jing Dong Laura-Maria Peltonen Zhihong Zhang

www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/coming-clinical-correction-why-health-care-needs-its-ai-bubble-burst

Well.

Physicians and startups

How do we get physician - startup engagement?

Physician Careers and Start-Ups: How to Get Started - NEJM CareerCenter Resources

Physicians can engage with start-ups through advisory or full-time roles, leveraging clinical expertise while earning equity and experience.

resources.nejmcareercenter.org/article/physician-careers-and-start-ups-how-to-get-started

Was Louisville-based 3DR Labs founded by a Louisville-based physician? Yes.

Give me two more examples. Go.

Humana's Q4 Earnings Call

The Health Tech Nerds team dives into the key takeaways from Humana's recent earnings call.

Oh, and talked to two startups…

…not in Louisville. Both pretty cool. Both with potential local connections. Stay tuned.

AI-native digital CROs, chronic conditions, oncology venture studio and more!

Andrew Steen — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:00:21 +0000

Fully 🏀.

Bessemer’s State of Health AI 2026

This part; “Prediction 7: New Age digital CROs crack pharma's R&D trilemma — cost, speed, competition.”

State of Health AI 2026

Bessemer’s analysis explores how healthcare innovation is evolving beyond the hype, revealing the unique promise of Health Tech 2.0 through private market signals and the emerging power of the “Health AI X factor.”

www.bvp.com/atlas/state-of-health-ai-2026#Prediction-7-New-Age-digital-CROs-crack-pharma's-R-amp-D-trilemma-%E2%80%94-cost-speed-competition

Pretty interesting, Kentucky Chapter of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. Seems like that is an area where the Commonwealth could participate.

Chronic Conditions in the United States

FAIR Health released this white paper on February 2, 2026. “The number of chronic conditions per patient per year drove healthcare spending.”

https://s3.amazonaws.com/media2.fairhealth.org/whitepaper/asset/Chronic%20Conditions%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf

Chronic physical conditions and mental disorders often co-occur, further driving up costs.

Redesign Health

“Its startup portfolio includes DUOS, AI-powered tech to support older adults…” The Aging Innovation Fund managed by Castellan Group co-led NYC-based DUOS’ 2023 $10M round.

How venture firm Redesign Health is charting its future amid US and global growth

By Heather Landi

www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/how-venture-firm-redesign-health-charting-its-future-amid-us-and-global-growth

I wonder if Redesign’s CEO, Brett Shaheen, is related to the Shaheen family that owns Shaheen’s? Anyone know?

AccelerOnc

“AccelerOnc Studio is the first venture studio in the United States solely dedicated to oncology innovation.” Pretty cool.

Moffitt Cancer Center Launches Nation’s First Oncology Focused Venture Studio

AccelerOnc Studio to develop early stage companies aimed at advancing cancer care

www.moffitt.org/endeavor/archive/moffitt-cancer-center-launches-nations-first-oncology-focused-venture-studio

You know, aging is the largest risk factor for the development of cancer.

VR for screening

“In conclusion, this systematic review supports the effectiveness and clinical feasibility of immersive VR-based cognitive assessments for the early detection of neurodegenerative disorders.”

The use of fully immersive virtual reality for screening neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review of behavioral and diagnostic outcomes

alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dad2.70244

Yeah.

Health Innovation Meetup

Show up, show out!

One week from today on Tuesday, February 17.

Susan Stroud, Founder of Lifequipt, will be sharing SocialOptrix.AI, Inc. Come for the party. Stay to give feedback.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup · Luma

Interested in healthcare, healthtech, digital health, the life sciences and adjacent spaces? Real innovation happens when people show up to give, not just to…

luma.com/ya1k5yef

The event is graciously hosted by KYX at the Block.

Awesome.
Engage.

Longevity 🧬, LifeGuides, seed funding and the UAccel: Health Care cohort.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:00:11 +0000

Everybody on the list is comin' in after you. 🏆️

Longevity is in the genes

“About 55% of the human lifespan is heritable, meaning that more than half of the observed variation in longevity across a population is attributable to genetics,” according to this recent Science publication.

Longevity is in the genes: half of lifespan is heritable

Understanding the genetic controls of ageing could lead to more therapies that forestall it.

www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00300-w#ref-CR3

That’s higher than previous estimates. This article was from 2018…

Lifespan Less Heritable than Previously Thought

Some of the longevity that appears to run in families can instead be attributed to people choosing life partners with similar characteristics.

www.the-scientist.com/lifespan-less-heritable-than-previously-thought-65043#=

…and included a quote from Richard Kerber.

Yeah.

LifeGuides round

Tempe, AZ-based LifeGuides announced on January 26, 2026 a $1 million strategic investment from the Louisville-based Health Innovation Alliance Aging Innovation Fund, managed by Castellan Group, LLC. According to Crunchbase, LifeGuides has raised $12.5M over eight funding rounds.

LifeGuides Receives Investment from the Aging Innovation Fund -- Specializing in Breakthrough Healthcare Innovation

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- LifeGuides®, the leading provider of Non-Clinical Mental Health (NCMH) and professional mentoring services, today announced a $1 million...

www.prweb.com/releases/lifeguides-receives-investment-from-the-aging-innovation-fund--specializing-in-breakthrough-healthcare-innovation-302669636.html#:~:text=Share%20this%20article,follow%2Don%20investments%20in%20LifeGuides.

Seed fund(s) in a community correlation to Series A levels?

Remember the discussion of venture-backable startups—or lack thereof—in Louisville from January 20, 2026? Here it is for your convenient reference.

Example thought...
US communities with a dearth of seed funds, do they produce fewer startups that get to Series A? Or do funds find those deals for Series A regardless?

I'm doing some research on it. Hang on. But here’s a start.

I got this chart from Carta’s Peter Walker. And his thoughts on my questions. “Most ecosystems actually start with seed funds. So my instinct is that yes, if you're missing seed the As will not follow.”

“The stark reality: only 15.4% of startups that raised a seed round in early 2022 were able to raise a Series A within two years, compared to 30.6% of companies that managed this feat back in 2018,” Charlie Robinson wrote recently, also citing Carta data.

The latter supported with Dealroom data from 2016.

https://content.dealroom.co/uploaded/2020/08/Probability-2.pdf

This is a topic I’m still exploring, so stay tuned.

Catalyst by Wellstar

Wellstar Health System is based in Georgia. Catalyst by Wellstar is a first-of-its-kind innovation company and venture firm created by the health system.

Catalyst by Wellstar Launches 2nd Atlanta-Based Startup, This Time Targeting the $39B Healthcare Compliance Burden - HypepotamusCaAtlanta-based startup Polysight's platform is designed around three core principles: trust, transparency, and traceability.tahypepotamus.com/startup-news/catalyst-by-wellstar-launches-polysight-ai-healthcare-compliance-startuplyst by Wellstar Launches 2nd Atlanta-Based Startup, This Time Targeting the $39B Healthcare Compliance Burden - HypepotamusCaAtlanta-based startup Polysight's platform is designed around three core principles: trust, transparency, and traceability.tahypepotamus.com/startup-news/catalyst-by-wellstar-launches-polysight-ai-healthcare-compliance-startuplyst by Wellstar Launches 2nd Atlanta-Based Startup, This Time Targeting the $39B Healthcare Compliance Burden - HypepotamusCaAtlanta-based startup Polysight's platform is designed around three core principles: trust, transparency, and traceability.tahypepotamus.com/startup-news/catalyst-by-wellstar-launches-polysight-ai-healthcare-compliance-startuplyst by Wellstar Launches 2nd Atlanta-Based Startup, This Time Targeting the $39B Healthcare Compliance Burden - HypepotamusCaAtlanta-based startup Polysight's platform is designed around three core principles: trust, transparency, and traceability.tahypepotamus.com/startup-news/catalyst-by-wellstar-launches-polysight-ai-healthcare-compliance-startuplyst by Wellstar Launches 2nd Atlanta-Based Startup, This Time Targeting the $39B Healthcare Compliance Burden - Hypepotamus

Atlanta-based startup Polysight's platform is designed around three core principles: trust, transparency, and traceability.

hypepotamus.com/startup-news/catalyst-by-wellstar-launches-polysight-ai-healthcare-compliance-startup

“Polysight emerged directly from challenges Catalyst by Wellstar identified within its own health system…”

Yo, Louisville.

UAccel: Health Care

Check out the four teams participating in the Launch Blue UAccel: Health Care track.

UAccel Cohort 16 (Spring 2026) — Launch Blue

launchblue.squarespace.com/uaccel-cohort-16?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8uZj5lOvsK6pT06zk7Wy2onFGJ3J3o0JqckAsCxQvUrsMfQpviHTKPKn4gzMjZJXZKzs8Y_KBKr23nsOrEIQmT-LXBdw&_hsmi=401242540&utm_content=401242540&utm_source=hs_email

I'm thrilled to once again be an EIR.

Someone you know who needs to read this weekly.
Forward it to them.
Please.

GIS teaser, Breck, AI spinouts and an aging biology prediction.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:00:42 +0000

☃️

Health GIS…

…is cool. GeoChat. More on this in the future, I hope. The founder received her PhD from the University of Kentucky Department of Psychology.

US WorldMeds

Pretty cool.

University of Kentucky to receive laboratory equipment from US WorldMeds valued at $1.34 million | UK Research

UK will receive a donation of laboratory equipment, valued at $1.34 million, from US WorldMeds, a privately held pharmaceutical company headquartered in Louisville, Ky.

research.uky.edu/resources/announcement/university-kentucky-receive-laboratory-equipment-us-worldmeds-valued-134

Who remembers Sun Pharmaceuticals? 🙋‍♂️
Raise your hand if Breck helped you make a proforma for MedCenter One. 🙋‍♂️

Healthcare RCM market map

500+ companies across EHRs, practice management systems, RCM platforms and point solutions. Spoiler alert: it does include eBlu Solutions and RxLightning.

Healthcare RCM market map - January 2026 - Stedi

Our Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) market map covers 500+ EHRs, RCM platforms, and point solutions shaping how providers get paid in 2026.

www.stedi.com/blog/healthcare-rcm-market-map-january-2026

Read it to see if any other Commonwealth-based companies made the map.

In-house products

Provider organizations are building and deploying homegrown AI applications. Two such examples.

Autonomous AI Agents Developed to Detect Early Signs of Cognitive Decline | Mass General Brigham

A team of Mass General Brigham researchers has developed one of the first fully autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of screening for cognitive impairment using routine clinical documentation.

www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/autonomous-ai-agents-detect-early-signs-of-cognitive-decline?utm_source=Elion&utm_campaign=68a12913ec-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3c06e90c2e-571582163

Children’s Mercy Launches Helen App to Transform Pediatric Care and Combat Nurse Burnout

Children’s Mercy has pioneered a new way to care for kids and support the nurses who make it possible. As one of the nation’s top independent pediatric health systems, Children’s Mercy is proud to announce it is the first children’s hospital to launch Helen, a secure and innovative mobile app, designed to remove the burden of non-clinica...

news.childrensmercy.org/childrens-mercy-launches-helen-app--to-transform-pediatric-care-and-combat-nurse-burnout/?utm_source=Elion&utm_campaign=68a12913ec-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3c06e90c2e-571582163

Via Cincinnati Children's

This originally caught me eye.

How Investors Evaluate Early-Stage Science - Research Horizons

An inside look at how investors assess scientific discoveries for commercial viability and their potential to become new treatments.

scienceblog.cincinnatichildrens.org/how-investors-evaluate-early-stage-science

Then I stumbled across this:
“…the message from Claire Smith, partner at SpringTide Ventures, who spoke to Cincinnati Children’s innovators during a recent visit hosted by Cincinnati Children’s Innovation Ventures.”

How to Accelerate Digital Health Innovations - Research Horizons

Commercializing a digital health innovation takes evidence, funding and the right partners to deliver solutions to patients and families.

scienceblog.cincinnatichildrens.org/how-to-accelerate-digital-health-innovations

Remember, Alexander Ding, MD, MBA is a Venture Partner with SpringTide Ventures.

👋, Norton Children's Hospital.

Breyer Capital predictions

Worth a read. Of note; “2026 is the year aging biology takes center stage in biopharma…”

Breyer Capital 2026 Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictions

A Forecast of Where Science, Medicine, and Industry are Converging This Year Each year at Breyer Capital, we take an intentional inventory of what has changed—from global market economies to scientific discoveries to shifts in the regulatory apparatus. This past year, we also published our updated H

www.linkedin.com/pulse/breyer-capital-2026-healthcare-life-sciences-jim-breyer-7e0zc

Brian K. Kennedy, PhD, has earned an international reputation for his work in the basic biology of aging. Oh, and he was born in Louisville. My conversation with him, here.

Forward this to one colleague and coerce them to subscribe.

It will bring warmth to their heart.

Venture-backable startups, healthspan, nurses.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:00:47 +0000

🥶

Unplanned VC data synergy

“Louisville doesn't lack venture capital. It lacks venture-backable startups.”

That’s a quote from KYX’s The Distill newsletter on January 19, 2026. I 💯 concur.

It reminded my of this tweet from 2014. Similar vibe.

On to data from Carta. Remember, I love Carta data. Top 10 metros for biotech and healthtech startup funding in 2025. A lot of overlap in those rankings.

I stopped the scroll on this GIF on energy. Why? Because KY shows up here as “Established: 1-5% of capital.” Overall 0.1%. Biotech 0.0%.

Is KY not on these lists because we lack venture capital? Or because we lack venture-backable startups? Dog, it’s the latter.

Biotech (or biopharma)

Louisville is not the next Kendall.

https://www.massbio.org/industry-reports/funding-report/

Elsewhere in the report you can read that the “average seed round for Massachusetts companies was $8.1 million.”

Healthspan (the artist currently and formerly known as longevity)

Two recent pieces of note.

First, SVB’s Healthcare Investments and Exits H1 2026 report. Epigenetics has emerged as the biggest recipient of VC dollars in the longevity and healthspan space. Lexington, KY-based TruDiagnostic bills itself as “The Epigenetic Company.” So that’s cool.

https://www.svb.com/trends-insights/reports/healthcare-investments-and-exits/?utm_source=svb-jps&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=us-2026-01-ca-sl-ac-na-lh-na-cl-na&utm_content=1pr_clt_sng_cnt_hl01_na&utm_id=mar-70572

The SVB report states that “just three deals account for the vast majority of [healthspan] investment.”

Enter Bailey & Company’s 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Recap.

Broken record, but our Commonwealth should be able to play in the healthspan space. We have some assets.

Like, what if Louisville and UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging bonded over aging and healthspan, just as an example?

Nurses

This article from Nurse Capital bears resharing.

“At Nurse Capital, we believe nurses aren’t just bedside caregivers, care managers or primary health care providers, they are the untapped architects of scalable, high‑impact healthcare solutions.” Again, I 💯 concur.

Why the Future of Healthcare Innovation Starts with Nurses - Nurse Capital

When we talk about healthcare innovation, most minds go straight to the solutions such as AI diagnostics, telehealth platforms, or next‑gen therapeutics.

nursecapital.net/why-the-future-of-healthcare-innovation-starts-with-nurses

A probably non-exhaustive list of nurse-founded startups just in Louisville:

Revitalized Solutions.
PAC-IQ (acquired by Direct Supply in 2024).
EnVue Health.
All Hearts Cardiology.

Put a bow on it.

Thanks for being part of this community. It means more than you probably realize.

VBC, HSBC, CDS, TMC and other non-acronym nuggets of interest.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:00:24 +0000

IYKYK

VBC

Responses to a VBC survey that Health Tech Nerds ran last week. Interesting. “It’s not there yet, but heading in the right direction” was clearly the most common opinion.

https://www.healthtechnerds.com/

I suspect we could get opinions on value-based care out of Louisville.

HSBC Venture Healthcare Report

There’s a ton of interesting data in here. I’m particularly fond of the Computational Biology Analysis.

Why then show biopharma deals? Mainly so I can note that Kentucky is South(east), not Midwest as depicted. The U.S. Census Bureau knows it. Dwight Yoakam knows it. C’mon HSBC.

https://www.hsbcinnovationbanking.com/us/en/resources/2025-annual-venture-healthcare-report?cid=B:EMA:10934438630:10893300135

Clinical decision support software is a subcategory of computational biology.

Speaking of CDS

Industry guidance just came out.

Clinical Decision Support Software - Guidance

This guidance clarifies the scope of FDA’s oversight of clinical decision support software intended for health care professionals (HCPs) as devices.

www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/clinical-decision-support-software

And speaking of industry guidance

Draft guidance.

Use of Bayesian Methodology in Clinical Trials of Drug and Biological

This draft guidance provides guidance to sponsors and applicants on the appropriate use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials.

www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/use-bayesian-methodology-clinical-trials-drug-and-biological-products

Remember “The Lab” at Apellis’ old Crestwood office? No? Well, Revon Systems operated out of the same office space and discussions of Bayesian trials occurred in and around The Lab circa 2016. Trust me.

Houston and the Texas Medical Center

This piece has a biotech and patient accrual for clinical trials slant.

But it’s also about density and intentionality.

How — and why — Houston is building a scalable life sciences ecosystem

Houston has long been recognized as a world-class medical city, anchored by the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, and other clinical care and

www.statnews.com/sponsor/2026/01/08/how-and-why-houston-is-building-a-scalable-life-sciences-ecosystem

Perhaps in 2026 I’ll write some institutional knowledge pieces on the Louisville Medical Center.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup

Been to the new Thrive Center location yet?

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup · Luma

Interested in healthcare, healthtech, digital health, the life sciences and adjacent spaces? Real innovation happens when people show up to give, not just to…

luma.com/l9srpt1x

Register. Show up.

Want to collaborate? Sponsor something? Plan something elaborate?

Hit us up.

More VC-funded healthcare service start-ups for good health. And more nuggets.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:00:27 +0000

In January, Louisville gains roughly 40 to 42 minutes of total daylight. We got this, folks.

Relationship between VC-funded healthcare service start-ups and county-level health outcomes

I think this is a super interesting research article.

“The current findings provide empirical support that VC-funded healthcare service start-ups are associated with improved county-level health outcomes.” Want to improve health outcomes in Jefferson County? More VC-funded healthcare service start-ups.

How healthcare entrepreneurship enhances ecosystem outcomes: the relationship between venture capital-funded start-ups and county-level health

Purpose. Research has examined how new ventures strengthen local economic outcomes; however, limited research examines health-oriented ventures and their impact on social outcomes, including health outcomes. Increased VC investment in healthcare service start-ups signals more activity toward this end, and the need for further academic inquiry. We examine the relationship between these start-ups and county-level health outcomes, health factors, and hospital utilization.Design/methodology/approach. Data on start-ups funded via institutional venture capital from PitchBook were merged with US county-level outcomes from the County Health Rankings and Area Health Resources Files for 2010 to 2019. We investigated how the number of VC-funded healthcare service start-ups, as well as a subset defined as innovative, were associated with county-level health measures. We used panel models with two-way fixed effects and Propensity Score Matched (PSM), controlling for demographics and socioeconomic factors.Findings. Each additional VC-funded healthcare service start-up was related to a significant 0.01 percentage point decrease in diabetes prevalence (p < 0.01), a decrease of 1.54 HIV cases per 100,000 population (p < 0.1), a 0.02 percentage point decrease in obesity rates (p < 0.01), and a 0.03 percentage point decrease in binge drinking (p < 0.01). VC-funded healthcare service start-ups were not related to hospital utilization.Originality/value. This work expands our understanding of how industry-specific start-ups, in this case healthcare start-ups, relate to positive social outcomes. The results underscore the importance of evidence-based evaluation, the need for expanded outcome measures for VC investment, and the possibilities for integration of healthcare services and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

www.emerald.com/ijebr/article/30/8/1977/1217629/How-healthcare-entrepreneurship-enhances-ecosystem

Also, according to Table 4, the annual average number of VC-funded healthcare service start-ups in Kentucky is 3.1.

State of Startups 2025 from Carta

I like data. And I really like Carta data. Lots of cool stuff in this. It’s 145 pages.

AI in every sector, including biotech and healthtech.

https://info.carta.com/rs/214-BTD-103/images/State-of-Startups-2025.pdf?version=1

2025 FDA approvals

Always interesting to peruse, if you like perusing such things.

2025 FDA approvals

The US FDA approved 46 new drugs in 2025, despite a tumultuous year at the regulatory agency.

www.nature.com/articles/d41573-026-00001-z

Plus this from Kevin A. Scott on X. Lotta small molecules in the bunch.

Time spent in the ED

The median time Kentucky patients spent in the ED? 150 minutes.

ED visit times, by state | Becker's

"Find out which state has the highest and lowest median time spent in the emergency department according to CMS data, with Washington, D.C. topping the list.

www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/ed-visit-times-by-state/?origin=BHRSUN&utm_source=BHRSUN&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=9128I7569089J3D

If this comes up on Jeopardy!, now you know. You’re welcome.

2026

We’ve got some stuff in the works for 2026.

Different venues for in-person events. And, of course, some of the same venues, too.

New formats.

New publications.

Stay tuned.

Subscribe.

Share.

America's aging population, GenAI RCM and more interesting stuff.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:00:30 +0000

2025 ➡️ 2026

Aging baby boomers

“By the end of this decade, all baby boomers will be 65 and older, and the number of people 80 and over will double in 20 years…”

A look at aging baby boomers in the United States

The oldest baby boomers are turning 80 in 2026. This generation known as a cultural and political vanguard is now contributing to America's aging population.

apnews.com/article/census-baby-boomers-aging-america-demographics-ad275e223615952ce73d52ed714d24b0?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

It’s a demographic hard to ignore.

Elder care innovation

Chia-Lin Simmons is CEO of LogicMark, Inc. LogicMark’s principal executive offices are in—wait for it—Louisville, KY.

The greatest threat to elder care isn’t what you think

Yes, we are living in an era of astonishing transformation. Technology is reshaping nearly every corner of our lives — from how we work and communicate to how we diagnose disease, manage cities and care for people with a variety of conditions. Two major shifts that affect everyone are converging simultaneously: the explosive growth of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the rapid aging of the global population.

www.mcknightshomecare.com/the-greatest-threat-to-elder-care-isnt-what-you-think

While we’re on Louisville-based companies…

This Fierce Healthcare article references a survey by the Healthcare Financial Management Association and AKASA on GenAI-powered tools for revenue cycle management. Among other things, the survey notes that “Health systems executives also reported lack of a clear return on investment.”

Adoption of AI for hospital RCM surges, but cost, operational constraints slow progress

Health systems are eager to adopt generative artificial intelligence solutions for revenue cycle management, seeing the promise of the technology to improve coding and capture more revenue. | Many health systems remain in the early stages of adoption, citing cost and budget constraints as the largest obstacles as providers bump into the realities of implementing new AI technologies at scale.

www.fiercehealthcare.com/ai-and-machine-learning/adoption-ai-hospital-rcm-surges-even-health-systems-navigate-cost

I asked John Williamson, Founder and CEO of Louisville-based Lockbox AI, Inc. for his thoughts. “I think the gap in ROI realization is because there are still the same number of FTEs involved in delivering a service, plus the very high technology cost. The reason is because the LLM approach often requires a human review, even if it was faster. The frontier of cost savings is a combination of automation orchestration that links across multiple point solutions and process requirements. Companies that provide tech-enabled service delivery are still outperforming pure-play software as a service vendors.”

So where is Lockbox AI headed? 🥁 roll, please.

“We’ve got a SaaS solution but are officially about to launch an automation enabled service.

We’re finding that providing a turnkey service is more attractive than just offering software. The ROI is much more clear and it’s an easier purchase process.”

You read it here first. Maybe.

A predictions piece I like

The whole piece is worth a read. But I’m digging the section on “Screening, diagnostics, and at-home sample collection becomes the hot area” because, yeah, I agree.

Out-Of-Pocket’s 2026 Predictions | Out-Of-Pocket

Foundation model JVs, C-SNPs, peptide crackdown

www.outofpocket.health/p/out-of-pockets-2026-predictions?ck_subscriber_id=2439033429&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2026%20Predictions:%20AI,%20peptides,%20C-SNPs%20and%20more%20-%2020200522&sh_kit=28675b01443415006a4b50f65d9fe032970d6dd1d6dd4f657f8810276ee2d2d5#screening-diagnostics-and-at-home-sample-collection-becomes-the-hot-area

Oh, and remember—biologistics. We do that relatively well in Louisville.

The FDA is seeking information from VC firms

Kind of interesting.

“The FDA recognizes that many breakthrough technologies and innovative solutions relevant to our public health mission are being developed by companies within VC portfolios.”

FDA Explores New Contracting Approach to Advance Public Health Innovation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from venture capital firms on developing a new contracting approach to strengthen collaboration between the agency and America’s most innovative companies.

www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-explores-new-contracting-approach-advance-public-health-innovation

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray

Don’t wait til it’s 2026
Subscribe and share today.

On aging, virtual care, innovation and more.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:00:17 +0000

🎅⛪️

America’s Seniors Are Overmedicated

Polypharmacy.

America’s Seniors Are Overmedicated

A Wall Street Journal analysis of Medicare data found one in six seniors enrolled in Medicare’s drug benefit were prescribed eight or more medications at the same time.

www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/americas-seniors-are-overmedicated-f397bb1d?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

This is a solution space where Louisville could lead. I think.

One example. Demetra Antimisiaris. For nearly 18 years she was Director of the UofL Jean Frazier Polypharmacy & Medication Management Program.

From 2024…

UofL leader in medication management expands polypharmacy education, research | UofL News

Demetra Antimisiaris, director of the Jean Frazier Polypharmacy and Medication Management Program (FPMMP) at the University of Louisville Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Information Sciences, shares a disturbing but all too common story that demonstrates the need for education about medication management. She explains how one of her patients living in a long-term care facility was given a medication to treat osteoporosis, but the medicine was administered incorrectly by crushing it first, which led to burning of the patient's esophagus. The patient stopped eating and almost died. "Fortunately, we were able to save her and send her home, where she healed and gained her weight back," Antimisiaris said. "This is an example of the critical importance of medication literacy from the patient to the entire health care team." Polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications together, often associated with medication use risk, is usually associated with older adults, but is increasingly

www.uoflnews.com/post/uofltoday/uofl-leader-in-medication-management-expands-polypharmacy-education-research

2026 Predictions from 7wire

“#5 Aging Demographics Including Those with Neurodegenerative Conditions Continue to Represent a Significant Pain Point for Payers and Providers, Leading to Deeper Penetration of Digital Health Solutions”

2026 Predictions - 7wire Ventures

2025 was a year of recalibration for healthcare. After a period of rapid expansion and capital-driven growth, the market has shifted toward discipline. Employers, payers, and providers have refocused on cost reduction, access, and measurable impact. We have seen digital health adoption continue to grow for solutions that can demonstrate measurable value or cost savings, AI move from promise to practice, and consolidation accelerate as organizations pursue scale and efficiency. As we enter 2026, the question is now which models can endure and empower consumers with proven approaches. Digital-first access will become the default entry point to care. Evidence, transparency, and accountability will be table stakes. And consumers, facing rising costs, will increasingly shape how we access, navigate, and experience care.7wire’s 2026 predictions reflect this transition and outline the forces we believe will define the next phase of connected, consumer-driven healthcare.

www.7wireventures.com/perspectives/2026-predictions/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Healthy aging in place

“This study examined associations between neighborhood physical disorder trajectories and metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in U.S. older adults.”

Uncovering the Biological Toll of Neighborhood Disorder Trajectories: A Machine Learning Based Weighting Analysis of Biomarkers in Older Adults

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbaf242/8343544?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Yo, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute.

Virtual cardiology

“Co-developed by MedStar Health and Abundant Venture Partners…” DigiTx Partners participated. Any reason to point out that connection? Yes. But that’s for a later time.

Auxira Health Raises $7.8 Million to Redefine How Cardiology Teams Deliver Care

Round co-led by Route 66 Ventures and Abundant Venture Partners accelerates expansion of Auxira's integrated virtual care model to expand cardiology capacity

www.einpresswire.com/article/874922252/auxira-health-raises-7-8-million-to-redefine-how-cardiology-teams-deliver-care

Speaking of virtual cardiology, Louisville; All Hearts Cardiology + Revitalized Solutions. It’s a thing.

While we’re on virtual care

This is from “What 101 Healthcare C-Suites Really Think About Patient Experience and Virtual Care ROI” by Sage Growth Partners.

https://go.sage-growth.com/Strategic-Shift-Why-Patient-Experience-Is-Now-Healthcaress-Top-C-Suite-Priority?_gl=11t6cqwz_gaMTcwMzQwMTI3MS4xNzY1OTA3MDQ0_ga_BWW6FWJG01*czE3NjU5MDcwNDMkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjU5MDcyNzMkajI2JGwwJGgxNTIxMjM2MjE5

Health system innovation

“[00:09:56] How the Houston Methodist Center for Innovation was built to identify emerging technologies and solve real healthcare problems from inside the organization.”

TDP 209: Houston Methodist’s Michelle Stansbury: Why Siloed Innovation Labs Don’t Work, Making Innovation Financially Accountable, and Why Health Systems Must Disrupt Themselves or Risk Being Disrupted

On this episode of The Digital Patient, Dr. Joshua Liu, Co-founder & CEO of SeamlessMD, and colleague, Alan Sardana, chat with Michelle Stansbury, Associate Chief Innovation Officer and Vice President of IT Applications at Houston Methodist, about "Why Siloed Innovation Labs Don’t Work, Making Innovation Financially Accountable, Why Health Systems Must Disrupt Themselves or Risk Being Disrupted, and more..."

www.seamless.md/blog/tdp-209-houston-methodists-michelle-stansbury-why-siloed-innovation-labs-dont-work-making-innovation-financially-accountable-and-why-health-systems-must-disrupt-themselves-or-risk-being-disrupted

Let’s go!

Human Immunome Project, ex-Humana Williams, startup validation and more.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:00:31 +0000

🥶

Human Immunome Project Executive Chair

“Jane Metcalfe, a co-founder of Wired Magazine, is an entrepreneur, editor, journalist, speaker, and advisor. She currently serves as the executive board chair of the Human Immunome Project…” Jane is from Louisville and went to Collegiate.

Interview Of The Week: Jane Metcalfe, Human Immunome Project - The Innovator

The Human Immunome Project aims to transform the study of immunology and ultimately the practice of medicine.

theinnovator.news/interview-of-the-week-jane-metcalfe-human-immunome-project

🤘

Change the Aradigm

Aradigm’s $20M raise was news last week. A benefits platform for cell and gene therapies. A couple of things to note. William Shrank, M.D. is the CEO. He was previously Chief Medical Officer at Humana.

The Flem[m]ing so nice they accidentally put an “m” in there twice. William is a Transy alum. And spent nearly 30 years at Humana.

https://www.aradigmhealth.com/about-aradigm

Y’all remember this Chris Otts article from 2023?

Biotech company hopes to make Louisville a hub for cell therapy

The former Talaris space on the U of L Health Sciences Campus downtown won't be quiet for long.

www.wdrb.com/news/business/biotech-company-hopes-to-make-louisville-a-hub-for-cell-therapy/article_e857e65a-9918-11ee-a5bc-57ef373ca4ff.html

AIwithCare

Pretty cool, Kentucky Chapter of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP).

Mass General Brigham Announces New AI Company to Accelerate Clinical Trial Screening and Patient Recruitment | Mass General Brigham

AIwithCare will feature a software platform that uses generative AI to screen patients for clinical trial eligibility.

www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/aiwithcare-mass-general-brigham-spinout-new-company

Startup Idea Validation

Excellent read. Including this; “The most successful founders are roughly 44 years old and the reason for that is that experience trumps everything.”

Better Startup Idea Validation

Despite countless articles and every startup program explaining how to validate a startup idea, one of the (surprisingly) still frequently most asked questions is how to validate a startup. Reading the tea leaves, that tells me not that people actually don’t know (conventional wisdom is “talk to customers”) but rather, that that advice is less than ideal. And if I’m to hazard a guess, less than ideal is accurate because well, I agree; I’m well known for pointing out that a startup with customers is easily misled and hardly competitive or capable of scale, but more to the point, perhaps you don’t know how to get at a sufficient number of customers… saying “talk to customers” is great if you have the depth of a community or audience that makes that possible.

paulobrien.substack.com/p/better-startup-idea-validation?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=237212&post_id=181291464&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=s9d3&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Specifically, the “mean founder age for the 1 in 1,000 fastest growing new ventures is 45.0.”

Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals.

www.nber.org/papers/w24489

Fish in the right sea.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup

Show up. Tuesday, December 16, 5 PM at Story.

https://luma.com/qq3yx0o1

Get one person to subscribe. By sharing.
Sharing is caring.

VC and ecosystem data. And a meetup!

Andrew Steen — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 15:00:32 +0000

C’mon, y’all.

U.S. Academic Medical Centers as VCs

“Over the past 15 years, venture capital investment by hospitals or health systems affiliated with a university or medical school has grown rapidly,” write authors Nishant Uppal, M.D., M.B.A. and Zirui Song, M.D., Ph.D. in this November 22, 2025 NEJM article.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2508860

According to this 2022 Becker’s article, no health system in Kentucky had an investment arm. In 2022. Don’t think that has changed, but…

23 health systems with investment arms

Health systems across the U.S. are increasingly embracing venture capital as a way to test new technologies, a shift away from the traditional reliance on developing in-house intellectual property.

www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/innovation/22-health-systems-with-investment-arms

Not good

Report: Kentucky worst in nation for new lung cancer cases, second worst for smoking • Kentucky Lantern

Lung cancer is the commonwealth’s leading cause of death. Kentucky has the second-highest rate of smoking in the nation.

kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/10/report-kentucky-worst-in-nation-for-new-lung-cancer-cases-second-worse-for-smoking/?emci=9b1c8c70-1ebc-f011-8194-00224823ff9b&emdi=3b1a1168-24be-f011-8194-00224823ff9b&ceid=432810

Q3 2025: State of Pre-Seed

Carta data. “Pre-seed startups in healthtech have raised $319 million year-to-date, making it the third largest industry by total cash invested and second largest by count of rounds.”

https://carta.com/data/state-of-pre-seed-q3-2025-full-report/

Yes, Kentucky is blank.

PitchBook Global VC Ecosystem Rankings

“Austin, Raleigh, Nashville, and Dallas all logged strong Growth Scores” in healthcare.

https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q4-2025-pitchbook-analyst-note-global-vc-ecosystem-rankings

Speaking of Nashville, it came in first in PitchBook’s 2025 Growth Scores by location. As in the fastest-growing startup ecosystem in the world.

https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q4-2025-pitchbook-analyst-note-global-vc-ecosystem-rankings

Indy is on there, too.

Show up!

Tuesday, December 16 at Story. Health innovation meetup. Show up.

Louisville Health Innovation Meetup · Luma

Interested in healthcare, healthtech, digital health and adjacent spaces? Real innovation happens when people show up to give, not just to get. So, show up and…

luma.com/qq3yx0o1

Show up.

This is about building community. Pitch in. Share.

Natalie Davis, Scrub Capital, Paducah and agetech.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:00:26 +0000

Took last week off. Went to NYC. Got sick. Party.

Spotlight

Natalie Davis, MD [ND] is Chief Medical Officer at Paducah, KY-based PreventScripts.

HD: You are originally from Kentucky, correct?
ND: I am a fifth-generation western Kentucky native, and I am told one of my great-grandfathers was the only person enlisted in the Civil War for the Union from Marshall County.

HD: What does PreventScripts do?
ND: We help providers, employers–and most recently consumers, with PreventScripts Direct–identify risk for metabolic conditions like obesity, diabetes and hypertension, and offer bespoke interventions to patients and employees. With over 36,000 patients under contract PreventScripts helps providers creates new revenue streams while improving patient outcomes and lowering costs. PreventScripts is in the “permanent behavior change” business.

[Software Platform Demo]

HD: How has the company been funded to date?
ND: We are venture-backed. Our investors include Keyhorse Capital, St. Louis, MO-based iSelect Fund, Nashville’s Jumpstart Foundry, Commonwealth Seed Capital and Bluegrass Angels. Angel investors include Brian Luftman, Michael Johnson, Jamey Edwards, Greg Carlton, Rob Followell, Terri Lundberg, JP Kelly, Mark Workman, Bill Jones and more.

HD: You are an LP in Scrub Capital. First, tell us what Scrub is. Second, how did you get involved?
ND: Scrub Capital is a venture fund investing in early-stage healthcare startups. Scrub writes $100K – $300K strategic checks into pre-seed, seed and some Series A opportunities. A lot of clinician insiders and innovators are involved.

I became interested in Scrub in the winter of 2023 / 2024. I knew Christina Farr as a prolific and passionate health journalist who I met through my affiliation with Startup Health as a “Health Transformer.” I knew of Jonathan Slotkin, MD, a neurosurgeon, entrepreneur and Chief Medical Officer at Geisinger. I knew Rebecca Mitchell, MD of Livongo/Teladoc and Vive Collective because I met her back at the Doximity Medical Advisory Board Summit in Napa when she was a medical student! I just remembered her as a super insightful and ambitious young physician. Other really smart physician entrepreneurs like Ray Costantini, MD and Jacob Reider, MD were involved. The list of physicians who have also started, grown and sold companies successfully is very, very short. [HD: We see you, Rob Falk!] I just really joined to learn about angel investing, then I invested later in the spring as an LP. Since making that initial investment I’ve invested in 12 amazing digital health companies. We are making 3 to 4 deals per quarter now. Scrub has added a prolific medical device investor from Memphis, Dr. Kevin Foley, who helps us with due diligence on medical device deals. As a founder at PreventScripts who has brought a company to market–with real revenues, real customers, real artificial intelligence with three different LLM’s that drive behavior change in real patients–I know how hard it is to do. And I did it in the middle of nowhere with a two women-founder company. So I love to help other entrepreneurs, and I love to diligence companies. I am learning from a great group. We need more physician leaders! Our healthcare costs are $5T, and patients are no better off than they were a decade ago. Bots for prior auth and RCM are fighting the payer bots who want to not pay because there is low value care.

HD: Natalie is a pediatrician by training. In her words, she “grew up in a regular middle class family.” She went into medicine because she wanted to help people stay healthy and happy.

HD: How do we get more physicians across the Commonwealth active in investing? Locally, yes, but also on a national level?
ND: We just need to get started. There are amazing tax incentives for angel investing. What are you passionate about? I encourage physicians to think about what they want to see happen in our healthcare system to help patients. What is your thesis? How do we improve efficiency? How do we improve health outcomes for our patients? How do we reduce waste in the system? How do we make our patients' experience with our healthcare system better? Of course, how do we also get venture returns? What is the kind of team I want to back? Is the team gritty? What is their domain expertise? And one of the things I found I struggled with initially was wanting to invest in the business if they changed X, Y, or Z. Will this business work for the healthcare system we have today? Not the “Future Utopian State” that you imagine. That’s a pearl I learned from Ray Costantini, MD, one of the founders of Bright.md. Ray is one of the few physicians who has started, grown and sold a technology company. That’s the company and network of Scrub Capital. I am available to chat with physicians in Kentucky who are interested to learn more about angel investing and want to take the first step.

HD: Your hot take on the healthtech | life sciences startup scene in Kentucky?
ND: We need to really band together and have the portfolio companies helping each other more. If a company is in the Keyhorse Capital portfolio, then other Keyhorse Capital portfolio companies should be helping founders get through sticky points in their business (yikes, only 3 months left of runway, we hired for sales too early, etc.). Same for Launch Blue companies affiliated with University of Kentucky. Same for Kentucky companies who have been through XLerateHealth’s programs in Louisville. Some of us have gotten SBIR grants, some of us may have mutual customers. We can all help each other. We have so much collective knowledge between us and we need to do a better job leveraging the power of our networks. We’ve seen incredible network effects in our work with Startup Health in New York City, utilizing the “transformer mindset” which incorporates health into our work as entrepreneurs. Likewise, Nashville has its ecosystem including Nashville Healthcare Council and Jumpstart Foundry. Our lifespan in Kentucky is 73.5 years, the worst of any state in the country. We have so much work to do. Let’s start with me. If you are a Keyhorse Capital founder in Kentucky and you are working in healthcare, consumer health, the payer space or even a healthy food ecosystem play, (I see you Elixir Kombucha!!) you can always track me down.

______

You can read more about Natalie’s investments on her website at www.nataliedavismd.com. Also, check out Quintuple Aim Musings, Natalie’s Substack.

While we’re on Paducah…

DataRovers. An AI-powered, end-to-end denials management platform.

From Keyhorse…

Founding Stories: Jawad Popalzai of DataRovers Is Working to Modernize Healthcare’s Most Outdated Systems

Jawad Popalzai’s journey into healthcare technology didn’t begin with software. It started in the clinic, where he spent years as a hematology-oncology physician, witnessing the friction between quality patient care and the outdated systems behind it.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/founding-stories-jawad-popalzai-datarovers-working-modernize-rn35e

2025 AgeTech Market Map

Keren Etkin’s 8th Edition of the AgeTech Market Map. You should peruse the whole thing. Several times.

I see one Louisville-based company. OdessaConnect.

https://thegerontechnologist.com/

Y’all, pitch in. Share.

Let’s build community.

Healthcare spending graphed, the longevity space and more.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:30:09 +0000

➡️🦃

US healthcare system’s financial flows

Crazy. Good. Check out this piece by Andrew Tsang.

An Abominable Creature

Mapping Every Dollar of America's $5 Trillion Healthcare System

healthisotherpeople.substack.com/p/an-abominable-creature

“But here's what gets buried: 22% of all Medicaid spending ($188B) is nursing homes - grandma's long-term care after she runs out of money.”

Healthcare’s Power Users

A really interesting report from Ingeborg Investments, based in Bentonville; Investing in Healthcare’s Power Users. Lots of good data, check it out.

This 👇️ page made me think of y’all, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute.

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64304c551493bf36e87ad1cc/6908cc9e0dc34d074b001ee1_Investing%20in%20Healthcare%27s%20Power%20Users.pdf

Longevity

Several things of note on the longevity space, starting with CB Insights’ The longevity tech market map. It includes Lexington, KY-based TruDiagnostic.

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/the-longevity-tech-market-map/?utm_campaign=EM_IUR-LD_2025_11_11_LONGEVITY_TECH_MARKET_MAP_REPORT_RELEASE&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-99CjwqOHd8JX3AKKlACt8HlkIXKpNKl8kSN5P6SqdY9tznNSNjg1-Y7l-1cyyL8E1iBaSCxIOKJMikIm5au4_OLdgdKw&_hsmi=388570414&utm_content=report-download&utm_source=hs_email

From Crunchbase.

Longevity Startup Funding Sees Fewer Moonshots, But Plenty Of Buzzy Investments

Virtually everyone would like to live a longer, healthier life. Given the ubiquity of this aspiration, it’s not surprising that longevity has a lengthy history as a popular startup investment theme. However, the space is also not immune to market dynamics. We look at what's happened in the sector this year.

news.crunchbase.com/venture/longevity-startup-funding-2025-newlimit-data/?utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20251117&utm_content=intro&utm_term=content&utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230703

Have you listened to this podcast? Brian Kennedy gave thoughts on how Louisville might play in the longevity space.

Health Distilled with Brian Kennedy

In this episode, Andy Steen talks to Brian Kennedy, Director, Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore.

www.liverpoollane.com/podcast/health-distilled-with-brian-kennedy

Osteoporosis treatment

“The Boston-based company is developing bone-targeted therapeutics that deliver localized treatment directly to the skeleton while minimizing systemic exposure…”

Skeletalis Raises $8M to Transform Osteoporosis Treatment for Post-Menopausal Women | Femtech Insider

For decades, osteoporosis treatment has forced patients into an impossible choice: Accept therapies with serious safety risks or live with progressive fragility. Skeletalis, which just raised $8M led by Pillar VC, believes that paradigm is about to change. The Boston-based company is developing bone-targeted therapeutics that deliver localized treatment directly to the skeleton while minimizing

femtechinsider.com/skeletalis-raises-8m-to-transform-osteoporosis-treatment-for-post-menopausal-women

Wait, wut? 🤯

That’s what Pradama was working on—bone-targeted therapeutics. The company was incorporated in 2005 and was based in Louisville. This made it to publication.

Treatment of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus experimental Osteomyelitis with bone-targeted Vancomycin - PubMed

With optimization of pharmacokinetic parameters to prevent toxicity, BT2-peg2-vancomycin may be useful in the treatment of MRSA osteomyelitis.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25674391

We didn’t raise $8M. Somewhere in the ballpark of $2M. Crunchbase is inaccurate on this. But I digress.

2026 Pitch Competition

“The Emerge Experience Hospital Systems and Payer Contests (the “Contests”) are sponsored by Informa Connect USA LLC (“Sponsor”) in connection with the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition, taking place from March 9-12, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada (the “Show”).”

Presentation submissions are due by  November 28, 2025 by 8:59 PDT/11:59 EDT. It would be cool if a Commonwealth-based startup was selected!

Emerge Experience 2026 Pitch Competition

Emerge Experience is where the people building tomorrow's healthcare solutions meet the investors writing the checks—and the executives making the buying decisions.

app.sessionboard.com/submit/2026-himss-global-health-conference-and-exhibition/61c83d86-758b-4780-bde7-1e4633257516?_gl=1nnorpm_gaMTQ3NzExMzY2Ny4xNzYyOTk1NTY1_ga_QZX0W5RKQW*czE3NjI5OTU1NjUkbzEkZzEkdDE3NjI5OTU1ODMkajQyJGwwJGgw

Community. That's what we're building.

So, please, share.

Biomedical data, RPM, innovation.

Andrew Steen — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:30:42 +0000

❄️ 😱

Samples and data 🪙

This 👇️
“As a cornerstone of the collaboration, CU Anschutz and UCHealth will aggregate biomedical data on the Verily platform, creating AI-ready, research-grade biomedical data pipelines…” Yeah. “CU Anschutz and UCHealth further partnered around multiomic data and technology through the creation of RefinedScience…” Yeah.

Verily, UCHealth, University of Colorado Anschutz, and RefinedScience launch strategic collaboration for AI-powered research and care transformation

Dallas, TX – October 14, 2025 – Verily today announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with UCHealth, the University of Colorado Anschutz, and RefinedScience to transform how data is used and care is delivered, supported by Verily’s deep domain expertise and built-for-purpose healthcare technology capabilities.

verily.com/perspectives/verily-uchealth-anschutz-refinedscience-collaboration?linkId=17260469

Under Tom McMahon, GLI’s Health Enterprises Network released a report identifying Louisville's aging-care industry cluster in September 2005. Y’all. Let’s take advantage of that cluster—heck, take advantage of the downtown medical center, too—to aggregate patient | resident data for basic science and translational research. Aggregate seniors for participation in clinical trials. Build a biorepository.

Just, yeah.

Baptist ⇄ Epic

Cool, Brett Oliver, MD.

Modernizing External Ordering and Results Delivery for Safer, Faster Care

Baptist Healthcare connected with specialty labs and device manufacturers using Aura to integrate external ordering and results into Epic. These connections have increased discrete data for clinical decision support, contributed to a 45% increase in at-home colon cancer tests, reduced order and placement time for cardiac monitors by 70%, and saved staff more than 600 hours of manual review over nine months.

www.epicshare.org/share-and-learn/streamlined-specialty-ordering-and-resulting-with-aura

UHC RPM

This is a good piece on UHC’s RPM policy update from Prevounce.

UnitedHealthcare’s 2026 RPM Rollback: Why Limiting Remote Monitoring Hurts More Than It Helps

UnitedHealthcare’s 2026 RPM rollback contrasts with growing evidence and Medicare’s expansion of remote monitoring, learn what providers need to know.

blog.prevounce.com/unitedhealthcares-2026-rpm-rollback-why-limiting-remote-monitoring-hurts-more-than-it-helps

Balance that with this.

Practices That Adopted Remote Physiologic Monitoring Increased Medicare Revenue And Outpatient Visits | Health Affairs Journal

The use of remote physiologic monitoring (RPM)—the remote transmission of patients’ physiologic measures (such as blood pressure) to care teams—has grown rapidly. For practices, establishing an RPM program can improve patient care and increase revenue, but it may also require substantial investment, including hiring new staff. No prior work has quantified the impact of RPM on practices, such as its effects on practice revenue, care delivery, and resource allocation across patients. Using national Medicare claims, we identified 754 primary care practices that began billing for RPM during the period 2019–21 and examined practice-level outcomes through 2023. After these practices adopted RPM, Medicare revenue increased by 20.0 percent relative to similar, matched, nonadopting practices. This was driven by direct billing for RPM as well as more outpatient visits and care management services. Although adopting practices experienced a 2.7 percent increase in billing providers, revenue increases were predominantly driven by increased activity per provider. Increases in care volume for patients receiving RPM did not seem to come at the expense of other patients.

www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00683

On the local tip—Revitalized Solutions and All Hearts Cardiology. Word ‘em up.

AI-related healthcare

Slap some AI in your deck.

Crunchbase Sector Snapshot: Funding To AI-Related Healthcare Startups Is Robust This Year

AI-related healthcare is one of the spaces that have seen a significant rise in funding globally, Crunchbase data shows. Overall funding to the space is up this year, as more startups are tackling high-pain and high-cost parts of the healthcare system.

news.crunchbase.com/health-wellness-biotech/ai-healthcare-funding-rises-2025/?utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20251110&utm_content=intro&utm_term=content&utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230703

Aging in place

“The intersection of healthcare, housing, and technology is creating investable opportunities across several frontiers,” writes David Talpalar. Read it.

Aging In Place: The New Norm

America's shifting demographics - and their preferences - are a forcing function for new models of healthcare.

dtalpalar.substack.com/p/aging-in-place-the-new-norm?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Healthcare-focused innovation centers

Bottom line for sustainability? Interpersonal relationships and cultural benefits > making money.

Perceptions of Sustainability of US Health Care Innovation Centers

This qualitative study assesses the perceptions of employees of innovation centers within US health care systems on whether and how such centers are able to successfully sustain themselves over multiple years.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2811117#

From this 2023 publication; “Health care innovation centers have experienced unprecedented growth in the past 10 years. A 2018 Becker’s Hospital Review survey identified 66 hospitals and health systems with active innovation programs. More recent estimates suggest that the number is now nearer 110.”

Forward this to one colleague.
Just one.

Please.