International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra has signed a contract with Sanford Health to add cardiology to their existing enterprise imaging solution. All physicians throughout the 44-medical center system will have access to radiology and cardiology images on one workstation, all fully integrated with Epic Radiant and Cupid.

“We are honored to see Sanford Health add cardiology into their Sectra solution. We look forward to a continued close partnership as Sanford takes this next step in realizing their enterprise imaging strategy,” says Mikael Anden, President of Sectra, Inc.

Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the United States, offers health care services and provides its own health insurance plan and senior care facilities. All cardiology studies will utilize the existing radiology archive for efficiency and economies of scale. The cardiology contract signed during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year includes workflow for cardiac catheterization, ultrasound echo, nuclear medicine and invasive vascular studies.

Sectra’s enterprise imaging solution provides a unified strategy for all imaging needs while lowering operational costs. The scalable and modular solution, with a VNA at its core, allows healthcare providers to grow from ology to ology and from enterprise to enterprise.

Epic, Radiant, and Cupid are registered trademarks of Epic Systems Corporation.

About Sectra Imaging IT Solutions

With more than 30 years of innovation and approaching 2,000 installations worldwide, Sectra is a leading global provider of imaging IT solutions that support healthcare in achieving patient-centric care. Sectra offers an enterprise imaging solution comprising PACS for imaging-intense departments (radiology, pathology, cardiology, orthopedics), VNA, and share and collaborate solutions.

Siren, a medical device company that has developed breakthrough technology to embed microsensors within fabric, allowing for mass production of affordable, washable smart textiles with remote patient monitoring applications, announced that it has raised $11.8 million in funding led by Anathem Ventures, with participation from existing investors DCM, Khosla Ventures, 500 Startups, and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. In connection with this Series B round of funding, DCM Partner Jason Krikorian will join Siren’s board and Anathem Managing Partner Crystal McKellar will join Siren as an advisor.

Since its founding in 2015, Siren has raised $22 million across three funding rounds to position itself for commercial expansion, including a previously undisclosed $6.5 million Series A in 2018 and a $3.4 million seed round. Siren was the TechCrunch CES 2017 Hardware Battlefield Winner, and was named 2018 CES Best of Innovation for its innovative smart textile technology.

Empowering Doctors to Effectively Care for Patients Remotely

Siren’s first commercial product is an FDA-registered temperature monitoring sock that connects wirelessly to a software application, allowing podiatrists to detect early signs of inflammation in patients at risk of developing diabetic foot ulcers. The onset of diabetic foot ulcers represents a dangerous condition that, when left unchecked, can lead to serious complications, including amputation. Today, podiatrists largely rely on in-clinic visits to manually monitor the temperature elevations that are the precursor to a diabetic foot ulcer. However, ulcers form in a matter of hours or days and can worsen rapidly between such visits. Siren’s solution enables real-time detection and early intervention, which can prevent the serious complications that result in over 100,000 lower limb amputations every year and cost the US healthcare system over $43 billion annually.1

COVID-19 Changing Healthcare Now and Forever

Siren’s remote monitoring solution is particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it allows healthcare practitioners to stay engaged with and care for their patients remotely, limiting in-clinic visits to true emergencies while delivering additional services for physician practices through CMS’ recent expansion of Medicare reimbursement for remote patient monitoring services.

“COVID-19 has changed healthcare now and forever. Digitization and virtual care is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have. Patients need remote patient monitoring to collect and send crucial health data to their physicians. Clinics, by transitioning some medical staff into virtual monitoring, can stay operational, prevent job loss, and allow patients continued access to care,” commented Ran Ma, CEO of Siren. “Additionally, as a medical device company, we have changed the way that we do business – how we make sales, provide customer support, and how our products work. The companies who not only survive, but thrive, are the ones best able to evolve and help their customers adapt to this new world.”

Series B lead and Anathem Ventures Managing Partner Crystal McKellar said, “Technology, at its best, should deliver higher functionality at a fraction of the cost. In the healthcare space, this means improving patient outcomes while reducing the financial burden to the system. Siren’s breakthrough technology combines all of these important adoption drivers, and I am thrilled to partner with Siren to help further the company’s growth.

DCM Partner Jason Krikorian, a long-time Siren investor who co-led Siren’s 2016 seed round, noted, “When we initially invested, what I saw was a resourceful team and a creative and elegant product that would represent an enormous improvement for patient care and cost-effective physician workflows in any environment. The current pandemic has made it clear that remote monitoring solutions will be a critical part of any physician’s practice. I’m excited to work even closer with the team on this next phase of growth.”

About Siren

Siren is a technology company founded in 2015 by Ran Ma, Henk Jan Scholten, and Jie Fu that has developed proprietary technology to embed microsensors into fabric, allowing for the mass production of affordable, washable smart textiles. Siren’s products seamlessly integrate into their users’ everyday lives while providing real-time biofeedback to patients and their doctors. Siren’s first commercial product is an FDA-registered temperature monitoring sock for the early detection of inflammation that leads to diabetic foot ulcers, which costs the health system over $43 billion a year and leads to over 100,000 lower limb amputations annually in the United States.

About DCM

DCM is a venture capital firm with over $4 billion under management. Since 1996, DCM has invested in more than 400 technology companies across the U.S. and Asia. With offices in Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Tokyo, DCM empowers its entrepreneurs with hands-on operational guidance and a global network of business and financial resources.

AdaptHealth Corp., a leading provider of home medical equipment, supplies and related services in the United States, announced that it has entered into two separate definitive agreements to acquire San Diego, California based Solara Medical Supplies, LLC and Minneapolis, Minnesota based ActivStyle, Inc.

Founded in 2002, Solara is the largest independent distributor of continuous glucose monitors (“CGM”) in the United States and offers a comprehensive suite of direct-to-patient diabetes management supplies to patients throughout the country, including CGMs, insulin pumps and other diabetic supplies. The company maintains extensive relationships with leading national manufacturers, managed healthcare plans and is a registered pharmacy in all 50 states. Solara is currently owned by Linden Capital Partners, a leading healthcare-focused private investment firm.

ActivStyle is a leading direct-to-consumer supply company that provides incontinence and urology products to patients throughout the United States. The company currently serves patients in 48 states with a substantial presence in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas. ActivStyle maintains extensive relationships with leading manufacturers, allowing the company to leverage a strong supply chain to provide an array of products to patients, including Rely, its comprehensive private label incontinence product line. ActivStyle is currently owned by the Riverside Company.

“As AdaptHealth seeks to provide more value to patients, healthcare professionals, and insurance payors managing chronic conditions in the home, we believe offering a more comprehensive solution for diabetes, including CGMs, is an important addition to our expanding suite of products,” commented Luke McGee, CEO of AdaptHealth. “The acquisition of Solara allows AdaptHealth to add scale in CGM and other diabetes management supplies and offer enhanced care for our patients with co-morbidities like obstructive sleep apnea. We believe that Solara and ActivStyle will further AdaptHealth’s vision of becoming a leading provider of connected health solutions and care in the home.”

Steve Foreman, CEO of Solara, Gayle Devin, CEO of ActivStyle, and their respective management teams will join AdaptHealth.

“We are extremely proud of the organization we have built at Solara, which is based upon an unwavering commitment to serve our patients,” said Mr. Foreman. He added, “We are excited about the capabilities that AdaptHealth will bring to Solara and the ways in which they will enhance our patient service.”

Ms. Devin commented, “We are excited to join the AdaptHealth team. Our cultures are aligned, and we have a very compelling value proposition to offer patients, payors and referrals. These synergies coupled with the resources of AdaptHealth and the combined strengths of our teams will be a winning formula to expand and grow the medical supply business.”

AdaptHealth intends to fund the transactions and associated costs through a combination of incremental debt and newly-issued equity. The Company has committed financing from its core lender group for an incremental $240 million add-on to its existing Term Loan A facility. AdaptHealth has also received commitments for equity investments of $190 million from One Equity Partners (in the form of common stock and non-voting stock) and $35 million from funds managed by Deerfield Management (in the form of non-voting stock), and is issuing $62.5 million in common stock to the sellers of Solara, including Linden Capital Partners, as part of the consideration for Solara. The Company expects to fund any remaining amounts from cash on hand or through its current line of credit.

Brad Coppens, Managing Director with One Equity Partners commented, “We strongly believe in the strategic vision and exceptional leadership team at AdaptHealth, and are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with the Company. AdaptHealth is well positioned to be at the forefront of connected care in the home, and we look forward to supporting them in realizing that vision.” Brad Coppens will join the board of AdaptHealth following the closing of One Equity Partners’ equity investment.

“We recognize that these are uncertain times, and we have purposely chosen to fund these transactions with a combination of equity and debt, keeping our leverage profile relatively unchanged,” said Mr. McGee. He added, “The equity investments from One Equity Partners and Deerfield Management are a strong endorsement of our strategy and we are pleased to have their support as we embark on the next phase of growth for AdaptHealth.”

The acquisition and financing transactions have received necessary board approvals and are expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to certain customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of all applicable waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is acting as the exclusive M&A advisor to AdaptHealth and RBC Capital Markets, LLC is acting as financing advisor. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Polsinelli PC and K&L Gates LLP are acting as legal advisors to AdaptHealth.

Robert W. Baird & Co. served as Solara’s financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as Solara’s legal counsel in connection with the transaction.

About AdaptHealth Corp.

AdaptHealth Corp. is a leading provider of home healthcare equipment, medical supplies to the home and related services in the United States. AdaptHealth provides a full suite of medical products and solutions designed to help patients manage chronic conditions in the home, adapt to life and thrive. Product and services offerings include (i) sleep therapy equipment, supplies and related services (including CPAP and bi PAP services) to individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, (ii) home medical equipment (HME) to patients discharged from acute care and other facilities, (iii) oxygen and related chronic therapy services in the home, and (iv) other HME medical devices and supplies on behalf of chronically ill patients with diabetes care, wound care, urological, ostomy and nutritional supply needs. The company is proud to partner with an extensive and highly diversified network of referral sources, including acute care hospitals, sleep labs, pulmonologists, skilled nursing facilities, and clinics. AdaptHealth services beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance payors. AdaptHealth services over approximately 1.6 million patients annually in all 50 states through its network of 220 locations in 38 states.

BioGX and Bosch Healthcare Solutions have partnered to develop point-of-care infectious disease tests for the Bosch Vivalytic all-in-one platform.

Vivalytic is a universal sample-to-result platform for molecular diagnostics which can be used at the point-of-need. The patient sample is placed into the test cartridge, which is then inserted into the Vivalytic analyzer. Since the cartridge already contains all the necessary reagents, the test can be conducted with full automation and a faster turnaround time.

Under the terms of the partnership, BioGX will develop, manufacture and supply reagents for the Vivalytic cartridges. The two companies will collaborate to seek country specific regulatory approvals for in vitro diagnostics use. BioGX will also provide custom reagents manufacturing service for Vivalytic open system users.

“BioGX Sample-Ready reagents and the all-in-one Bosch Vivalytic platform are a perfect match. Our partnership with Bosch gets us a step closer to enabling the most comprehensive infectious disease portfolio for fully automated sample-to-result molecular diagnostics”, said Shahin Iqbal, Ph.D., SVP of Global Operations of BioGX.

About BioGX

BioGX, Inc., headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and its wholly owned subsidiary BioGX B.V., based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, develop and commercialize molecular diagnostics reagents across diverse applications. BioGX operates in a cGMP compliant environment certified to International Standard ISO 13485. The company applies its proprietary platform-agnostic reagent technology to offer products and contract services across a variety of real-time PCR and Next Generation Sequencing platforms. The Sample-Ready™ technology is at the core of all product offerings for Clinical, Food Safety, Pharma and Water Quality molecular testing. BioGX B.V.’s 50+ molecular diagnostic products are marketed and sold in 100+ countries through its Global Distribution Network.

About Bosch Healthcare Solutions

Bosch Healthcare Solutions GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH. The subsidiary was established in 2015 with the aim of developing products and services that improve people’s health and quality of life. About 120 associates (state 2019) are currently employed at the company’s headquarters in Waiblingen, Germany. The subsidiary’s solutions draw on the Bosch Group’s core competencies: sensors to collect data, software to evaluate that data, and services based on this data analysis.