A total of 136 digital health companies were acquired in the first half (1H) of 2021, compared to 83 in 1H 2020, according to Mercom’s 1H 2021 Digital Health Funding and M&A Report.
Telemedicine companies led M&A activity with 25 transactions during 1H 2021, compared to 8 in 1H 2020. In 1H 2021, Accolade, a provider of cloud-based, on-demand technology-enabled healthcare concierge services for employers, health plans, and health systems, acquired PlushCare, a virtual primary care platform for $450 million; and Innovation Specialists (dba 2nd.MD), a telemedicine company, for $460 million.
Practice Management Solutions providers recorded 20 M&A transactions in 1H 2021, compared to nine in 1H 2020. In 1H 2021, KKR, an investment firm, agreed to acquire Therapy Brands, a healthcare practice management software platform, for $1.5 billion. Well Health Technologies, an operator of virtual care clinics in British Columbia, acquired practice management software provider Intrahealth Systems for over $19.25 million.
Other Top Digital Health M&A Target Areas in 1H 2021 were Clinical Decision Support, Data Analytics, and mHealth Apps with 10 deals each.
mHealth Apps recorded ten transactions in 1H 2021 and 1H 2020. In 1H 2021, DarioHealth, a digital therapeutics company, agreed to acquire PsyInnovations (dba wayForward), an AI-powered digital behavioral health app, for $30 million.
Data Analytics companies recorded ten transactions in 1H 2021, compared to nine in 9M 2020. In 9M 2021, CSAM Health Group, a Norway-based medical imaging software solution, acquired MedSciNet, a clinical trial data analytics software platform, for $3 million.
Clinical Decision Support companies recorded ten transactions in 1H 2021, compared to three in 9M 2020. In 1H 2021, Halma, a British group of safety equipment companies that make products for hazard detection and life protection, acquired PeriGen, an artificial intelligence-enabled clinical decision support tool for obstetrics, for $58 million in cash.
Nearly 2,000 digital health companies have been acquired/merged since 2010, according to the Mercom database.