Healthcare Business International

Five standout European healthcare deals in 2026

oscar@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Oscar Faulkner) — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:06:58 GMT

If you're investing in, advising or operating healthcare businesses, understanding where capital is flowing can provide valuable clues about which sectors, business models and markets are attracting the greatest attention.

So far in 2026, European healthcare dealmaking has delivered several transactions worth hundreds of millions and, in some cases, billions of euros.

Below, we look at five significant healthcare deals announced this year and what they reveal about the trends shaping healthcare investment across Europe.

Deal #1.

CVC and GBL launch €10.7bn take-private offer for Recordati

CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert launched a €10.7bn offer to take Italian pharmaceutical company Recordati private. The consortium is betting heavily on the company's rare disease platform, which has become a major driver of growth and profitability in recent years.

What you can learn from this deal: Rare disease businesses continue to attract significant investor interest due to their strong growth potential and attractive margins. The transaction also highlights how investors are willing to commit substantial capital to pharmaceutical companies that can accelerate growth through acquisitions and international expansion.

Deal #2.

EQT fully exits Galderma

EQT completed its exit from Swiss dermatology company Galderma through a CHF 4.9bn (~€5.29 bn) block trade, ending a highly successful investment that began when the firm acquired the business from Nestlé in 2019. During EQT's ownership, revenue nearly doubled and EBITDA more than doubled.

What you can learn from this deal: Healthcare remains one of the few sectors capable of generating exceptionally large private equity exits. Galderma demonstrates how investors can create substantial value by acquiring non-core corporate assets, improving operations and supporting long-term growth. It also highlights continued investor confidence in specialist areas such as dermatology, where demand is being supported by both medical need and consumer-driven aesthetics trends.

Deal #3.

Astorg acquires Thermo Fisher's microbiology business for $1bn

Astorg reached an agreement to purchase the microbiology division of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a deal valued at $1bn (~€876.2 million). This strategic acquisition focuses on a global leader in clinical and industrial testing, providing a robust platform for further international expansion.

What you can learn from this deal: Diagnostics continues to attract investor interest due to its recurring revenues, resilient demand and opportunities for operational improvement. The transaction also reflects a broader trend of large healthcare companies selling non-core assets while investors seek opportunities to build standalone businesses.

Deal #4.

Mehiläinen acquires Aleris to create a €3.7bn healthcare group

Finnish healthcare provider Mehiläinen agreed to acquire pan-Nordic outpatient group Aleris from Triton, creating a business with €3.7bn in revenue operating across nine countries. The deal expands Mehiläinen into Norway and Denmark while strengthening its position in specialist outpatient care.

What you can learn from this deal: The transaction represents a major milestone for Triton Partners after a seven-year ownership period and provides a strong example of private equity value creation in healthcare services. More broadly, it highlights how scale continues to matter in healthcare delivery. While many hospital groups have struggled to expand internationally, outpatient-focused providers are increasingly finding ways to standardise care, share best practices and build larger regional platforms across multiple countries.

Deal #5.

Terveystalo acquires Silmäasema

Terveystalo announced the acquisition of ophthalmology provider Silmäasema in a deal valued at approximately €574m (partial share-swap deal). The acquisition expands Terveystalo's presence in specialist healthcare and creates a Nordic eye-care and vision-services leader with around €1.55bn in combined revenue.

What you can learn from this deal: Ophthalmology remains one of Europe's most attractive healthcare specialties, benefiting from ageing populations, rising demand for outpatient procedures and growing private-pay spending. The deal also highlights continued investor interest in specialist healthcare services with strong growth fundamentals.

What do these deals tell us about where investment is heading?

Looking across these transactions, several themes emerge: continued investor interest in specialist healthcare services, strong appetite for carve-outs and platform acquisitions, growing consolidation across European healthcare markets and sustained demand for assets with exposure to demographic tailwinds.

These five deals represent just a small sample of the healthcare transactions HBI has reported on this year.

HBI Deals & Insights helps healthcare investors, advisors and operators stay informed about the transactions, strategic moves and market developments shaping healthcare across Europe and beyond. Members receive news, analysis and commentary designed to help them understand not just what happened, but why it matters.

How to keep your customers for the long-term

lee@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Lee Murray) — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 10:11:53 GMT

“How should suppliers work with their customers to ensure they can continue to afford their products and services in the long term?”

That was the question posed to me last week by a group of healthcare procurement experts. We were sparring back and forth over topics to include in the agenda for HBI 2026 next March.

The theme is ‘Creating Value in Changing Times’, and against the current backdrop of spiralling costs, slashed budgets and reduced tariffs, one of the biggest value creation levers for businesses, investors and governments alike is the ability to negotiate better prices.

The discussion that followed this question was surprising, exciting, and full of hope. I don’t often dive into procurement — something I’d previously thought of as simply perfunctory and mundane. I now realise I was wrong.

Innovation in healthcare is seen as a boon to so many challenges. Leveraging robotics and automation to free up time for staff, increase diagnostics accuracy, perform more complex surgeries, get people back on their feet faster. A central challenge for innovation is funding it in a sector with relatively low margins.

When everyone is squeezed, you risk parts of what is a relatively finely balanced ecosystem starting to crumble. Take the news this week that the UK’s NRS Healthcare owned by private equity firm, Graphite Capital and a major supplier of mobility equipment to the NHS is set to run out of cash by the end of the week. Breakages in the supply chain can wreak havoc in any business, but in healthcare (at the risk of sounding a touch dramatic) it could be a matter of life or death.

So, should businesses consider cutting their prices for the greater good? Should, for example, higher-margin pharmaceutical businesses drop their prices to help out their customers? The market and industry reaction to what I might describe as a commendable order from President Trump to reduce drug prices for Americans is a clear ‘no’.

The EU AI Act: What this means for healthcare providers and investors

harvie@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Harvie) — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:41:47 GMT

Since starting my role at HBI back in February, it has been a steep learning curve as I previously had limited experience in both the healthcare and investing industries.

Nevertheless, I have been enjoying unlocking new understandings of the healthcare-investing ecosystem. I’ve been using materials such as HBI’s event session videos and Special Reports to aid me in my journey, along with external readings.

After all, my role as the Events Marketing Executive demands a depth of knowledge of the current market. It also requires me to stay up to date with recent events and to understand the partnerships that CEOs and investors in the industry are aiming to achieve.

Recently, I’ve explored the many roles AI is playing in creating value for healthcare providers, their investors, and, most importantly, their patients. Alongside this, I’ve been learning about the new regulations the EU is introducing: its first attempt to establish clear standards for how AI is integrated within businesses.

Here’s what I have found out:

The second stage of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence act comes into effect this week and with it, a number of considerations for investors and healthcare firms.

As AI remains a promising value creation ’wonder-drug’ to tackle mounting cost, resource and efficiency challenges, what does this next stage of the Act mean in practical terms?

From Saturday, organisations deploying General Purpose AI (GPAI) models, such as Large Language Models (LLMs) used for documentation automation, virtual assistants, and patient triage, must meet new legal requirements specifically around transparency, documentation, and risk mitigation. In Healthcare, that final point is particularly significant as most AI deployments are classified as ‘high risk’.

AI is becoming ubiquitous with any discussion in 2025, but is particularly prevalent in our conversations with CEOs and investors keen to share their results and placing it high on the value creation agenda.

Optegra, the UK’s second-largest for-profit ophthalmology provider by revenue, has implemented an AI virtual assistant called Iris into its patient pathway. This has resulted in annual savings of over £1 million and improved efficiency by 20%.

Pan-European Diagnostics company Unilabs has deployed AI in its breast cancer screening programme, which led to a 29% increase in accurate diagnosis including earlier diagnosis of severe cases. The use of AI in radiology has also enabled Swiss diagnostics company Unilabs to increase efficiency through the use of a radiologist plus AI versus two radiologists.

Italy’s second largest for-profit hospital group by revenue, Humanitas, has invested heavily to build an entire centre for AI that has developed multiple tools and spin-out AI businesses from triage, to scheduling to diagnostics accuracy.

These are just a few examples raised during the recent HBI 2025 session, What is AI’s Equity Story?, which you can watch in full here.

What does this mean for healthcare providers?

In short, it introduces complexity, regulatory uncertainty, and a potential administrative burden. Some may feel this places limits on innovation, whether developing solutions in-house or purchasing them externally. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it helps safeguard patient safety, both physical and data-related.

However, it does mean that products and roll-out plans need to be adapted and recalibrated, adding a few speed bumps along the way.

What does this mean for investors?

AI-enabled companies attract investors because, when deployed effectively, AI reduces costs and eases workload pressures, as demonstrated by Optegra. This creates clear potential for scalable growth.

It also signals that the company is proactively innovating and aligning with the direction of the industry. This scalability can drive higher margins for investors.

In addition, buyers are actively seeking AI-enabled assets to enhance their portfolios, which provides investors with attractive exit opportunities.

However, the EU AI Act introduces a new layer of scrutiny. Now, companies deploying AI systems must comply with stricter regulations around transparency, data governance, and oversight.

For investors, this means compliance-readiness will become a key part of due diligence. Companies that are proactive in aligning with these standards are likely to be more attractive to buyers and command stronger valuations. Conversely, non-compliance could introduce legal risk, reputational damage, or scaling limitations across the EU, factors that may directly impact investment returns.

For investments directly into AI companies who are mostly at the start-up phase, their compliance to this regulation could change how high or how low they are valued. How do you think this will affect companies looking to enable themselves with AI? Do you think it will stunt the sharp trend of progress we have seen over recent years?

Let me know if you have any additional thoughts on this, I would be very open to hearing your predictions. Email me at harvie@healthcarebusinessinternational.com or call 0207 183 3779.

With AI regulations and technologies evolving rapidly, HBI 2026 offers a unique opportunity to benchmark your progress against peers, discover new real-world AI use cases, and explore where the next wave of value will come from. Book your tickets here to get up to 29% off.

For our Intelligence members, you can read more about the EU AI Act, and other upcoming technology regulations, in our Special Report - European Healthcare Technology Regulations - available here.

All the pieces matter

thomas@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Thomas McMullen) — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:18:38 GMT

In the healthcare ecosystem, all the pieces matter.

Fans of the acclaimed HBO crime drama The Wire may recognise the quote, “all the pieces matter”. David Simon applies this to Baltimore’s social and criminal ecosystem through the character of Detective Lester Freamon. Given that the series covers every aspect of life in the city, including the world-famous Johns Hopkins hospital, I hope it’s not too much of a stretch for me to borrow that quote for this blog about healthcare ecosystems.

Healthcare investors of all types, whether from the public or private sectors, recognise that delivering better patient outcomes is at the heart of their mission. Healthcare is a complex ecosystem that serves a fundamental human need. The questions of who pays and how they pay to meet this need shape most national healthcare systems, whether they are modelled on social insurance, private insurance, or an NHS-style system.

In a world where most national healthcare systems are experiencing lower levels of government funding, and where patients are voting with their wallets by either paying for care out of pocket or via Private Medical Insurance (PMI) it's clear that the private sector will play a bigger role.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have the potential to deliver healthcare infrastructure and services, though the appetite for them varies significantly across different governments. Regardless, private sector companies are already providing services for both private and public sectors often in the form of long-term contracts between public sector entities and private companies. In the best of all worlds, this can mean that the public benefits while risks and responsibilities are shared and the private sector brings in much needed innovation.

Private sector participation

Private sector expertise and capital is being deployed throughout the healthcare ecosystem, from services such as hospitals and care facilities to digital health innovators. It also extends through pharma services, biotech, medical devices, diagnostics, Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), and even into seemingly mundane but very important back-office solutions, including logistics, procurement, data warehousing, and security.

All the pieces of the healthcare ecosystem matter and many are right for private sector participation. Value creation can and is increasingly happening using innovative and responsible approaches. Impact investors in particular are able to deliver societal value alongside shareholder value - a capability that many institutional investors see as a crucial qualification for their investments.

HBI exists to support investors, particularly private equity and property investors, to develop their investment strategies across what can often seem more like multiple markets (so many sub-sectors and geographies) than one single if complex healthcare ecosystem.

Having spent most of our efforts up to now helping investors to understand European services markets, HBI is now expanding into adjacent areas to offer the same support across life sciences and healthcare IT. Initially focussing on pharma services and medtech, especially CROs, CDMOs, digital health and diagnostic tools. (Plus, we are now already across a wider geographic footprint covering markets including China, India, and the Middle East with regularity).

What does this mean?

As a sneak peak, HBI 2026 Paris, March 23 - 25, will introduce dedicated life sciences and medtech streams for the very first time. We’ve increased the conference to three full days to be able to do this whilst continuing to serve our existing core sectors. Expect to get a first look at the full agenda at the start of September.

Meanwhile, as part of our online membership service we are already writing news stories about developments in life sciences and healthcare IT that are relevant to investors. Look out for updates about how and when we will introduce data and analyses covering the same areas which are coming soon!

In the meantime, if you have thoughts about how HBI covers the healthcare ecosystem or would like to find out more about how we can help your organisation I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me on thomas@healthcarebusinessinternational.com or by phone on +44(0) 204 5371 364

Asia is the most dynamic region for healthcare investment

oscar@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Oscar Faulkner) — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:53:22 GMT

Many economists have described the 21st century as belonging to Asia, and with good reason.

Across the region, healthcare is expanding and modernising rapidly.

From China and India to Malaysia and Vietnam, demand for better care is rising, and governments are opening the doors to international investors.

This shift is creating one of the most dynamic investment landscapes anywhere in the world, creating an ecosystem ripe for long-term investment.

Growth in this sector can be attributed to a mix of long-term structural forces and more recent shifts in policy and investment appetite. Asian healthcare has been affected by rapid population growth and urbanisation, and a demand for an improvement on outdated infrastructure. As a result of this, China has recently begun to open up to foreign capital, creating opportunities for investors.

In response to these market conditions, capital is already flowing in. The largest ever South & Southeast Asia healthcare fund has recently closed by Singapore-based PE firm Quadria Capital, raising $1.7 billion, whilst India and Vietnam have seen a wave of high-profile buyouts and IPOs in recent years. This reflects growing investor confidence and a push to scale regional providers.

“Asia is one of the few regions globally where you can still build large-scale healthcare platforms with strong local demand and long-term tailwinds,” says Abrar Mir, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Quadria Capital.

“From India to Indonesia and Vietnam, the opportunity to back transformative businesses is enormous, especially in markets where private capital can help close gaps in access and quality.”

Although it is clear the Asian healthcare market is fertile, it is highly fragmented. Each country has their own strategic conditions unique to them. This makes focussed intelligence essential when preparing to enter the market.

HBI has compiled the inaugural Asia Special Report which is out today. The report provides deep analysis and information about market size, market drivers, and key sectors covering eight markets; India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines. This is essential information for all those with an Asian healthcare investment strategy or an interest in the region.

HBI Intelligence members can download the full report here.

If you aren't already an HBI Intelligence member, look out for the Executive Summary that will be released soon, or get in touch to find out more about the benefits of becoming an Intelligence member today

How will EU tariff negotiations affect pharma prices?

anjana@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Anjana Madangarli) — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:46:53 GMT

In the face of Trump’s impending tariffs, Europe has been mulling over the best course of action to protect its industries.

The European pharmaceutical industry has appealed to Brussels to not retaliate if the impending tariff threat falls on imported drugs.

The concern arose from Trump’s announcement last week that tariffs were coming “very soon” as well as the strategic advantage such a move would gain him ahead of the self-imposed 9 July trade deal deadline. However, the EU has been granted an extra three week reprieve to negotiate the deal.

The current speculated shape of the deal includes automobiles and steel — which had higher levies imposed on them — but no mention of pharmaceuticals as of yet.

Last week HBI covered how vulnerable branded pharmaceuticals would be if US tariff threats were enforced. At that time, Trump had threatened tariffs of up to 50% on all EU imports, prescription drugs included. European businesses have been paying a 10% tariff on goods sold to the US since April.

Additionally, we covered how the share price of European pharma companies such as AstraZeneca and GSK have been impacted by the introduction of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule, which links US drug prices to the lowest prices paid by comparable wealthy nations and raises concerns that companies might increase prices elsewhere to offset losses in the US market.

Diederik Stadig, an economist working for multinational bank ING, told HBI:

“Trump has given branded drug manufacturers a lever to pull in negotiations with European states, as MFN and tariffs would add inflationary pressure. However, the effect will be limited because drug prices are mostly negotiated by national healthcare insurers, not at a European level. The decentralised process dampens the impact of MFN, and price agreements tend to be strict and long-term, so any effect would likely be medium-term.”

President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and member of the board of management at the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, Stefan Oelrich appealed to Brussels last Thursday, saying:

“We’re shipping a lot of exports out of the US into Europe. If we add tariffs to that, it’s going to be negative for both sides. If we reciprocate on tariffs, it’s just a bad idea. It’s a bad concept.”

EU countries have different strategies when it comes to dealing with the US. While France and Germany prefer a “quick and simple” trade deal, Baltic nations prefer to build a more amiable relationship with the president’s support of Ukraine in mind. Last week, the Trump administration floated a possible 17% tariff on EU agricultural products and food and drink imports, a decision that would negatively impact Ireland, France and Italy.

“There’s no specific ask [of the US] other than … to the degree possible to limit trade barriers to zero, which would be the ideal case for us and/or something similar to zero,” Oelrich said.

“Tariffs will increase the cost of medicine and care. Tariffs will also create, ultimately, higher costs to patients.”

Oelrich also hinted that reforms on financing, pricing and regulations of drugs may help restore Europe’s lead in drug research and development, currently held by the US. He cited the fact that one out of four drugs approved by the US FDA have not made it to the EU due to differences in national regulations and pricing.

The issue has become more urgent as Trump threatened a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports, to be enforced after a one year grace period.

With the final state of the trade deals now uncertain until the 1st of August, some have warned investors to re-align their portfolios to focus on resilience through the uncertain 18-month transition period ahead of them.

Pharma companies, however, have had a pleasant surprise as their shares traded with gains even after the new tariff threat, with shares of Lupin, Biocon, Aurobindo Pharma and Laurus Labs seeing increases of up to 1.5%.

Standout themes from HBI’s Asia report

martin@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Martin De Benito Gellner) — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:47:38 GMT

We’re about to release a Special Report on healthcare investment in Asia.

The report will provide a detailed overview of the dynamics, trends and opportunities in the healthcare markets of eight hugely important countries in the region: China, India, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

As is to be expected from an HBI report, the primary focus is on healthcare services, but there is also discussion of major trends and investment opportunities in medtech and biopharma.

One of the most interesting things about looking at private healthcare markets across different countries is how dissimilar business models can be, and even how different the concept of what private healthcare is can be, especially when comparing emerging markets to developed European ones.

The country where this contrast is most stark is India, where many operators’ business models are focused on providing care efficiently, at low cost and with low margins to the widest demographic possible, rather than premium services to those who can afford it.

Abrar Mir, who co-founded the PE firm Quadria capital, put it thus: “The provision of private healthcare in Asia isn't about providing a premium service to a select few. It's about actually building business models that are scalable, that reduce the price of high quality care and therefore increase access to even the most vulnerable. And that's a very unique Asian thing. Very different to the US and Europe where private care is associated with chandeliers, Picasso paintings, and marble floors. That is not the case in Asia.”

Related to this is another interesting contrast: the governments of Asian countries generally don’t see private healthcare operators and investors as a politically risky oddity, or as something harmful or dangerous that needs to be contained. Most are trying to actively encourage much-needed private investment into their healthcare systems.

China is the most prominent example here, having opened up nine key regions to foreign direct investment into hospitals last year. Regulatory barriers and political risk are still an issue of course, but the general intention of policy makers is encouraging.

A third interesting point of comparison is to consider the earlier phase of development that most of these markets for healthcare services are in, and how much greater the opportunities therefore are, to those willing to take on risk.

A Thai former healthcare executive commented to us: “Europe should look outward and see how many countries are like Europe was 30–40 years ago, and so what has been done successfully there could be tried in Thailand. It’s not exactly the same, of course; they’ll have to adapt the way they operate. But by entering a new country there may be lessons they can bring back. The world is a big global village, with big cultural differences between countries, but this creates big opportunities.”

Is there a new way forward for cycle tracking apps?

anjana@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Anjana Madangarli) — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:10:03 GMT

Menstrual cycle tracking apps (CTAs) have a history of selling female health data to third parties for large profits. In the face of increasingly strict regulations around sensitive data, there may be room to improve the current reproductive health data landscape through careful consideration of best practice and compliance with legislation such as GDPR.

For investors — particularly in private equity — the sector presents a mix of reputational risk and strategic opportunity. Cycle tracking sits at the intersection of consumer health and digital infrastructure, where strong governance can become a source of long-term value creation.

Previously, mental health apps such as BetterHelp and Cerebral have been charged with irresponsible disclosure and misuse of health data, shared with platforms like Facebook and Snapchat for advertising purposes.

In 2024, HBI released a Special Report on major EU technology regulations that would affect the use of health data. A digital health expert commented: “A big part of regulation is the fostering of trust. We should be talking more with the public writ large about what they expect to see in order for them to trust their health data is being used effectively, efficiently and appropriately.”

While there is a separate conversation to be had about the use of health data within healthcare provision and research spaces, a large part of the current pushback against digital health providers relates to the practice of selling data to third parties for non-medical purposes such as advertising. Even in cases where data is being used for medical purposes, companies must take steps to ensure that data is anonymised and cannot be used against users in future.

CTAs and misuse of data

In 2023, Premom, a fertility app, was charged by the American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with deceiving users by disclosing their health data to third parties such as Google and AppsFlyer, and violating Health Breach Notification Rules. The information included Premom users’ social media accounts, precise geolocation data, as well as mobile and Wi-Fi network identifiers (which are non-resettable).

Period tracking data is considered a “special category” under UK data protection law, receiving similar safeguards to data on genetics and ethnicity. However, because CTAs are marketed as non-medical “wellness” tools, the data they collect is often not granted these same protections. This creates a grey area that can leave users exposed and poses a growing governance concern for investors.

Most menstrual tracking apps follow a freemium model, offering features to track ovulation, periods and other health information. Many also encourage users to share data about their menstrual cycles, fertility and pregnancy, and to sync that data with other device-based health platforms.

A research team at the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) examined 25 period trackers and found that only one kept all users’ sensitive data stored on the device. 84% of the apps allowed sharing of health data with third parties, and 68% did so for marketing purposes. Only one of the apps that shared data had asked for user permission explicitly within the app — rather than funneling it into the terms and conditions. Five of the apps provided no telephone or email contact for the developer, despite this being a legal requirement to allow users to request data deletion.

Menstrual health data warrants specific attention in discussions around digital health, as it presents unique risks. Research from the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at Cambridge University has warned that this data, in the wrong hands, could affect employment prospects, result in insurance discrimination, limit access to fertility services, and in some cases has even been used as legal evidence against women.

As one expert told HBI: “I recently heard a UK-based person say: ‘Don’t tell me how you’re protecting my data; tell me how you’re using it to improve health services and overall health in the community — and assure me that it is being protected.’”

A way forward — and a commercial opportunity?

HBI has previously reported on how Flo, a cycle tracking app with 62 million active users, has faced scrutiny over its data practices. In 2021, Flo settled allegations from the FTC that it had misled consumers about how their health data was being disclosed.

Against this backdrop, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued four key recommendations for app developers aiming to protect user data:

Be transparent: Clearly explain data use, retention, and sharing
Obtain valid consent: Ensure consent is explicit and easily withdrawn
Establish the correct lawful basis: Use the appropriate legal foundation for processing data
Be accountable: Comply with data protection laws and take full responsibility for user data

In 2022, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn constitutional abortion rights, usage of CTA apps fell globally by 7%. Flo responded by introducing a free “anonymous mode”, allowing users to access the app without linking any personal information. The company has since open-sourced the technology behind this feature — part of a broader shift in the femtech sector towards transparency and user control. Flo meanwhile has gone from strength to strength.

There is a clear push for femtech companies to offer privacy-conscious design and “clear consent” pathways, in contrast to all-or-nothing data collection models. This shift is not just about compliance — it reflects increasing market demand for digital health solutions that combine efficacy with trust.

The femtech sector is projected to be worth over 60 billion US dollars by 2027, with cycle tracking apps accounting for around half the market. Given strong consumer demand for these services and growing awareness of data protection issues, there may now be a real opportunity for private healthcare investors to step in — bringing rigour, governance and clinical alignment to a space that is poised for growth, but still maturing in trust and infrastructure.

The era of near-zero interest rates may not be over, but PE shouldn’t celebrate this

martin@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Martin De Benito Gellner) — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 13:50:26 GMT

Today the Bank of England decided to keep its policy interest rate held at 4.25%, but hinted it would reduce it further in August (it’s been cut four times over the past year, from its peak of 5.25%). Over on the continent, where inflation is lower, the European Central Bank recently cut its main rate to 2%, whilst Switzerland, which saw deflation of 0.1% in May, has cut its rate to zero. The US Federal Reserve is keeping its rate held at 4.4%, in the face of uncertainty over how much tariffs will push up inflation.

Countries which aren’t cutting their rates as fast as the ECB, such as the UK and the US, are holding off because they’re still experiencing above-target inflation. But they’ve still been cutting rates from their 2023/2024 peaks, and expect to continue to do so as inflation is brought under control.

No one is quite sure where interest rates will end up, but a bit of a consensus has emerged amongst economists that it is unlikely we will return to the situation of the 2010s, where rates were held at or close to zero in the face of persistently low demand and below-target inflation. Advanced economies are now supply-constrained rather than demand-constrained, and the huge increases in spending on defense that governments are now promising should only make this more true.

All it would take, however, is a major unexpected shock to the economy to completely change the outlook. A financial crash akin to 2007/2008, or the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2000, could cause a negative shock to demand, as businesses reduced investment and laid off workers and households cut back spending, which would put pressure on central banks to rapidly cut rates to support the economy, even if inflation remained around the 2% target.

Private equity (PE) firms, who relished the cheap debt of the 2010s as it allowed them to do ever-more-leveraged buyouts, might see a silver lining in this. Deal activity in the PE industry drastically slowed in 2023 and 2024 due to higher interest rates, and PE firms have been holding onto assets for much longer than they normally would. Some fund managers may even be cynically waiting for the next financial downturn and interest rates to fall before selling.

But lower interest rates would offer only minor, temporary relief. The PE industry’s deeper problem is that, similar to the housing market, the valuations of illiquid PE-held assets aren’t really ever allowed to properly adjust downwards, because returns are being driven to a significant extent by asset price inflation. PE firms, like house sellers, will tend to rather hold off selling than accept a significant price reduction, which causes markets to freeze when conditions aren’t favourable.

Eventually, something will have to give. Hedley Goldberg, Partner and Global Head of Healthcare Services at investment bank Rothschild, said at HBI’s conference in March that PE “needs to see realisations this year”. Hopefully it’s a relatively calm and orderly amble towards the exit, rather than a chaotic and panic-induced scramble.

Where will AI have the biggest impact in healthcare?

martin@healthcarebusinessinternational.com (Martin De Benito Gellner) — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:38:26 GMT

This week I attended London Tech Week. The entire Tuesday schedule for the ‘Impact Stage’ (one of seven stages at the three-day event) was dedicated to sessions on technological innovation in healthcare, and featured some interesting discussions.

AI was, unsurprisingly, the overarching theme which speakers kept circling back to. In light of this, and the fact that HBI will be releasing a Special Report in the coming months looking at how digital and AI are transforming the sector, I thought it would be worth taking stock of where AI seems to have the biggest potential for impact in healthcare.

Radiology

Diagnostic imaging is the area of healthcare provision where integration of AI is most advanced. An oft-cited statistic is that radiology AI tools account for around 80% of all the AI healthcare tools approved by the US’ Federal Drug Administration. According to the UK’s Royal College of Radiologists, over 60% of cancer centres and 70% of radiology departments in the UK already use AI. The digital-ready nature of the diagnostic image data makes it particularly suitable for applying classical AI to allow much faster, and even in many cases more accurate, analysis of images than is possible with humans alone. The proliferation of start-ups developing tools in this space, and the development of platforms such as DeepHealth to integrate these tools into diagnostic imaging workflows, suggests roll out will only accelerate in the coming years.

Remote monitoring

Another area where AI is already having a huge impact is remote monitoring. AI can be used to analyse data taken from wearable or ambient home devices and alert care providers when, or even before, an intervention is needed for patients, particularly in mental health, post acute and elderly care settings. UK home care provider Cera Care is one of the biggest pioneers in this space, and has raised hundreds of millions of venture capital dollars to roll out its AI-based care.

Drug discovery

The area that most people at London Tech Week seemed to agree holds the biggest promise in the coming decades is applying AI to drug discovery. This will not only reduce the cost in time and money to develop new drugs but could also radically increase the scope of what types of drugs are possible.

A panel discussion on the topic featured Oliver Vince, Co-Founder of Basecamp Research, a London based tech company that is attempting to use generative AI to move drug discovery well beyond what is possible today based on current human understanding and knowledge of biology.

“It’s not a trivial thing to teach computers biology, but the fact that generative AI models can learn unsupervised means they can learn patterns we haven’t taught them,” Vince said. “Humans have such a simplistic understanding of biology relative to what’s out there, which is why they have such a high failure rate with new trials. At least we have a roadmap to overcome this, and eventually develop types of drugs that are far more sophisticated than what we’ve got today. We’re working with Nvidia to build the largest foundation models ever, for generative designs for new molecules for a wide range of applications.”

Reducing admin workload

A less transformational application of generative AI, but one which is already available right now to be deployed and reap the rewards of, is ambient scribe tools, which can significantly reduce the amount of time clinicians have to spend on admin and boost their productivity and patient throughput by 20-30% by taking their notes for them.

Roll out of these tools is quite advanced in US hospital systems, but in Europe and the UK has been slow. However, Caroline Clarke, NHS England’s Regional Director for London, said the roll out of this “here-and-now obvious business case” is well underway in a number of settings in London NHS facilities, including A&E, and is working “pretty well”.

The move towards predictive and personalised medicine

AI has the potential to do far more than increase clinician productivity and patient throughput for healthcare providers. There are already examples of healthcare providers that are using AI to radically transform their model of care delivery, in particular shifting towards more preventive care. Israeli integrated payor-provider Clalit is probably the most advanced at doing this. Ran Balicer, the group’s Chief Innovation Officer, explained at HBI’s 2023 conference how it works.

Ultimately providers should be able to move towards more personalised as well as preventive care delivery, assuming the regulatory and logistical barriers to properly harnessing health data are overcome.

Finn Stevenson, Founder & CEO of Flok Health, a UK digital physiotherapy provider doing a lot of work for the NHS, spoke about the crucial role data plays in this at a panel on how tech is driving personalisation of care:

“Personalisation is almost a code word for good care: everyone has different health needs. The reason it exists as a concept is that historically any healthcare model you can think of has had to deal with a trade off between scalability and the level of quality (i.e. personalisation) of the care. But AI kind of breaks that trade off: for digital/AI-first delivery models, the more you put through the system, the better it becomes.”