Between Two Vaccines Edition

Relentless Roundup - 11th Edition

I feel a reawakening of the spirit. And a deep sense of relief. 

I also have a profound amount of gratitude for all the frontline healthcare workers and essential service providers that literally put their own lives at risk every single day for the rest of us as the world navigated the unfamiliar these past sixteen months. 

How about you? What are your top-line feelings? 

If there is one undeniable positive outcome of the pandemic it is that people have been discussing mental health openly and often; we’ve allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with one another. We have also seen how Covid has exacerbated historic and persistent inequalities. While it is a shared global tragedy, it is not a shared experience, and we must recognize the mental health implications of these experiences show up differently in our communities.  

Let’s face it. The post-pandemic reset, and routines are going to be tough. Not everyone is going to feel liberation. While some will lean toward ‘hyper-sociability’ others in our circles may be suffering deep anxiety about in person obligations and fear of a new wave.

Bottom-line? A plea for compassion as we head into the next phase of 2021. 

Notes on Digital Health 

It appears that an equally positive outcome of the pandemic is the meteoric rise in funding of innovative mental health businesses. Mental health, an area of investment focus for Relentless, ranked as the top funded clinical indication within digital health in Q1 2021. More specifically, CB Insights reported that mental health funding increased by nearly 54% quarter over quarter to $852M as part of the record-breaking quarter for all digital health funding that was at an all-time high of $9 billion.

A litany of industry funding reports highlight that ‘digital health is in a pivotal moment’; a flourishing digital health industry has enjoyed months of mega financing deals, public offerings and M&A underscoring sustainable growth and delivering compelling returns. 

The pandemic pulled digital health from the wings to the mainstage. The Relentless team has been syndicating from those wings for years! We welcome the mainstage spotlight.

Portfolio Spotlight: CloudMD [TSXV:DOC] (acquiror of Relentless digital mental health start-up, Snapclarity) reported record revenue of $8.8M for the first quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 51% compared to Q4 2020. CloudMD, accelerating growth through M&A, stated that their Q1 acquisitions plus pending Q2 acquisitions cue them up for a strong 2021 showing with annualized revenue run rate expected to exceed $120 million. Huge shoutout to CloudMD cast and crew!

GRAND REVEAL One – The Kinetyx PR 

If you don’t yet follow the Relentless Venture Fund on LinkedIn, you will have missed a couple ‘grand reveals’ in recent weeks. 

Kinetyx Sciences, a business spun out of parent, and Relentless portfolio company, Orpyx Medical announced their first round of financing. Kinetyx is taking the sensory insoles developed by Orpyx and customizing applications in non-medical applications. 

And it wasn’t your typical emerging technology seed funding announcement, the press release has been minted. Yes, you read that right. If you are tracking NFT’s, you are already in the know of how non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stored on the digital ledger known as a blockchain, once minted are certified unique digital assets. 

The entire company is indeed unique. Kinetyx enables the capturing of laboratory quality data, out in the real world, unlocking entirely new ways to train, compete, and play. 

GRAND REVEAL Two – Canary’s Expanded Partnership

The CEO of global MedTech leader Zimmer Biomet, slipped in some news about expanding the relationship with Canary Medical Inc. during their earnings call on May 5th.  He casually mentioned that the partnership is “going to be for hip, it’s going to be for shoulder, there’s going to be a whole pipeline of technologies that will launch.” 

Canary Medical’s CEO, Dr Bill Hunter, elaborated in a LinkedIn post stating in part that “soon, implant-derived data smart implants could be used not only to monitor patient function, diagnose/predict complications (infection, contracture, loosening), but potentially combined with pre-operative and ROSA data to inform implant design and operative technique. It is exciting to be a part of an ambitious, forward looking program destined to change the way we think about orthopaedics.”

We couldn’t agree more. It is going to be a thrilling 2021 for Relentless portfolio company Canary Medical.

GRAND REVEAL Three . . . 

When fundraising for our inaugural fund, a slide in our pitch deck included the following quote from the March 2017 Economist: “The Wonder Drug - Telemedicine, predictive diagnostics, wearable sensors and a host of new apps will transform how people manage their health.” The digital revolution in health was emerging, yet Relentless was the only Canadian venture capital fund, then and now, dedicated to investing in innovative digital approaches to managing chronic disease, including the prevention of chronic conditions.

The pandemic has accelerated the potential of health technology and forced the stripping away of biases and hurdles for adoption. It is an exciting time to be an investor in the digital health transformation. Relentless is in an ideal position to leverage the enlightenment that comes with the digitization of the patient experience.

And so, without further ado, we are launching the fundraise for the “Relentless Health Pursuit Fund” as we seek to tap into our expertise and put more capital to work in emerging health technologies that have vaulted to the main stage. We will maintain our longstanding commitment to investment in preventative healthcare and mitigation of disease risk as well as chronic disease management. We maintain our unwavering commitment to investing in disruptive technology products and services that optimize access to healthcare and facilitate a robust continuum of care. 

Our second fund is open for investment with a projected first close on September 30th, 2021 and is open to accredited investors only. 

Available for coffees and conversation, zoom’s, or a classic phone call - whatever your next phase of pandemic life feels most comfortable with. And with a nod to Zach Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’, ask me anything!

Brenda 

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