StartUPDATES: New developments in health startups

Oral genomea leader in saliva testing and oral-systemic health innovation, announced new data showing its device achieves over 90% accuracy in detecting oral diseases, including periodontal disease and cavities. In a validation study carried out in 2024, the Oral Genome device demonstrated:

Sensitivity (ability to detect disease): 89.7%
Specificity (ability to confirm health): 95%
Overall accuracy (combined sensitivity and specificity): 92.4%

“These results support what we are striving for: a simple, rapid and highly reliable test that allows providers and patients to obtain information in less than 15 minutes,” said Dr. Tina Saw, CEO and founder of Oral Genome. “By integrating saliva testing with smartphones, we are making oral health prevention more accessible, affordable and scalable. »

Oral Genome’s saliva test eliminates the need for laboratory processing or long turnaround times. Patients simply provide a saliva sample, take a photo with their smartphone and receive a personalized oral health report.

“This technology is changing the way we think about prevention,” said Kelsey Swiggett, director of partnerships at Oral Genome. “We actively collaborate with dental groups, medical systems and research institutions that share our mission: to make predictive and preventative care a reality for every community. The data speaks for itself: now is the time to join us in scaling this innovation and shaping the future of oral and systemic health.”

This breakthrough has the potential to transform preventative care by enabling earlier detection, improving patient engagement, and supporting value-based care models for dental and medical payers.

For more information, visit the Oral Genome website or contact [email protected].

Vega Healtha healthcare startup that seeks to help healthcare organizations derive measurable value from AI, has launched, fueled by seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, according to a press release. Vega curates a marketplace for best-in-class AI solutions for healthcare that have been proven safe and effective in real-world settings, then partners with health systems to implement these solutions in their local environments and monitor performance objectively, the release said. The company also works with leading health systems and innovators to commercialize effective AI solutions across the healthcare ecosystem.

Dr. Mark Sendak, co-founder and CEO of Vega Health, previously served as head of population health and data science for the Duke Institute for Health Innovation and is the co-founder of the Health AI Partnership, a learning collaboration that advances the responsible adoption of AI. He explained in the release what led to the launch of Vega Health.

“During my time at Duke, I saw too many impactful AI solutions remain siled in the locations where they were created. I saw how difficult it was for health systems to adapt and implement effective solutions, even if those solutions worked elsewhere. We launched Vega Health to build the connective tissue needed to make AI in healthcare really work and connect health systems to the solutions that make it work. better advance their priorities. Our team has the experience to effectively integrate and monitor these solutions while driving adoption. results and value.

To find out more, Click here.

Graphical AIfocused on patient safety and pharmacovigilance, raised a $3 million seed round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, according to a press release. This investment will enable Graph to accelerate product innovation, expand its engineering team and drive global market adoption.

Pharmacovigilance, mandated by global drug regulatory authorities, requires pharmaceutical companies to continuously monitor, detect and report drug-related adverse events throughout the life cycle of a drug. The goal of Graph AI is to automate pharmacovigilance tasks that improve the efficiency and accuracy of medical examinations while ensuring regulatory compliance, with the exception of certain regulatory steps, according to the release.

Founded in 2024, Graph AI is led by CEO Raghav Parvataraju, CTO Vijay Ponukumati, CPO Mohan Konyala and CFO Ashutosh Bordekar.

To find out more, Click here.

Plan year has raised $12 million in seed funding led by True Ventures for its native AI platform to transform employee benefits consultant workflows, according to a press release. This cycle will accelerate the development of its BEACON platform, which automates administrative tasks that consume up to 70% of consultants’ time, allowing them to focus on strategic direction and client relationships.

The funding will support the expansion of the platform in key workflow areas as well as enhanced support for employers, general agents and carriers, according to the release. Planyear will also expand its sales team and further develop its AI products to keep up with rapid technological changes and prepare for future capabilities.

To find out more, Click here.

The metastatic brain tumors collective (MBTC), established by the American Brain Tumor Association, has awarded $100,000 in research grants to support innovative projects aimed at improving the diagnosis, treatment and understanding of central nervous system (CNS) metastases, according to a press release. This is the first-ever collaborative grant opportunity dedicated to CNS metastases, made possible through the collective effort of ten leading nonprofit cancer organizations.

CNS metastases are the most common type of brain tumor in adults, occurring when cancers such as breast, lung, melanoma, colorectal, and kidney cancer spread to the brain or spinal cord. Although it affects more than 200,000 people each year in the United States, this patient population is largely underrepresented in research and clinical care.

The MBTC CNS Metastasis Research Grants provide $50,000 for one year of seed funding to high-risk, high-impact projects with the potential to transform how metastatic brain tumors are detected and managed. Each funded project must address CNS metastases resulting from at least two distinct primary cancer types, with potential benefit to adult and/or pediatric populations.

Selected teams receiving an MBTC grant include:

Investigator: Sherise Ferguson, MD
Institution: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Project title: Evaluation of Therapeutic Efficacy of NK Cell Immunotherapy for CNS Metastases

Investigator: Alireza Mansouri, MD
Institution: Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Project title: Cerebrospinal fluid proteomic signatures of leptomeningeal disease

To find out more, click here.

Photo: Natalie Mis, Getty Images

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