What is the outlook for investment in digital health over the coming year? A group of investment experts tackled that question during a session of the Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase, which is being held virtually this week. Although COVID-19 was disruptive, there was a huge increase in health innovation investment last year, with a jump of roughly 56%, said Logan Plaster, director and editor-in-chief at Startup Health.

While the first quarter may be a little slow as the winter COVID-19 surge continues to disrupt business, expect high capital reserves in med tech and life sciences to make 2021 a year for brisk deal activity, according to the 2021 Ernst & Young (EY) M&A Firepower report. In 2020, industry M&A activity fell to the lowest levels since 2014, but the multinational audit and consulting firm found that the industry now has record levels of deal capacity that it is poised to use to accelerate growth coming out of the pandemic.