Borrowing a chapter from venture capitalists, the U.S.’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is partnering with the nonprofit Global Health Investment Corp. (GHIC) to accelerate the development and commercialization of medical technologies and products needed to respond to or prevent future pandemics and other public health emergencies.

PARIS – French public sector investment bank Bpifrance SA is consolidating its commitment to e-health startups, with the announcement of a doubling in size of its Fonds Patient Autonome [Patient Independence Fund] to more than $120 million. Three further partners from France have also subscribed to this new fund. These are the Banque des Territoires – an offshoot of the French national public sector savings and investment fund, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations; the Harmonie Mutuelle insurance group; and the foundation hospitals Groupe Vivalto Santé SA.

TORONTO – Arthrolense Inc. has just seen its bank balance swell after Lynx Equity Ltd. invested $2 million to further develop the startup’s augmented, mixed reality surgical guidance systems for hip and knee replacement. According to orthopedic surgeon and company CEO David Backstein the Arthrolense system uses vastly improved hologram-based technologies to solve problems that persist in computer navigation and robotic systems.

Digital therapeutics startup Akili Interactive Inc. has secured $160 million in a combined equity and debt financing to accelerate commercialization of its Endeavorrx platform for cognitive disorders. The company won FDA clearance and the CE mark in June 2020 for its video game-based treatment, Endeavorrx ALK-T01, for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

For the next three years, the government of Shanghai will hand out R&D subsidies up to ¥100 million ($15.6 million) per year to each biopharma company in the municipality to support innovative medicines. Med-tech players can also each receive up to ¥15 million a year for developing innovative devices.