This week, Abbott announced its plans to acquire Bigfoot Biomedical — a startup selling a “smart” insulin pen cap, which collects data from a user’s CGM to help them calculate the right dose. Most analysts were unsurprised to hear of the acquisition given that the two companies have been collaborating for more than six years, but they said the deal reinforces the steady pace of digital innovation in the diabetes care space.

Bright Health Group said last week it is “exploring strategic alternatives” for two Medicare Advantage plans in California: Brand New Day and Central Health Plan, which the insurtech purchased several years ago for $500 million. One expert said selling is necessary as the company faces bankruptcy.

WeightWatchers will acquire Sequence, a platform that allows patients to have virtual appointments with a clinician, gives access to a dietitian and fitness coaching and provides prescription medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy. The deal is anticipated to close during the second quarter of 2023, and WeightWatchers will pay the net purchase price of $106 million. 

London-based Unmind offers a measurement tool that allows employees to gain insights into their own mental health. Its content library also provides access to exercises and self-guided courses. Dublin-based Frankie Health, meanwhile, connects employees to a global network of mental health practitioners. The combined organization’s new product, Unmind Talk, joins the strengths of both companies.

LeanTaaS acquired healthcare automation company Hospital IQ. The two companies made the deal because their products complement each other — Hospital IQ provides staff optimization solutions, while LeanTaaS makes software to optimize capacity for operating rooms, infusion centers and inpatient beds.

Override provides chronic pain patients with a care team that includes a pain physician, a physical therapist, a psychologist and a coach. The company has received $3.5 million in seed funding and has acquired Take Courage Coaching.

To get approval for the deal, Medtronic agreed to sell an Intersect subsidiary to soothe the FTC’s concerns.

Wallaby, which has its main offices in Laguna Hills, California and Shanghai, China, and Bochum, Germany-based phenox have been strategic partners since 2019. The deal is valued at about 500 million euros, including milestone payments, or the equivalent of more than $542 million.

The Thousand Oaks, California-based company bought Resilience Treatment Center for Mental Health in West Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum and is now accepting patients at two centers it acquired through the purchase.

The acquisition enables primary and urgent care provider Carbon Health to remotely monitor patients’ vitals and intervene when needed. The move follows Carbon Health’s purchase of diabetes platform Steady Health — its first major foray into home-based care.

Unite Us will integrate NowPow’s tools and community partners into its closed-loop referral system, which can be used to screen for social factors that negatively affect health, like food or housing insecurity, and then electronically refer patients to resources in their community.

The acquisitions will expand Amwell’s virtual care offerings and client base, with SilverCloud Health bringing digital behavioral health programs to its roster and Conversa Health adding text-based patient communications.

Independent physician practices are being gobbled up by hospitals, payers and private equity, and while some see it as a boon for the practices and industry as a whole, others believe it will raise costs and block access to care.

Senior-focused primary care provider Cano Health acquired Doctor’s Medical Center for $300 million, which adds around 54,000 new members and 18 medical centers to its roster. This is the second major acquisition for Cano Health in less than a month. The company bought University Health Care for $600 million in mid-June.

Cano Health, which provides primary care services for seniors, bought Miami-based University Health Care for $600 million. University Health Care serves approximately 24,000 Medicare Advantage members, which will bring Cano Health’s membership to around 143,000.

AMN Healthcare bought Synzi, a virtual care provider, to offer customers greater staffing flexibility. The acquisition is a part of the company’s strategy to keep pace with the evolving market, where a greater emphasis is being placed on virtual care delivery and remote patient monitoring.

After initially purchasing a 40% stake in Kindred at Home for $2.4 billion in 2018, Humana is now fully acquiring the home health and hospice provider for an additional $5.7 billion. The provider will transition to Humana’s payer-agnostic healthcare services brand CenterWell.

Appriss Health, which provides behavioral health insights to clinicians, plans to purchase care coordination solutions provider PatientPing for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close within the next two months, but the combined company’s first steps are still being decided.

The American Hospital Association is urging the Justice Department to thoroughly review UnitedHealth’s intended acquisition of Change Healthcare. The transaction would reduce competition in the health IT arena and result in higher prices and lower quality of care, the hospital group says.

The insurer is buying the telehealth company for an undisclosed sum through its health services portfolio Evernorth. The acquisition will enable Evernorth to offer a 24/7 virtual care platform to health plans and employers, including non-Cigna members.

The insurer will pay $95 per share in cash to acquire Magellan Health, a company providing an array of services, including pharmacy benefit management and behavioral health and employee assistance program services. The companies aim to develop a behavioral health platform.

EverCommerce, a provider of solutions for businesses in the service sector, has added Updox to its roster of health services companies. Updox offers a variety of virtual care, patient engagement and office productivity solutions.

The EHR giant is planning to buy Kantar Health, which provides data, analytics and research to the life sciences industry. Through the acquisition, Cerner aims to provide its clients with more access to data analytics and research expertise and engagement with life sciences companies.

Private equity firm Rubicon Technology Partners acquired a majority stake in Central Logic for an undisclosed amount. Central Logic developed software solutions to help manage the transfer of high-acuity patients between hospitals.

Teladoc reached an agreement to acquire InTouch Health for $600 million, including $150 million in cash. The deal is expected to add roughly $80 million to Teladoc’s top line.

Boston-based Caresyntax raised $45.6 million and acquired Syus, an analytics provider for hospitals.

The deal will give the Swiss drugmaker control of inclisiran, a drug for which The Medicines Company plans to file for approval in lipid disorders starting this quarter.

The drugmaker said Monday it would sell off the drug Otezla to address concerns about competition that the Federal Trade Commission had expressed in connection to the pending $74 billion deal. According to an analyst, BMS saw Otezla as competitive against its investigational TYK2 inhibitor.

Through its app, London-based Echo, which was founded in 2015, offers prescription fulfillment and reminders to take medications.

Accumen, which assists organizations with outreach services, imaging, clinical laboratory operations and patient blood management, has scooped up Pennsylvania-based Halfpenny for an undisclosed amount.