Top MedTech Trends from JP Morgan 2019
It’s been called “Woodstock for healthcare.” Thousands of health executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Pitches for new drugs and…

It’s been called “Woodstock for healthcare.” Thousands of health executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Pitches for new drugs and medical devices. Company-hosted cocktail parties at posh San Francisco restaurants.
Things get a little crazy at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (“JPM”). Rooms in downtown San Francisco going for $2000–3000 a night. Hotels charging attendees $100 an hour just to use their lobby for meetings!
Here’s what I’ll remember from JPM and the StartUp Health Festival.
Big Tech Companies Want a Piece of the Healthcare Pie

Uber is building a medical transport business.
Amazon’s rumored to be making moves in electronic medical records, telemedicine and health insurance.
Apple’s watch is becoming a medical device that will track an expanding array of vital signs and biomarkers.
Medical Devices are Getting Smart
I was blown away by Raj Reddy’s presentation of nGageIT, a non-invasive cancer diagnostic using AI-enabled nanosensors to capture “digital biomarkers” from human breath. Their device is claimed to detect cancer with 90% accuracy. The metabolism of people with cancer has a different chemical signature in the breath (“aromatic hydrocarbons,” for you chemistry nerds). The technology could enable earlier diagnosis of breast cancer and lung cancer and improve survival.

I was also impressed with Eko, makers of a smart digital stethoscope that can detect heart function abnormalities earlier and in patients who might not otherwise be screened for heart disease. It’s being tested in 1,000 US health clinics. The company is collaborating with Mayo Clinic to develop data-driven technology to help physicians detect potentially dangerous heart diseases.
Wearables
I met the CEO of Oxitone, an Israeli company that aims to reduce the 3 million annual deaths from COPD.
They’re developing a wrist-based pulse oximeter and AI digital health platform for digital continuous care at home — no bulky fingertip probe needed. It can detect early signs of disease deterioration. Its CEO says the device will “swim laps” around Fitbit for sleep monitoring.
Implantables / Embeddables
You may have read about the thousands of Swedes who have implanted microchips into their hands. They use them to unlock doors or buy tickets with a swipe of the hand.
Soon a new generation of medical products will be implanted under the skin. They’ll monitor our health in real time, feeding data into AI algorithms to detect problems and alert us when we need a medical intervention.

I saw a pitch from Qura, a company that’s developing wireless implantable pressure sensors to monitor the health of every organ. The spine, the bladder, the eye — there are 15 places where a pressure change indicates a change in the health of the organ.
Ingestibles
These “smart” pills use wireless technology to help monitor internal reactions to medications.
Executives from Japan’s Otsuka spoke about their landmark anti-psychotic drug, Abilify MyCite. It’s the first FDA approved drug that contains a digital sensor inside the pill that records medication adherence: “We need new tools and solutions in mental health that move beyond just the pill.”
Digital Therapeutics
Healthcare companies are building end-to-end, “full stack” therapeutics combining D2C business models, digital health UI/UX, and biochemical assets.

The CEO of Pear Therapeutics talked about his company’s reSET app — last year it was authorized by the FDA to treat substance use disorder, becoming the first software app approved for clinical use. Their reSET-O program to treat opioid use disorder, which pairs cognitive behavioral therapy with buprenorphine, was also approved by the agency.
Convergence of AI, Genomics and Precision Medicine
It’s been estimated the amount of health data we capture doubles every 73 days. Genetic testing has gone from prohibitively expensive to cheap and easy. Illumina CEO Francis deSouza said his company’s sequencing technology is on track to provide a $100 genome.
Personalized treatment could revolutionize how we treat cancer (e.g. CAR-T immunotherapy). There’s huge excitement about our improved ability to program cells and genes to serve as therapies.
I met with founders of a startup that’s using genetic circuits to edit the DNA of a patient’s immune cells to recognize its own cancer and recruit that patient’s immune system to attack the cancer cells.
AI is expected to transform how we treat neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These are complex diseases where we don’t fully understand the biology. The field is ripe for ML/AI to help researchers synthesize multiparametric data (genetics, lifestyle, molecular interactions) and develop new drugs for these devastating illnesses.
Cannabis as medicine
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta highlighted the potential for medical cannabis to help alleviate the opioid crisis. Despite the mounting evidence of its potential to reduce opioid dependence, the drug remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law.

A new bill was just filed in Congress (H.R. 420, haha) that, if passed, would remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act.
GW Pharmaceuticals PLC last year secured the first US FDA approval of a prescription drug derived from the marijuana plant to treat rare forms of epilepsy. The drug, Epidiolex, is a formulation of CBD, a non-psychoactive compound that’s been shown to be safe and effective. Researchers see potential for CBD to help in a wide number of neurological conditions from chronic pain to autism to depression.
Neuromodulation for Chronic Pain

One of my favorite pitches was from Richard Hanbury, CEO & founder of SANA Health. In 1992 an IED in Yemen took out his legs and made him wheelchair-bound. He was in pain and became addicted to opioids. He searched for a better solution for pain management.
The Star Trek-like headset he developed uses neuromodulation technology via audio and visual signals to relieve pain. It’s won several awards for innovation and is being studied for use in opioid addiction and chronic pain.
Doctors on Demand with Telemedicine
I heard a great pitch by Jamey Edwards of Cloudbreak Health. The company makes devices called MARTTI (“My Automated Real Time Telemedicine Interpreter”) to improve patient communication and enhance mental health.
I learned about Fruit Street, a telemedicine solution for Type 2 diabetes. Their platform lets diabetes patients take pictures of their food and connect with doctors and dietitians via group videoconferencing.
Other Cool MedTech Startups
One of the funniest presentations came from Trak, an at-home tracker of male fertility / sperm count ( www.DontCookYourBalls.com). I learned that sperm count is a measure of a man’s overall health. Male infertility is a challenge for millions of US men.

The founders of BabyScripts are transforming how doctors deliver pre-natal care. The technology uses IoT sensors to measure stress / cortisol levels to reduce risk of pre-term births and infant mortality.
Genneve is a virtual clinic for women with menopause. Women use the app to connect with a network of 200 menopause specialists for education and support.
I met the founder of Kaiku Health, an app that guides patients through cancer therapy. It helps them understand what to expect from chemo and radiotherapy treatment, report symptoms and connect with healthcare providers. Cancer patients live up to 30% longer when they’re engaged in their treatment.
Savor provides personalized nutrition support for cancer patients, who have different nutritional needs and often have nutritional deficiencies. Tools like this could enhance patient nutrition and increase survival.