Portfolio News

SHYFT Analytics to be acquired by New York company

Waltham, Massachusetts-based SHYFT Analytics has agreed to be acquired by New York technology company Medidata. The deal is valued at $195 million, and Medidata says it will help to increase its growth in Massachusetts. SHYFT is a private company that manages data for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. Medidata is a publicly traded firm that aids in drug development and clinical trials performed by other companies. The acquisition deal was approved unanimously by the boards of both companies and the stockholders of SHYFT, and it...

With $20 Million in Funding, Propeller Health Partners With Aptar Pharma To Make Digital Medicines

Propeller Health has partnered up with Aptar Pharma, which last year generated $800 million selling drug dispensation devices such as inhalers and injectors to drug companies. Aptar and Propeller Health will digitally connect these devices to Propeller’s software via sensors, helping patients to better manage respiratory diseases, opioid addiction and pain. As part of the partnership, Aptar has invested $10 million in the funding round, bringing Propeller Health’s total funding to over $65 million. The move also positions Propeller Health for growth into other areas, as...

How do people living with dementia make assistive technology work for them?

Over the past 10 years, a lot of consideration has been given to how technology can be used to help care for people living with dementia. Voice recognition systems such as the Amazon Echo will never tire of repeated inquiries about the date and time.  This interactive technology can also be used to provide prompts and reminders. There’s even data to suggest it can reduce loneliness. Other examples of telecare devices include pendant alarms that are equipped with movement or pressure sensors, which can summon help should...

New Test May Detect Lung Cancer Early, But It Is Still a Long Way Off

At last weekend’s American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, GRAIL released results of a study that shows the potential for lung cancer to be detected with a blood test. The survey evaluated 127 patients with lung cancer and 580 controls. The researchers found that more than 50 percent of the mutations that could lead to cancer could be detected in participants’ blood. The specificity of the test—that is, the ability of the test to detect specific genetic markers for cancer—was 98 percent. The assays detected...

Bill Moschella – Building a World Class SaaS Startup

A November 2017 episode of Startup Grind Local featured Bill Moschella, who co-founded Evariant, a leading healthcare CRM and analytics business. Today, Moschella is Evariant’s Chairman and CEO. Moschella says he had a great upbringing in a very tight-knit family and neighborhood. He grew up the son of two teachers who worked hard to provide for the family and give him the best education they could. He said that the entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic runs in his family, recounting how his grandfather started his own...