Digital health startups to watch:
Pear Therapeutics
Bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Pear Therapeutics, which is seeking to sell the business or specific assets in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid Chapter 7 liquidation. And even if the company folds under insolvency, it’s still possible that another company will buy the digital therapeutics developer’s FDA-cleared assets at fire-sale prices.
“We’ve shown that clinicians will readily prescribe” prescription digital therapeutics,’ Pear CEO Corey McCann wrote in a LinkedIn post. “We’ve shown that patients will engage with the products. We’ve shown that our products can improve clinical outcomes. We’ve shown that our products can save payors money. Most importantly, we’ve shown that our products can truly help patients and their clinicians.”
“But that isn’t enough,” he continued. “Payors have the ability to deny payment for therapies that are clinically necessary, effective, and cost-saving. In addition, market conditions over the last two years have challenged many growth-stage companies, including us.”
Keep an eye on what happens to Pear and its intellectual property in the months ahead.
