Medopad rebrands to Huma, acquires two UK tech companies & appoints former UK Health Minister as Chairman

Here at Silicon Canals, we have extensively covered the factors contributing to the success of a startup. While most people believe that the idea is the most crucial factor, there’s survey data that indicates otherwise. One startup that did rather well and caught everyone’s attention early on is Medopad. The UK-based healthtech company has raised over $50 million (€46 million approx.) till date and now, it has made some new announcements. 

Medopad rebrands to Huma

The UK-based healthtech startup is now rebranding to Huma. The company believes that this rebranding is impertinent for reflecting its commitment and mission as its services now go beyond remote patient monitoring and into digital biomarkers and therapeutics. The company was founded in 2011 by Dan Vahdat and Rich Khatib. Partnering with scientists, healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals, and technologists, the company builds proactive healthcare solutions via a portfolio of DTx and digital biomarkers. 

Dan Vahdat, founder and CEO of Huma, commented, “We’ve been through quite a journey since Medopad started in 2011. Medopad has specialised in remote patient monitoring for patients with rare and chronic diseases. Over time, we’ve realised that health is about more than disease states; it’s about general physical and mental wellbeing go hand-in-hand. That’s why it makes perfect sense for us to evolve what the company stands for, what we offer, and why we do what we do. That’s why from today, Medopad is now Huma. Huma reflects our commitment to working with people, for people. The name Huma says that we’re for all of humanity.”

Huma appoints former UK Health Minister as chairman of its board of directors

Huma has also appointed the former UK Secretary of State for Health The Right Honourable Alan Milburn as chairman of the Huma board of directors. Mr Milburn served as a Member of Parliament for Darlington from 1992 until 2010, including serving as Health Secretary from 1999 until 2003. After working with the government, he took up roles such as Chairman of the European Advisory Board at Bridgepoint Capital and Chair of PwC’s UK Health Industry Oversight Board. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He also serves as Chancellor of Lancaster University.

The Right Honourable Alan Milburn, Chairman of the Huma Board of Directors, says, “I’m pleased to work with Huma to help transform the health sector by developing a new understanding of the human body through digital biomarkers. We’re at the very early stages of what could be breakthroughs in how we understand health, diagnose and treat illnesses and Huma could become a true leader in this promising new area for life sciences, innovation partners and healthcare.”

Huma acquires BioBeats and Tarilian Laser Technologies (TLT)

Further, Huma has also acquired a couple of UK based tech companies to further its mission and development. The company has acquired  AI and wearable technology businesses, BioBeats and Tarilian Laser Technologies (TLT). 

Biobeats is a London-based company that aims to be the pioneer of preventative mental health by developing clinically-validated products. These products are able to predict, diagnose and treat mental health disorders. The company’s flagship product, BioBase is a mobile app that is paired with biosensors and a wearable device. It collects biometric data, such as heart rate variability, and psychometric measures (e.g. mood journaling) to deliver a personalised wellbeing score for the users. 

David Plans, BioBeats co-founder and CEO says, “We share a vision with Huma for pioneering preventative health. We want people to go from simply surviving to thriving. By creating clinically-validated products to predict, diagnose and treat mental health disorders, we allow everyone to flourish. We are excited to join Huma to realise our ambition for preventative mental health and wellbeing to people around the world. With Huma’s experience, global partners and innovation capabilities, we look forward to joining the Huma team to help people live longer, fuller lives.”

TLT is a Hertfordshire-based medical technology company. It has come up with an unobtrusive wearable device that sits on a person’s wrist and it is believed to be an innovative breakthrough in blood pressure monitoring. This new sensor employs light modulation to detect motion, including continuous beat-by-beat flow motion forces that determine arterial blood pressure. Thus, this new, clinically-validated technology, is able to relay continuous blood pressure monitoring without a cuff. 

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