Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Technology
June 22, 2021 02:18 PM

Pear Therapeutics to go public via SPAC merger

Jessica Kim Cohen
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Two puzzle pieces on a background of money.
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    Prescription digital treatment developer Pear Therapeutics plans to go public this year through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Thimble Point Acquisition Corp., the companies announced Tuesday.

    The deal values Pear, founded in 2013 and one of the first companies to earn clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for a digital therapeutic product, at $1.6 billion.

    Pear joins a growing number of healthcare companies going public through SPAC mergers. A SPAC, also known as a blank check company, raises money through an IPO that it then spends acquiring other companies and taking them public. For the startup that's being acquired, that can cut down on the risk, cost and time involved with going through the initial public offering process.

    Ten digital health companies announced or completed SPAC mergers in 2021's first quarter, according to data from Rock Health, an early-stage digital health venture fund that also compiles research on the sector. SPACs across all industries in the U.S. raised more capital in 2021's first quarter than in all of 2020, according to Rock Health's report.

    After the merger with Thimble Point, Pear plans to list itself on the Nasdaq under the ticker "PEAR."

    Pear, which will be renamed Pear Holdings Corp., will continue to be led by the company's existing management team. Pear's current equity holders will own 72% of shares of common stock in the combined company. Thimble Point shareholders and private investment in public equity—or PIPE—investors will hold the remaining shares.

    The transaction will include up to $276 million from Thimble Point and $125 million from PIPE investors.

    PIPE investors include Novartis-Qualcomm joint venture dRx Capital, big data analytics company Palantir Technologies and an unnamed integrated delivery network.

    Pear will use proceeds from the deal, pegged at roughly $400 million, to continue to commercialize its three FDA-cleared digital therapeutics, develop its pipeline of new products and build a platform that will let the company distribute other third-party prescription digital therapeutics, according to the company.

    "We believe this transaction will allow us to drive widespread usage of (prescription digital therapeutics) to treat major medical conditions and overcome significant barriers to patient care," said Dr. Corey McCann, Pear's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.

    Digital therapeutics like Pear are a popular area of interest among investors.

    Mobile health apps raised a collective $912 million in funding during 2021's first quarter, making it the second most-funded digital health sector for the quarter, according to data from market research firm Mercom Capital Group. Mobile health app companies came in second to telehealth companies, which raised a collective $2 billion from investors.

    Pear received its first FDA clearance in 2017 for reSET, a mobile app that clinicians can prescribe as part of outpatient treatment for alcohol, cocaine and stimulant substance use disorders. The app delivers interactive cognitive behavioral therapy and provides a way for patients to report information, such as tracking cravings and triggers, to clinicians.

    Pear has since gained FDA clearance for two more digital therapeutics—for opioid use disorder and chronic insomnia—both of which require a prescription from a clinician.

    Pear and Thimble Point expect to complete the merger in the second half of the year.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    data centers  - Microsoft - technology
    Hospitals retrain data center employees amid shift to the cloud
    hospital staffing-main_i.png
    Hospitals are suffering from worker shortages. Can technology fill the gaps?
    Sponsored Content
    Health IT Strategist (HITS) Newsletter: Sign up for the latest IT and medical technology news delivered 3 days a week (M, W, F).
     
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing