Inhabitants well being know-how firm Color introduced it had laid off staff because it pivots focus away from COVID-19 testing.
In keeping with posts by former staff on LinkedIn, the corporate lower 300 jobs. Colour CEO Othman Laraki confirmed the layoffs in his own post, saying the corporate was downsizing its groups centered on COVID-19 testing given the looming end of the public health emergency and lowered buyer curiosity in pandemic-related providers.
Laraki mentioned the corporate would give attention to its testing and telehealth infrastructure for presidency applications, and in addition its prevention instruments for employers and healthcare purchasers.
“Amidst change, we’ll proceed to help current applications and enhance entry for underserved populations. With a reinvestment in our core enterprise and the belief of our prospects, we’re centered on delivering excessive entry, excessive influence inhabitants healthcare applications that assist everybody lead the healthiest life that science and medication can supply. Whereas yesterday was a tough day for our staff, we’re optimistic about our future as an organization and the influence we can have,” he wrote.
THE LARGER TREND
Colour raised two giant rounds of funding in 2021, together with a $167 million Series D and a $100 million Series E. The corporate, which beforehand focused on genomics earlier than pivoting to public well being tech, added behavioral health services with the acquisition of Temper Lifters final 12 months.
Layoffs at digital well being and well being tech corporations surged in 2022, together with at startups that had raised vital quantities of investor {dollars} in 2021.
A declining give attention to COVID-19 has additionally impacted some corporations. Lucira Well being, which develops house diagnostic assessments, not too long ago filed for bankruptcy simply as the corporate acquired the primary Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for an over-the-counter at-home mixture COVID-19 and flu take a look at. The corporate mentioned the regulatory course of had taken longer than it anticipated and demand for its COVID-19 assessments had slowed in 2022.
