Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about healthcare.
One powerful joint venture. The powerful duo of GE and Microsoft will launch a joint venture to develop a health IT company that would give providers better access to real-time patient data. Currently unnamed, the 50/50 venture will develop an “open, interoperable technology platform and innovative clinical applications focused on enabling better population health management to improve outcomes and the overall economics of health and wellness,” GE said in a press release.
On the heels of Avastin rejection, new breast cancer drugs look promising. Two new breast cancer drugs — one from Genentech and another from Novartis — with trial results published Wednesday are renewing hope that women with metastatic breast cancer will have more tools to fight the disease after the FDA pulled approval of Avastin for breast cancer. Roche’s pertuzumab stopped tumor growth for an average of six months when used with Herceptin and chemotherapy in a trial, and Afinitor by Novartis halted them for four months when the drug was added to another medicine, exemestane.
The Healthcare Payments Industry Has a Perception Problem
Healthcare payments are no longer about transactions. It’s about controlling the revenue cycle. And increasingly, that control is not sitting with ISOs.
Panel support Yaz…with some label changes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors say Bayer’s Yaz birth control has more benefits than risks but needs a revised label that addresses the increased risk of venous thromboembolism thought to be associated with the pill.
Breaking down the barriers to adoption. Mobile health technology is moving fast, but one thing that isn’t moving quite as fast is doctors’ adoption of the technology. At the mHealth conference this week, Dr. Eric Topol and HHS Administrator Kathleen Sebelius addressed why, and how, doctors should adopt mobile technology and apps.
Sanofi defends the safety of using Lantus. Sanofi presented new data on Wednesday reinforcing the safety of top-selling insulin Lantus. A study previously presented at a breast cancer symposium reportedly showed that taking Lantus doubled the risk of developing cancer for diabetes patients. The drug company also said that it’s sponsoring three studies to further explore if there is a linke between cancer and insulin use.