A bite-sized review of life science current events you need to know about this week.
From diagnostics to regeneration to telemedicine, these young health technology companies are showing us some of the “medicine of the future” that’s taking shape now.
Poor diet, smoking and six other behaviors contribute to 15 chronic conditions that account for more than 65 percent of employers’ healthcare expenditures.
An app for medical device sales reps shows how a device works during surgery using 3D simulation and lets surgeons interact with one another and the rep.
Cleveland Clinic is the latest hospital to begin rolling out iPhones in place of BlackBerrys for its doctors.
In a move to gain access to early stage innovation, Johnson & Johnson is opening innovation centers in Europe and China as well as in Boston.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
We didn’t write these, but you should read them anyway.
Following the resignation of WellPoint CEO Angela Braly, CNN interviewed Lori Beer, the company’s executive vice president, enterprise business services. (CNN Money)
Apparently that delicious buttery flavoring in your microwave popcorn could be dangerous to your health. This Colorado man was just awarded $7.2 million for learning that the hard way. (Reuters)
“I saw it on Tech Crunch.” “It’s stealth, so I can’t say too much right now.” It’s all s*#& Silicon Valley VCs say. (Lisa Suennen)
Apparently, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was “infuriated” with Chief Justice John Roberts over the Court’s healthcare reform decision. (The Hill)
Tweets we liked this week.
As an industry, public biotech companies were GAAP net income positive for the 1st time starting 2009 – and have stayed that way
— Bijan Salehizadeh (@bijans) September 17, 2012
A lively debate underway on LinkedIn’s Digital Health Group. The premise: Can technology replace 80% of doctorss? lnkd.in/VuKWHt
— G3ict (@G3ict) September 13, 2012
How Patients Can Fix Healthcare from @theatlantic theatlantic.com/health/archive…
— Rock Health (@Rock_Health) September 21, 2012
Up to 30 percent of health care is unnecessary, per Dr. Marty Makary. propub.ca/RZo83v
— ProPublica (@ProPublica) September 20, 2012
