TOP STORIES
The Teva bid to acquire Mylan is underway (its offering $40 billion). That offer got a boost on Tuesday because Teva’s big to acquire Perrigo fell flat. Remember, though, Mylan denounced the then-rumored deal last week, saying that it lacked “sound industrial logic or cultural fit.”
U.S. medical startups raised a record $3.9 billion in venture capital in the first quarter of 2015. This is thanks to the continuing rise in investor interest in biotechnology, digital health and health-care services.
LIFE SCIENCE
Anti-aging drug rapamycin set to be tested on 32 dogs this spring in Seattle.
The fountain of youth is going to the dogs. At least that’s the case in Seattle, where biogerontologists Matt Kaeberlein and Daniel Promislow at the University of Washington have given local pet owners the chance to have their dogs test an experimental antiaging drug.
InPress Technologies successfully closed a 1st-in-human trial of its disposable device for treating postpartum hemorrhage.
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.
Dimension Therapeutics closed a $65 million round.
mRNA-associated protein drives multiple paths in T-cell development, according to a University of Pennsylvania study.
Yet another study confirms there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. When will anti-vaxxers finally get this?
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Here’s a nice wrap up of all the testimony about regulating the homeopathy industry.
More evidence that patients should avoid hospitalization on a weekend at all costs.
Jackson State University is establishing the first school of public health in the state of Mississippi. After the state legislature approved $2 million in funding to fill this gaping hole in one of the unhealthiest states in the nation, the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning last week authorized the school to be set up at Jackson State. The idea for a school of public health at Jackson State stems from the 2001 settlement of a 1975 desegregation lawsuit, according to the university.
Nurse picketing at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Family Dermatology is paying $3.2 million over improper relationships with physicians.
A training program for parents can decrease tantrums and behavioral problems in children with autism by 47.7 percent.
TECH
Medical publishing company M. L. Plaster Publishing is launching Telemedicine magazine, said to be the first independent publication dedicated to this topic. The quarterly magazine will debut at the American Telemedicine Association in Los Angeles early next month with an initial circulation of 30,000, though just 50 copies of the inaugural issue will be sold online.
The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services will host Connecting Michigan for Health 2015 from June 3-5.
POLITICS
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is considering a rule that would change how employers can incentivize workplace wellness plans.
A LITTLE EXTRA
The “selfie stick” has been an extension (no pun intended) of the selfie picture craze primarily shared via social media. New phone models with wide angle lenses might eliminate the desire for these slightly obnoxious accessories.
The Morning Read provides a 24-hour wrap up of everything else healthcare’s innovators need to know about the business of medicine (and beyond). The author of The Read published it but all full-time MedCity News journalists contribute to its content.
