On MedHeads Friday, we covered everything from Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s continued funding for NantBioscience, our site’s exciting new redesign and other trends from the week. Watch the broadcast above, but also review five of the more important topics we looked at this week.
Bigfoot Biomedical, known best for its grassroots approach to building an artificial pancreas for Type 1 diabetes, is emerging from hacker mode and raising some capital. The startup just brought in a $3.5 million bridge convertible note, and is looking to raise between $10 million and $15 million in a Series A this summer. They’re still courting new investors.
2. Is the athenahealth accelerator term sheet disruptive or just awful?
Organizers at the athenahealth More Disruption Please accelerator say they are in the midst of updating its term sheet. This is a good thing, because not everyone’s a fan.
I’ve been fielding complaints since HIMSS last month that the athenahealth term sheet is too harsh. It’s not easy to compare. Other accelerators I spoke to who reviewed the terms were split on its merits.
3. Another $100M on the books for Patrick Soon-Shiong precision medicine startup NantBioscience
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.
More funding for billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s NantBioscience has been reported to the SEC – to the tune of $100 million this time. NantBioscience is the division of Soon-Shiong’s umbrella company, NantWorks, that centers on precision medicine.
4. CVS MinuteClinic hits 25M visits as a nice adjunct to primary care
From an experiment in four states, MinuteClinic has grown over the last 15 years into a juggernaut in walk-in care, with nearly 1,000 locations in 31 states plus the District of Columbia. CVS expects to open 100 new clinics this year and about 500 more by 2017.
5. What do you think of the new MedCity News redesign?
MedCity News unveiled a new look overnight – from a new logo to a new layout. But there are benefits beyond a prettier face. This platform will expand the reach of MedCity News’ reporting and delivers a more focused and distinct presentation of how we think about the changing world of healthcare innovation.
