TOP STORIES
Bayer HealthCare and Johns Hopkins University entered into a five-year collaboration to develop ophthalmic therapies that target retinal diseases. They will work together on discovery and development of drugs for treatment of eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, among others.
Professor Andreas Busch, Head of Global Drug Discovery and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer HealthCare said,
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Bayer is strongly committed to further expanding its research efforts in the area of retinal diseases. The Wilmer Eye Institute’s deep understanding of eye disease biology and patient care and Bayer’s expertise in drug discovery and development in ophthalmology complement each other perfectly. We are pleased to partner with this renowned institute which is amount the leading scientific and clinical institutions in ophthalmology worldwide.
GlaxoSmithKline is investing $95 million in a research institute to figure out how a cell’s operating system works. Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Seattle will be led by John Stamatoyannopoulos, of the University of Washington School of Medicine
Forbes quoted Stamatoyannopoulos:
“The problem is that the genome only encodes some upstream potentiality, and doesn’t read out what the organism is actually doing,” Stamatoyannopoulos said. “It’s packaged in different ways in different cells…we are reading how the cell is working, and using the genome as a scaffold for all the things it does.” Looking at the downstream manifestation of the genome, in cells, he said, “is going to be much more relevant to clinical medicine.”
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LIFE SCIENCES
Researchers developed a way to contain the spread of GMOs by keeping them under a molecular lock. The lock is a series of genetic mutations that inactivate the microbe unless a certain molecule is added to re-enable it.
CyMedica Orthopedics earned $11.5 million in Series A funding from investors to help bring its pre- and post-surgery muscle strengthening brace to market.
The FDA finalized a new policy for how drug product manufacturers must label products that contain salts.
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
The Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. agreed to pay $12.9 million to resolve violated allegations under the False Claims Act.
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is thinking about installing barriers around parking ramps due to multiple suicides and suicide attempts by people jumping from the higher levels of the parking garages.
US poison control centers experienced a 229% increase in number of calls related to synthetic marijuana use this year compared to last year. In 2015 so far, 15 deaths have been recorded.
TECH
Misfit introduced a feature allowing users to track their health and fitness activity on a web-based dashboard in order to track activity on multiple devices.
POLITICS
If the Supreme Court strikes down healthcare subsidies this month, Obamacare customers may have to pay an average of $3,300 more in yearly premium costs.
House Republicans released their healthcare spending bill which would halt Obamacare and boost healthcare funding by about $300 million.
The FDA will give food manufacturers three years to get rid of partially hydrogenated oils from their products. These oils are found primarily in junk foods like cookies and french fries. The regulator said the oils are the main source of artificially manufactured fats in processed foods and are linked to heart disease.
A LITTLE EXTRA
The death of white blood cells was filmed for the first time. Check out the video.
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.
Photo: Getty
