TOP STORIES
There is a lot of news on the M&A front.
Healthcare revenue-cycle management company MedAssets is going private, thanks to a $2.7 billion purchase by Pamplona Capital Management. At $31.35 a share, that’s a 44 percent premium over the average price for the last 30 days. — GlobeNewswire
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is buying private biotech firm Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a potential blockbuster treatment for heart failure, for $300 million. The deal could eventually be worth as much as $2.1 billion. — FierceBiotech
Irish pharmaceutical company Shire is acquiring U.S. biotech firm Dyax for as much as $6.5 billion. — The Wall Street Journal
Ambulatory surgery center operator AmSurg had no such luck in its bid to take over medical staffing firm TeamHealth Holdings. AmSurg withdrew a revised, unsolicited offer of $7.6 billion Monday after TeamHealth rejected that and two previous offers since Oct. 20. — The New York Times, Nasdaq.com
LIFE SCIENCES
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
The latest act of damage control by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is a letter to physicians saying that the company will somehow come up with a way to get its medications to pharmacies after Nov. 8, when the distribution deal with Philidor Rx Services expires. — Reuters
Meanwhile, Philidor continues to deny any wrongdoing. — PR Newswire
Florida pharmaceutical distributor Ricardo Jurado pleaded guilty to illegal drug diversion. — South Florida Business Journal
Will the low-cost competitor to Daraprim really have much of an impact on Martin Shkreli’s Turing Pharmaceuticals? — Pharmalot
Boehringer Ingelheim and the Biomed X Innovation Center are expanding their crowdsourced R&D efforts into psychiatry. — PR Newswire
Researchers from Spain think they might be able to prevent malaria in humans by giving pigs a drug that’s toxic to mosquitoes. — The New York Times
Formerly high-flying genomics startup Knome has been sold, apparently for a substantial loss. — Xconomy
The FDA has fast-tracked review of an Acadia Pharmaceuticals drug for psychosis related to Parkinson’s disease. — Business Wire
Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) has received a third Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA. — Business Wire
Agilent Technologies has wrapped up its purchase of Seahorse Bioscience for an undisclosed sum. — Business Wire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
St. Luke’s University Health Network, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is posting all-in retail prices for about 80 common outpatient procedures and tests. — NewsWorks/WHYY News
Minnesota is running out of hospital beds for psychiatric care. — Minneapolis Star Tribune
Believe it or not, there’s a Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame, and, for the first time in the Hall’s five-year history, a patient is being inducted: “E-Patient” Dave deBronkart. — Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame
More proof that the general public doesn’t get that hospitals are dangerous, expensive places for all but the most acute of care: The American Legion is outraged over plans to close a VA hospital in South Dakota. — Business Wire
TECHNOLOGY
Quality Systems, parent company of ambulatory EHR vendor NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, has acquired Health Fusion Holdings, maker of cloud-based EHR and practice management technology, for at least $165 million. The deal ultimately could be worth as much as $190 million. — Business Wire
A wearable device designed to help people with autism improve their communication abilities is unintentionally shining new light on seizure disorders. — MobiHealthNews
The National Science Foundation has named and funded four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs to, among other things, study new technologies for data-driven discovery in healthcare and for reducing healthcare disparities. — National Science Foundation
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
A “mix up at a grocery store” is being blamed for trick-or-treaters in Quebec being given bipolar medication instead of candy. Um, yeah. — WCNC.com/USA Today
Photo: Flickr user s_falkow
