TOP STORIES
The attorney for Martin Shkreli said that the pharma dudebro will “take the 5th” during his congressional grilling on Thursday. Can Shkreli actually keep his mouth shut, and what will lawmakers be trying to get out of him? — STAT
EHR vendor Practice Fusion, which has raised $150 million despite questions about its profitability, has laid off a quarter of its workforce. — TechCrunch
A federal judge is getting ready to rule in a civil racketeering case against the family that gave $50 million to build a new outpatient facility at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. — NewsWorks/WHYY
LIFE SCIENCES
KaloBios still wants to buy the drug it was pursuing when ex-CEO Shkreli was arrested in December. — The Wall Street Journal
Here are all the issues around Illumina’s spinout Grail – Xconomy
Pharma spends big bucks advertising on football, but don’t expect to see any drug ads during the Super Bowl on Sunday. — STAT
Speaking of football, biotech startup Silk Therapeutics closed on a $6 million Series A2 round, led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. — PR Newswire
Google-backed Calico has some competition in the race to develop longevity drugs: Unity Technology, funded in part by the Mayo Clinic. — Fortune
California business accelerator OCTANe has launched a $50 million venture fund for ophthalmology innovation. — MassDevice
Even in the digital age, “getting a [scientific] paper retracted or corrected turns out to be well-nigh impossible.” — STAT
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
The HHS Office of the Inspector General wants the University of Minnesota Medical Center to return $3.2 million in Medicare overpayments. The hospital is appealing some of the findings. — Minneapolis Star Tribune
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama is the latest insurer to blame the Affordable Care Act for massive 2015 losses. — Birmingham Business Journal
The number of practicing osteopathic physicians has risen by 62 percent in the last decade, according to the American Osteopathic Association. — Business Wire
Here’s today’s Zika news:
- Zika has spread into politics. – The Hill
- Brazil’s health minister wants Latin American countries to work together in the fight against the Zika virus. — Reuters
- Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in four counties. — Associated Press
- UC-Irvine and MIT biologists want to try gene editing of mosquitoes to manage the outbreak. — STAT
- United Airlines is letting pregnant crew members and those who are trying to get pregnant opt out of flights to Latin America and the Caribbean. — Reuters
- Georgia officials have confirmed the first Zika case in the state. — Atlanta Journal Constitution
- The epidemic has touched off a debate over Brazil’s tough anti-abortion laws. — The New York Times
TECHNOLOGY
The United States and United Kingdom are collaborating on a suicide prevention app. – BBC
Startup Decisio Health, fresh off FDA approval of its ED and ICU management software, has raised $2.17 million of a planned $5 million round. — Houston Business Journal
Pushing the Internet of Things idea forward, Philips and Validic have formed a partnership to integrate data from devices and apps into connected health services. — PR Newswire
Brain scans are helping MIT researchers identify children at high risk for depression. — Reuters
POLITICS
Telemedicine has become a flashpoint with regards to abortion. — mHealth Intelligence
The head of California’s health insurance exchange thinks UnitedHealth Group is using Obamacare as an excuse for the company’s own mistakes. — NPR
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
It probably was inevitable: awards for the medical cannabis industry, hosted by a man known as the “Marijuana Don” at a Hollywood Hills mansion. — PR Newswire
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