TOP STORIES
AstraZeneca’s asthma drug Benralizumab reduced asthma attacks in two pivotal late-stage clinical trials. The company said it plans to submit the drug for regulatory approval in the United States and Europe in the second half of 2016. — Reuters
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission came out with final rules for employer wellness programs. It concluded that employers can provide employees big incentives or insurance discounts if they answer questions about their health. But the wellness programs would be considered voluntary only as long as an employers’ incentives or discounts don’t account for more than 30 percent of the cost of an employee’s individual “self-only” health coverage. The rule goes into effect in 2017. Critics of the program said their concern is that wellness programs that seem voluntary are not. — The Wall Street Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
Medical device company Luminex has agreed to acquire Nanosphere, a molecular microbiology and molecular diagnostic company, for $58 million. — Medical Device Network News
Neos Therapeutics, which develops and commercializes extended-release treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, closed a $60 million term loan from Deerfield Management. Its ADHD drug just became available for physicians to prescribe. — Philadelphia Inquirer, Nasdaq Globe Newswire
Caribou Biosciences closed a $30 million Series B financing round to support CRISPR-Cas technologies for genome engineering. New investors included Anterra Capital, Meritage Group, Maverick Capital Ventures, and Pontifax AgTech. — BusinesWire
A study has found that patients in critical condition respond better getting oxygen from helmets — a transparent hood that covers the entire head of the patient and has a rubber collar neck seal — compared with face mask. The study found that patients with the helmets had lower intubation rates compared with the patients who wore masks. The intubation rate was 61.5% for the face mask group and 18.2% for the helmet group. — JAMA Network
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
UnitedHealthcare has offered video visits for the past six months through Doctor on Demand and AmericanWell. In a talk at American Telemedicine Association conference, Karen Scott, senior director of marketing, product and innovation at UnitedHealthcare said respiratory issues accounted for the majority of the interactions. — MobiHealthNews
TECHNOLOGY
Boston Children’s Hospital has published a guide on Bring Your Own Devices in hospital settings. The goal is to help developers and security administrators balance the use of personal devices in hospital settings and minimize the security risk of BYOD with protected health information. — Fierce Mobile Healthcare
POLITICS
The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a $622 million bill to fight the Zika virus. — The Hill
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
The first penis transplant in the U.S. at Massachusetts General is a story that’s received a lot of coverage. If successful, it holds out hope not only for other cancer patients but also the more than 1,300 service men who have genital injuries. between 2011-2013. — Vox