Attendees at CES 2016 in Las Vegs look at an EHang 184 autonomous-flight drone that can fly a person.
TOP STORIES
We’re getting closer to the day when organs for transplant are delivered by drones. Wednesday, transplant products manufacturer Lung Biotechnology agreed to help drone-maker EHang Holdings customize a human-sized autonomous aircraft for just that purpose.
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.
Realizing the vision of routine organ delivery by drone still could be 15 years away, however, the companies said. — TechCrunch
University of Rochester Medical Center has launched Parkinson’s Disease Care, New York (PDCNY), a free telemedicine program for about 500 underserved Parkinson’s patients across the state. It’s meant to be a national model for remote management of chronic diseases.
Patients with iPhones will be able to participate via URMC’s mPower app and share data over Apple’s new CareKit platform. — PR Newswire
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 Scripps Research Institute in San Diego has spun out a new company, iGenomX, which offers library construction technology for next-generation DNA sequencing. — Business Wire
“The world’s most expensive medicine,” a gene therapy, has been used only once commercially since being approved in 2012. — Harvard Business Review
RNAi therapeutics startup Sirnaomics, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, has raised $10 million in a Series B round. — PE Hub
Insulin delivery system-maker Valeritas raised $25 million through a reverse merger and a private placement. — MassDevice
French biopharma company Poxel is planning a U.S. IPO. — Business Wire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Humana is the latest big insurer to consider dropping individual plans on Affordable Care Act exchanges for 2017. — Reuters
A peer-reviewed study by the CVS Health Research Institute has shown home infusion care to be as safe and effective as treatments delivered in hospitals and clinics, for far less money. — PR Newswire
A Baltimore medmal attorney said it’s time to scrap peer-review protections in the discussion of inpatient deaths. — PR Newswire
Robert Adams, CEO of eldercare company National HealthCare Corp., will retire at the end of the year. — Nashville Business Journal
TECHNOLOGY
Although Fitbit’s revenues dipped in the first quarter to $505 million from $711 million in the fourth quarter, 40 percent of sales during the quarter came from repeat Fitbit purchasers. That’s notable because wearable producers often get criticized for having a steep drop off rate for their products as consumers lose interest. — Barrons
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum has teamed with Medecision and TriZetto to introduce what the companies are calling the first SaaS option in Medicaid management information systems. — Business Wire
Staffing and consulting firm Softworld has launched Vita Data Sciences within its life-sciences practice. — PR Newswire
Garmin is the latest consumer fitness company to build activity tracking into a fashion-forward watch, and the new vívomove is analog. — Business Wire
POLITICS
Dr. Patrick Conway, deputy administrator for innovation and quality at CMS, seems open to congressional concerns about a proposed Medicare Part B value-based drug purchasing plan. — The Hill
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is trying again to give CMS the power to negotiate Medicare drug prices, and this time he also wants to cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. — Portland Business Journal
California is raising the smoking age to 21 and restricting public vaping. — Los Angeles Times
The highest court in the European Union has upheld a pan-European law that standardizes cigarette packaging, bans menthol smokes and imposes tough new rules on e-cigs. — Reuters
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
American Girl keeps selling out of a diabetes care kit for its dolls. — The New York Times
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
