Top Story

Morning Read: Speculating on Brexit’s impact on UK startups

Also, Milwaukee-based accelerator Gener8tor is expanding to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Brigham and Women's Hospital narrowly avoided a nurses strike.

3022212264_246f7c4e42_oTOP STORIES

As the world comes to grips with the UK referendum favoring an exit from the European Union, the discussion shifts to startups there and how the vote will affect them. There’s no doubt that the uncertainty will have a chilling effect on investment. But some optimists are emerging and believe that early stage startups will actually fare better than more mature companies. One is Martin Mignot, a partner at London venture capital firm, Index Ventures. — The Wall Street Journal.

Another is Marc Andreessen:

Hearing aid developer  Earlens Corp. made the first close of a $51 million Series C preferred stock financing led by Vertex Healthcare. Other investors taking part in the round included Cochlear, a developer of advanced implantable hearing technology, New Enterprise Associates, Aisling Capital, Lightstone Ventures and Medtronic. PR Newswire

LIFE SCIENCES

A form of genetic engineering that involves creating ways for neurons to respond to color and light, Optogenetics, is an emerging area of biotech that’s getting more attention. It’s seen as a potential treatment for neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease  and depression. — Scientific American

Allergy Therapeutics suffered a setback when a Phase II study to determine dosages for its grass pollen treatment fell short. Now it needs to do another study before it can move forward to a Phase III study. — FierceBiotech

Pharma industry veteran Edward Jensen has joined Blueprint Bio as COO. He has previously worked for companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Biogen, AstraZeneca and the TransCelerate industry collaboration. — PR Newswire

PAYERS-PROVIDERS

Brigham and Women’s Hospital narrowly avoided a nurses strike after reaching an agreement with the Massachusetts Nurses Association. A strike had been planned for today. — Boston Herald

Although Minneapolis-St. Paul nurses are returning to work after a  seven-day strike at Allina Health system hospitals, there was a sentiment that little had been accomplished with the walkout, which had centered on changes to health insurance. — ABC News

TECHNOLOGY

Milwaukee-based accelerator Gener8tor, which counts healthcare startups among its grads, is expanding to Minneapolis-St. Paul. — Xconomy

John Reites offers up a preview of his talk at DIA 2016 on the use of wearables and apps in clinical trials. — Quintiles

POLITICS

Fun fact on telemedicine that will give you an idea of just how keen states are to regulate it. More than 200 telemedicine-related bills have been introduced in 42 states in less than six months. Most are about controlling what services Medicaid covers and whether payers should reimburse for remote patient monitoring. — The Wall Street Journal

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA

Parasitic bacteria linked to gum disease and cystic fibrosis have been identified in saliva. One factor that has hindered our understanding of the bacteria, which feed on other bacteria in humans, is that they are tough to grow in labs. — New Scientist

Photo: Flickr user Javier Micora

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