Morning Read: Merck KGaA’s oncology revolution, a litmus test on biotech IPOs
Blogging will be light today on MedCity News - most of the staff is off for the Columbus Day holiday.
Morning Read: Sean Parker bets big on cancer treatment
Also, Teva talks drug prices; security wonks talk medical device hacks, and ugly talk at the Anthem-Aetna hearings.
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When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Deciphera raises $75M directed toward kinase-inhibiting cancer drug
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based drug company has pulled in a huge chunk of funding to help develop its cancer treatment.
Health insurance reimbursement for patient navigators? No thank you
Bottom line: If you reimburse for patient navigation then not everyone will be able to get it.
Allscripts invests $200M in Soon-Shiong’s NantHealth in software integration deal (updated)
In a joint press release, NantHealth and Allscripts said that they would jointly integrate their software via application provider interfaces
NIH study shows why HIV drugs should be given earlier, Juno Therapeutics in $737M deal with Editas Medicine (Morning Read)
An NIH study has shown that giving HIV drugs when patients are initially diagnosed with the disease is more effective than waiting for the white blood cell counts to drop.
Free colonoscopy should come with free anesthesia (will more people get them)?
Not everyone knew the anesthesia came for free.
Pharma gets it, why don’t you? Cheap drugs are un-American!
When Americans talk, pharmaceutical companies listen. And what they’ve heard is that initiatives to contain or regulate medical costs get labeled as “rationing,” a word with very un-American connotations. While politicians wring their hands, pricing strategists at pharma and biotech companies take action by charging high and rising prices for products for life-threatening illnesses. Cancer is Exhibit A, with […]
Aura Biosciences pulls in $21M for tumor-targeted rare eye cancer therapy
Biotech company Aura Biosciences has secured a $21 million Series B round of funding led by financing from Advent Life Sciences and both new and previous investors. The company is focused on using the money to further develop its mini-drug-delivery capsules (synthetic viruses). This technology was discovered and developed in partnership with Dr. John Schiller […]
Can you beat cancer? It depends on where you live
With information from one of the most intense cancer research studies ever conducted (surveying 25.7 million people), it’s clear that where you live has something to do with how likely you are to survive cancer. For example, 9 out of 10 kids with lymphblastic leukemia in the U.S. will survive. Compare that to the 16 […]
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Cancer and heart disease dominate Cleveland Clinic’s Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2015
#MIS2014 Innovation #5 – antibody drug conjugates. Again! Idea around for 30 years, but antibodies better, humanized, understand targets. — Meghana Keshavan (@meghanakeshavan) October 29, 2014 The Cleveland Clinic just announced its top 10 medical innovations for 2015 – a long anticipated and often-prescient listing of the most gamechanging new health techs. This just in: […]
5 finalists in Livestrong challenge help cancer patients solve big and small problems
A Livestrong Foundation challenge launched earlier this year to confront some of the challenges that prevent cancer patients from getting the treatment they need has whittled down the competing companies from 750 to five. They each take a different approach to helping patients and get as sophisticated as using 3D printing technology to create breast […]
TEDMED talk on the placebo effect highlights patient mindset in healing process
It would be oversimplified to call it the power of positive thinking, but Harvard Medical School Professor Ted Kaptchuk‘s talk at TEDMED 2014 in Washington D.C., highlighted compelling research surrounding the placebo effect. Kaptchuk focused on applications of the placebo effect for conditions as diverse as migraine headaches to Parkinson’s disease. It demonstrates that some […]
CancerIQ wants to make genetic testing easier for cancer patients
It’s not every entrepreneur who hatches an idea for a business with her mother, let alone when they’re hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro. Away from daily distractions like email and a smartphone is where Cancer IQ co-founder and CEO Feyi Olopade was vacationing with her mom, Dr. Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade — the director of the Center for […]
Study: Using teledermatology platform speeds up skin cancer triage
A new study has found that a teledermatology platform using a dermoscope adapter can speed up referrals of suspicious lesions and rashes to dermatologists for possible surgery. The findings were published in Swedish medical journal Acta Dermato-Venereologica, according to a company statement. A teledermoscope is used to get a magnified view of rashes and […]