CLEVELAND, Ohio — President Barack Obama captured the limelight — and stole hearts — this week as star of a town hall meeting on health care reform at Shaker Heights High School.
President Obama rallied Greater Clevelanders around health care reform Thursday afternoon, drawing cheers, applause and “We love yous” from a crowd that seemed more impressed with him than with his topic. At the same time in Washington, Senate majority leader Harry Reid was conceding that the Senate wouldn’t make the Aug. 7 deadline the president had set to pass reform legislation.
Also this week, the Mayo Clinic announced research findings that could steer scientists away from using controversial embryonic stem cells: A batch of re-engineered, personalized stem cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), helped repair heart damage .
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Arbiter’s Anjali Jameson on hospital and payer alignment.
Scientists create iPS cells by reprogramming adult non-stem cells. The approach has worked in treating Parkinson’s disease, sickle-cell anemia and hemophilia A. Researchers say using the body’s cells as part of a transplant could eliminate the risk of rejection and the use of anti-rejection drugs and, further down the line, cut the need for some transplants.
Meanwhile, the technology transfer office at Case Western Reserve University set another record for licensing and other commercial deals: $16.3 million in the fiscal year ended June 30. And a collection of Ohio hospitals and research institutions — including Case — will use a $3.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to examine whether the nervous system, and not the bladder, causes painful bladder syndrome.
In financial deals this week, NewLink Genetics Corp. in Ames, Iowa, raised $7.5 million to speed clinical development of its cancer therapies; and Cardiorobotics, which is developing a snake-like probe to perform minimally invasive heart surgery, raised $11.6 million from a collection of largely Pennsylvania-based investors.
EMH Regional Healthcare System in Elyria made a trio of executive changes this week. And speaking about executives, MedCity News is proud to host an end-of-the-summer cornhole tournament and picnic, which will include teams of executives from companies like Arteriocyte and institutions like Cleveland Clinic Innovations.
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MedCity News was at the Vive conference and spoke with executives who shared their insights for the healthcare industry.
Cornhole: The Ultimate Medical Challenge
4 to 8 p.m. Aug. 27 at Edgewater Park
Free to play. Free to watch. Onlookers pay $15 to eat.
We’re looking for more members of the medical industry to participate. Interested? Contact us ASAP!
Have a great weekend!