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Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of health care:
Health care tops VC funding in ’09: Now is the time to be a health care startup. For the first time on record, venture capital investment in health care topped information technology last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Before we get too excited, though, let’s take a look at the numbers. The reason health took over the lead spot is that VC investment in health firms fell less precipitously than investment in IT companies, a reflection of what was the weakest year for venture capital since 1993. Health investment fell 13 percent to $7.7 billion, while IT investment plummeted 35 percent to $6 billion.
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.
With investment amounts falling so hard in ’09, this year will almost certainly be kinder to VCs and those looking for VC investment. However, the Journal warns that tougher regulations (a questionable assertion when one long-time FDA observer says the agency keeps falling farther under industry’s thumb) are jacking up costs for drug and device startups.
Medical investors are finding it harder to control costs as regulatory hurdles grow taller for their companies. Drug and medical-device makers have to supply more data to regulators than before to prove their products are safe and effective, investors say.
Top 10 biotech layoffs: Bnet takes an admirable stab at detailing the biotech companies that laid off the most staff in 2009. The estimate is a total of 5,000 layoffs at 80 companies. Of course, biotech workers, things could be worse — you could be working for Big Pharma. Pfizer cut 19,500 jobs last year, while Merck shed 16,500. Topping the biotech list is Massachusetts-based Sepracor at 530, followed by Irvine, California’s Allergan at 460, Bnet says.
Grassley turns up the heat on EHR vendors: Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has has sent letters to 31 U.S. hospitals, asking them to report on complications, errors and problems they’ve encountered with their electronic health records systems, Mass Device reports. Most troubling is the idea of “gag orders,” clauses in contracts with EHR firms that prevent hospitals from discussing any problems with other health care providers (or, presumably, anyone else publicly). Grassley also wants to know who’s on the hook if an EHR system fails.
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.
Now is a particularly important time to lift the veil of electronic health records and vendors, with the federal government poised to award $20 billion in incentive payments in attempt to prod doctors into adopting EHRs. The big question is why this didn’t happen sooner, though in fairness to Grassley, he said the hospital letter was a follow-up to a similar request for information he’d made in October to 10 major health information technology systems developers about similar problems and concerns with IT systems. There’s plenty of evidence that suggests EHR systems are too expensive, clunky, lack interoperability and don’t improve care, so let’s hope Grassley helps expose their numerous flaws and vendors get motivated to overhaul their software, which would benefit doctors and patients.
Throw away the salt shaker: Surprising numbers from the New England Journal of Medicine: If everyone in the country ate just a half-teaspoon less salt each day, it would save the lives of between 44,000 and 92,000 people a year. According to NPR, the government recommends limiting salt intake to 5.8 grams a day, but the average American gets about 10.4 grams of salt a day.
However, it’s not nearly as easy as throwing away the salt shaker, though that’s obviously a goo start. Only 11 percent of the sodium in Americans’ diets comes from their saltshakers. Nearly 80 percent is added to foods before they are sold. All the more reason to salute New York Mayor Michael Blomberg’s efforts to pressure the food industry to cut back the salt they use by 25 percent over five years.
