Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Finally! Some good pharma news: Amid what seems like an endless cascade of merger-inspired Big Pharma layoffs, one bright spot has emerged. Generic drugmaker Watson Pharmaceutics plans to double to 500 its employees in New Jersey over the next few years. It may not be much, but at a time when most reports on Big Pharma focus on layoffs, it’s enough to cause a mini-celebration.
Well, that didn’t last long: Back to more of the usual. Sanofi-Aventis is to be investigated by French authorities for anti-competitive practices, following allegations it prevented the launch of generic rivals for Plavix.
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.
Top VC recipients of 2010: As we (kind of) near the halfway point of 2010, peHUB runs down the top venture capital recipients so far. Alas, the healthcare industry has but one apperance and it’s at No. 10. Achaogen, a San Francisco-based developer of antibiotics to treat life-threatening, multidrug resistant bacterial infections, raised $65 million in Series C funding. No. 1 is Better Place, a California-based provider of electric vehicle services.
Synthetic cell: Scientists reported yesterday that they had successfully created a partially synthetic bacterial cell. “We think these are the first synthetic cells that are self-replicating and whose genetic heritage started in the computer,” said the project’s leader, Craig Venter.
The only thing entrepreneurs have to fear is … : Venture capital luminary, indie rock connoisseur and superblogger Fred Wilson says, of the qualities you don’t want an entrepreneur to possess, fear is No. 1. “If I look back over 20+ years of entrepreneurs I’ve backed, the ones who were anxious and afraid of failure most certainly had worse outcomes than the ones who were aggressive and confident. You simply can’t be tentative in a startup.”
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.
Personal genetic tests draw unwanted scrutiny: A House committee sent letters to three genetic test makers–Navigenics, Pathway Genomics, 23andMe–asking what exactly they’re testing for and how accurate they are in getting answers.
Photo from flickr user pasotrapaso
