TOP STORIES
The number of confirmed E. Coli food poisoning cases linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill in Oregon and Washington state has risen to 35. Chipotle, which is grappling with its third food safety incident this year, has closed all its 43 restaurants located in and around Seattle and Portland because of the E. coli outbreak. So far, one-third of those diagnosed have been hospitalized.
CureVac AG said a group of investors bought a stake in the German drug developer for 98.5 million euros ($108.5 million), valuing the company at €1.5 billion. — Wall Street Journal
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.
LIFE SCIENCES
Sanofi has inked a deal with BioNTech for its five cancer immunotherapies ina $360 million deal. — BioCentury
Steris said that it closed a $2 billion merger with the U.K.’s Synergy Health, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission last week abandoned its bid to block the union. — Mass Device
Millennium Health announced the appointment of Darrell W. Contreras, as its new Chief Compliance Officer; Angela Huskey, PharmD, CPE, as Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer; and Rami Ben-Joseph, PhD, as Senior Vice President, Health Outcomes Research. — PR Newswire
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.
Solid GT has completed a $42.5m first closing Series B round of financing. — Business Wire
Device manufacturer IntriCon Corporation announced that it has acquired assets of PC Werth Ltd. — Business Wire
Solera Health, Inc., a technology-enabled health community integrator for chronic disease prevention, today announced that it has raised $3 million in Series A funding. — Market Wired
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
California regulators fined two insurance giants for overstating their Obamacare doctor networks and said the companies will pay millions of dollars in refunds to patients who paid too much for care. — LA Times
TECH
A look at telemedicine in Singapore. — CNN
iHealth Lab has commercially launched a new version of its smartphone-connected blood pressure monitor, one that will run patients just $39.99. — MobiHealth News
POLITICS
Matt Bevin’s victory in the Kentucky Governor’s race signals a defeat to the state’s pro-Obamacare policies. — Forbes
HealthCare.gov is piloting a new beta feature that allows consumers to search plans by their preferred provider or health facility. — CMS.gov
The financial failure of more than half the nonprofit health insurance companies created under the Affordable Care Act has handed Republicans a new weapon in their campaign against the health law. — The New York Times
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
NASA has created its first few ultra-high definition videos, one of which is this 30-minute portrait of the Sun. It was put together from data captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. — IFLScience
Photo: Flickr user Araceli Arroyo
