TOP STORIES
The Valeant news is not good. It has now lost $6 billion in value since Thursday, as it took another big hit on Monday after announcing it had to restate its earnings. “We have made mistakes in the past and our focus today is on executing our business plan and rebuilding trust,” interim CEO Howard Schiller stated in a company press released headlined: “Valeant Ad Hoc Committee has Made Substantial Progress in Its Review of Philidor and Related Accounting Matters.” – Fortune, Bloomberg & PRNewswire
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.
Aneesh Chopra and David Blumenthal take the case of high-tech healthcare to a bigger audience: “If we make the market for good health care work, a lot of our current technical problems will melt away as providers and vendors compete to make service and care better for their customers: the nation’s patients.” – Harvard Business Review
LIFE SCIENCES
Chase Pharmaceuticals is in the midst of raising $70 million by the middle of this year to drive its Alzheimer’s drugs through Phase II and into Phase III trials. – Washington Business Journal
A new Parkinson’s group has emerged in Britain – with members including AbbVie, Biogen, Merck Sharp, the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) and Parkinson’s UK – to share data and other resources to accelerate new treatments. – Pharma Times
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.
The FDA turns its attention to a faulty blood-testing device that effected the clinical data around Xarelto. – The New York Times
Precision Medical has raised $19 million as part of a strategic partnership with Consort Medical to develop ways to use the eye as a site for drug-distribution. – MassDevice
More revelations in the Insys Therapeutics-Subsys marketing case: a guilt plea by a sales rep whose doctors, in one instance, became top Subsys prescribers even though most of their patients didn’t have cancer. – STAT
Skin health company PhotoMedex is selling its consumer and professional products businesses to DS Healthcare Group for $48 million. – Philadelphia Inquirer
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Being careful or bracing for the worst? Tenet has set aside $238 million to settle a federal kick-back investigation in a mixed earnings report (loss for Q4, but predicting more cash flow in 2016). – Atlanta Business Journal & Reuters
A much-deserved assault on ACOs continues. My favorite line: “A wish is not a definition.” – The Health Care Blog
I have to wonder whether this lawsuit route will work in a battle for reimbursement. If Exact Sciences wins, does it mean insurers can be sued into compliance? – WisBusiness.com
Silver-livings on Zika: praise for the international response to the outbreak, nearly $2 billion in emergency funding could be on the way, and the CDC launches a new study on Zika. – Reuters, The Hill & STAT
TECHNOLOGY
“Three Things The Tech Industry Has Right And The Medical Industry Has Wrong” is the headline. But, regarding No. 1: I don’t think tech is as open with data as the author thinks it is. #theranos – TechCrunch
More HIMSS 2016 advice on where to get the most out of interoperability, analytics and other “trending topics.” – Healthcare Dive
Dubai’s Health Authority has launched a “comprehensive digital health system.” – The Gulf Today
Alibaba Health Information Technology may be in trouble. China said it will stop using the drug-coding system developed and operated by Alibaba Health (a product which also makes up almost all of the company’s revenue). – Bloomberg
Toshiba continues to cut bait on more wearables (note the final paragraph for an update on its healthcare business). – Wall Street Journal
POLITICS
Robert Califf moves on. Lesson: close ties to pharma are no vice. – The Hill & MedPage Today
Funny: Donald Trump’s healthcare advisers revealed! – Politico
Ummmmm….. no. – The Hill
LITTLE BIT EXTRA
Google’s Waze GPS app just got a major competitive edge: Morgan Freeman’s voice will guide you to your destination. – Time
Photo: Getty Images
