Attendees at CES 2016 in Las Vegs look at an EHang 184 autonomous-flight drone that can fly a person.
TOP STORIES
We’re getting closer to the day when organs for transplant are delivered by drones. Wednesday, transplant products manufacturer Lung Biotechnology agreed to help drone-maker EHang Holdings customize a human-sized autonomous aircraft for just that purpose.
Closing the Quality-Affordability Gap in Workplace Mental Health
In an interview, Kyan Health Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Konstantin Struck discussed how Kyan gives mid-market and enterprise employers access to premium workforce mental healthcare, at a price point that is affordable.
Realizing the vision of routine organ delivery by drone still could be 15 years away, however, the companies said. — TechCrunch
University of Rochester Medical Center has launched Parkinson’s Disease Care, New York (PDCNY), a free telemedicine program for about 500 underserved Parkinson’s patients across the state. It’s meant to be a national model for remote management of chronic diseases.
Patients with iPhones will be able to participate via URMC’s mPower app and share data over Apple’s new CareKit platform. — PR Newswire
LIFE SCIENCES
Why Pharma Companies Should Look To Social Media For Better Patient Insight
Healthcare decision-makers, especially at pharmaceutical companies, must prioritize patient input. Data collected from social media listening is a significant step in the right direction.
The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego has spun out a new company, iGenomX, which offers library construction technology for next-generation DNA sequencing. — Business Wire
“The world’s most expensive medicine,” a gene therapy, has been used only once commercially since being approved in 2012. — Harvard Business Review
RNAi therapeutics startup Sirnaomics, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, has raised $10 million in a Series B round. — PE Hub
Insulin delivery system-maker Valeritas raised $25 million through a reverse merger and a private placement. — MassDevice
French biopharma company Poxel is planning a U.S. IPO. — Business Wire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Humana is the latest big insurer to consider dropping individual plans on Affordable Care Act exchanges for 2017. — Reuters
A peer-reviewed study by the CVS Health Research Institute has shown home infusion care to be as safe and effective as treatments delivered in hospitals and clinics, for far less money. — PR Newswire
A Baltimore medmal attorney said it’s time to scrap peer-review protections in the discussion of inpatient deaths. — PR Newswire
Robert Adams, CEO of eldercare company National HealthCare Corp., will retire at the end of the year. — Nashville Business Journal
TECHNOLOGY
Although Fitbit’s revenues dipped in the first quarter to $505 million from $711 million in the fourth quarter, 40 percent of sales during the quarter came from repeat Fitbit purchasers. That’s notable because wearable producers often get criticized for having a steep drop off rate for their products as consumers lose interest. — Barrons
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum has teamed with Medecision and TriZetto to introduce what the companies are calling the first SaaS option in Medicaid management information systems. — Business Wire
Staffing and consulting firm Softworld has launched Vita Data Sciences within its life-sciences practice. — PR Newswire
Garmin is the latest consumer fitness company to build activity tracking into a fashion-forward watch, and the new vívomove is analog. — Business Wire
POLITICS
Dr. Patrick Conway, deputy administrator for innovation and quality at CMS, seems open to congressional concerns about a proposed Medicare Part B value-based drug purchasing plan. — The Hill
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is trying again to give CMS the power to negotiate Medicare drug prices, and this time he also wants to cap out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. — Portland Business Journal
California is raising the smoking age to 21 and restricting public vaping. — Los Angeles Times
The highest court in the European Union has upheld a pan-European law that standardizes cigarette packaging, bans menthol smokes and imposes tough new rules on e-cigs. — Reuters
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
American Girl keeps selling out of a diabetes care kit for its dolls. — The New York Times
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images