Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Is “conscious capitalism” the future of venture capital? It is if you ask Silicon Valley lawyer John Montgomery, who’s launching a column on the topic for peHUB. For those unfamiliar with the term, Montgomery lists three key principles of conscious capitalism: Recognizing that a company has a higher “meta-purpose” than just generating profits, delivering value to a wide swath of stakeholders beyond just the traditional management and shareholders and viewing the CEO as a “steward” who must work for the benefit of all those stakeholders.
Montgomery doesn’t really make a convincing case for why conscious capitalism is the future of the VC industry (merely saying that the current VC model is “broken” won’t cut it), but we’ll give him a pass for now and expect him to further develop the theme in future postings.
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Gates foundation gets out of healthcare: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with assets of $7.5 billion, has sold off nearly all its healthcare holdings. That includes numerous companies, such as Eli Lilly, Schering-Plough, Allos Therapeutics and Intermune. Exactly what that means is tough to say, but at the very least, it looks like the Foundation has little confidence in the financial performance of the industry in the coming years.
Ignorance and neglect: That’s what causes most catheter-related bloodstream infections, which lead to about 30,000 annual deaths in hospitals. Evidence suggests hospital workers could all but eliminate the infections by following a five-step checklist that is “stunningly basic.”
PhRMA’s new chief: It’s former Business Roundtable CEO John Castellani. For Castellani it looks like a step up in terms of lobbying muscle, if first-quarter expenditures are any indication. PhRMA spent $7 million on lobbying in the quarter, while the Roundtable ponied up just $2.3 million.
Big health “shakeup” in England: As it pursues likely ill-advised austerity measures advocated by newly elected conservative leaders, the British government is embarking on a “radical pro-market shakeup” of the country’s health system that would allow hospitals to exit public ownership.
3D Medical Animation Services: A Revolution in Healthcare Education and Marketing
3D medical animation services have emerged as a groundbreaking tool in the healthcare industry, revolutionizing the way medical concepts are taught, understood, and marketed.
Big money: California’s Pacific Biosciences completes a $109 million Series F, Trevena of Pennsylvania secures a $35 million Series B.
Photo from flickr user seanmcgrath