MedCity News

Willow Acquires 2 Women’s Health Companies

Patient Deaths and Data Shortfall Spell the End for Cell Therapy Biotech Artiva

Artiva Biotherapeutics attributed one of the fatalities to a drug used to prepare patients for cell therapy and not to the cell therapy itself. But Artiva’s setbacks follow safety signals reported for autoimmune disease cell therapy programs from Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb.

By Frank Vinluan

Payers, Health Tech, Providers

ClarityCare Raises $16.5M to Speed Up Prior Authorizations

As health plans grapple with new federal deadlines for prior authorization decisions, healthcare AI startup ClarityCare has raised $16.5 million to automate the administrative workload that can keep patients waiting for the care they need.

By Jenna Congdon

MedCity Influencers

A Market, Not a Mandate, Is the Fastest Way to Bring AI Into Hospitals

The cost of waiting is not evenly distributed. Rural and critical access hospitals report under 50 percent adoption of even basic predictive tools, compared with 86 percent among top-tier system-affiliated hospitals. Every year without a bridge widens that gap, and it widens it fastest for the hospitals with the least room to absorb it.

By Dr. Andrew M. Ibrahim

Latest Video

Latest News

Artificial Intelligence Physicians,

Jet trail creating dollar sign in blue sky with clouds startup capital

Healthleap Raises $38M to Expand AI Screening for Overlooked Conditions in Hospitalized Patients

Healthleap, a clinical AI platform that works within the EHR to screen hospitalized patients for conditions that might otherwise go undiagnosed, is supporting hospitals in finding at-risk patients sooner.

By Jenna Congdon

MedCity Influencers

A digitally generated image featuring an old-style computer monitor displaying the letters “AI” with neon business crowd. The scene blends retro computing with modern business aesthetics, symbolizing the journey of artificial intelligence from its early beginnings to its growing role in today’s corporate world. Ideal for illustrating themes of digital evolution, business transformation, AI adoption, and technology-driven innovation.

Why Agentic AI Works in Hospitals When You Strip It Down

Many hospitals are now trying to use AI to automate processes and free up staff time, running simultaneous pilots to perform as many tasks as possible. This quickly leads to pilot sprawl — a state where organizations can no longer even say which agents are still in active use.

By Mykhailo Hentosh

Devices & Diagnostics

Happy Health’s Cuffless BP Device Wins FDA Clearance

Happy Health has received FDA clearance for its wearable ring, which continuously measures blood pressure without a cuff or external calibration.

By Jenna Congdon

BioPharma, Pharma

Roche Puts Up $100M to Pursue Promising But Competitive New Target in Obesity

Roche gains global rights to a Rona Therapeutics RNA interference drug designed to target ALK7, a genetically validated target for obesity and other metabolic indications. The growing field of companies pursuing ALK7 includes GSK and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals.

By Frank Vinluan

Opinion

Medicare Policy Shouldn’t Be Made in the Shadows

Medicare policy should be transparent and include appropriate notice and stakeholder input. And when a contractor gets it wrong, there should be a clear and rapid way to stop the harm to patients, their relationship with their doctor and the doctor’s practice.

By Dr. Chris Phillips

MedCity Influencers

What Corporate Venture Funds Get Wrong about Strategic Value

Corporate venture funds often chase financial returns while ignoring strategic value. Here’s what it takes to turn healthcare portfolio investments into lasting business impact.

By David M. Rubin

BioPharma, Pharma

Asahi Kasei Acquisition Pays Off With FDA Approval for Novel Herpes Drug

Asahi Kasei’s Hovilpri is now approved for treating lesions caused by herpes simplex virus infection. This daily pill came from the $919 million acquisition of AiCuris Anti-Infective Cures.

By Frank Vinluan

Health Tech

Outro Raises $7M To Support Safe Deprescribing

Outro’s funding included participation from Listen Ventures, Cake Ventures, Jason Calicanis’s LAUNCH, Actions Capital, Hannah Grey Ventures, SemperVirens, Brock Recovery Group and Pave Health Ventures.

By Marissa Plescia

MedCity Influencers

Pediatric Innovation Isn’t a Small-Market Problem, It’s an Incentive Problem

Investing in pediatric care is not simply a moral imperative. It is one of the most practical long-term investments the healthcare system can make.

By Scott Xiao

MedCity Influencers

Loneliness And Diabetes: Harnessing an Opportunity for Better Outcomes

Asking the right questions about community support, caregiving responsibilities, emotional well-being, and the availability of trusted social networks can establish important context for a person’s outcomes — and spark conversations about social needs that might never otherwise take place.

By Coni Dennis

Events, Consumer / Employer

Join Us at INVEST Digital Health for a Conversation on Consumer-Centered Care across the Healthcare Ecosystem

Register for INVEST Digital Health, scheduled for October 29 in Dallas, for an engaging discussion on the impact of consumer-centered care from diagnostics to employer benefits and more.

By Stephanie Baum

Devices & Diagnostics

Are Hospital Operating Rooms Ready For FDA’s Expectations for Surgical Robots?

The FDA recently published draft guidance on pre-market testing for robotically-assisted surgical devices, raising timely discussion around whether hospital infrastructures are capable of supporting increasingly complex systems.

By Jenna Congdon

BioPharma, Pharma

TRrexBio’s IPO Bags $116M to Bring the Immune System Back Into Balance

Eli Lilly-partnered TRexBio will apply the IPO proceeds toward clinical development of molecules designed to activate regulatory T cells to mediate immune responses and inflammation. Meanwhile, Retension Pharmaceuticals will use its IPO cash for mid-stage testing of a next-generation hypertension drug.

By Frank Vinluan

MedCity Influencers

What Life Sciences Commercial Teams Can Learn from Digital Health

The pace of change in digital innovation has exposed the ever-widening gap between digital health and Pharma commercial teams. As a result, Pharma is missing out on its ability to significantly improve its commercial model, by focusing on efficiencies vs. truly reinventing.

By Suzy Jackson

BioPharma, Startups, Devices & Diagnostics

Startup Arboretum Sprouts, Bringing a Precision Medicine Approach to Common Diseases

Diagnostics and drug development startup Arboretum LifeSciences launched with $30 million in financing. Its executives say analyses of data from its genetic tests both form the basis of partnerships with big pharma and lead to the formation of new biotech companies — all focused on common diseases.

By Frank Vinluan