Know What's Happening in Healthcare
Know What's Happening in Healthcare
FDA approves first CIRM‑funded gene‑editing therapy for rare immune disorder
The FDA has granted approval to KRESLADI, a gene‑editing therapy from Rocket Pharmaceuticals that treats severe leukocyte adhesion deficiency‑I in children without a matching bone‑marrow donor. It is the first product directly funded by California’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), highlighting the agency’s impact on translational research.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Syneron Bio raises $150M Series B
In this episode, Unity Stokes chats with Justin Ayers, CEO of EqualityMD, about the company’s shift from a direct‑to‑consumer, membership model to a B2B/B2B2C platform that offers employers an insurance‑free telehealth solution with culturally competent clinicians and free prescriptions. Ayers explains how the model tackles care avoidance, reduces healthcare costs for both employers and employees, and fills critical data gaps on underserved populations using AI‑driven analytics. He highlights the service tiers—including individual, employee‑plus‑one, and family plans—that provide 36 virtual visits per year and a free‑prescription formulary, positioning EqualityMD as a cost‑saving, retention tool for small to mid‑size businesses while also generating valuable health data for insurers and payers.
Exa Capital has acquired StaffReady, a SaaS platform that manages clinical workforces across hospitals, labs, and pharmaceutical testing firms. The platform streamlines staff scheduling, compliance, and inspection readiness, helping health‑care organizations reduce operational bottlenecks. StaffReady will remain independent with its...
Novo Nordisk announced steep price cuts for its GLP‑1 diabetes and obesity drugs, aiming to broaden patient access amid intensifying pricing scrutiny. AbbVie is committing $380 million to expand API manufacturing capacity, reinforcing supply‑chain resilience. Bora Pharmaceuticals and GSK sealed a...
At HIMSS26, eClinicalWorks will launch the AI API Workbench, a platform that lets developers create custom autonomous AI agents for electronic health records. The company is positioning AI as an active participant in daily operations, with tools like healow Genie...
Researchers at Cornell uncovered a previously unknown thermogenic pathway in white adipocytes, where free fatty acids induce proton leakage through the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier (AAC). This AAC‑mediated uncoupling mirrors brown‑fat heat production without involving UCP1. In mouse models, enhancing intracellular...
Altais Health Solutions and Autonomize AI announced a clinician‑led partnership that leverages AI to automate prior‑authorization workflows. The deployment cut case‑review time by 45% and reduced manual errors by 54%, while half of routine requests now process automatically. Clinicians still...
QuantalX Neuroscience’s Delphi‑MD, a hybrid TMS‑EEG platform powered by AI, received FDA de novo classification in November 2025 and entered commercial launch in February 2026. The device delivers real‑time, age‑adjusted brain‑function assessments by comparing patient data to a cleared normative database. CEO Dr....
We have a new quiz on how health insurance works. But, it's really a statement about how utterly complex health insurance is in the U.S. https://www.kff.org/private-insurance/quiz-how-well-do-you-understand-your-health-insurance/
The FDA’s Generic Drugs Program reported 217 approvals for FY‑2026, including 23 first‑time generics and 45 first‑cycle approvals. Tentative approvals reached 89, while complete responses rose to 402, reflecting a busy review pipeline. Prior Approval Supplements (PAS) saw 532 approvals,...
The FDA has published an updated list of 189 pediatric exclusivity determinations made under Section 505A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act since September 2007. Each entry includes the drug name, sponsor, determination date, and links to the original Written...
Geisinger announced Jeremy Gaskill, a veteran Humana executive, as the new president of Geisinger Health Plan and executive vice president of insurance operations, effective Feb. 23. Gaskill succeeds Karen Murphy, who stabilized the plan and cut operating losses since March 2025. He...
Greater Pittsburgh Orthopaedic Associates disclosed a data breach that began around August 10, 2025, affecting tens of thousands of patients. The group reported 35,000 records to HHS in August 2025, but a February 2026 filing to the Maine Attorney General raised the figure...
Altera Digital Health announced that 14 hospital systems have extended multi‑year contracts for its Sunrise electronic health record platform. The renewals follow the launch of Sunrise 25.1, which introduced roughly 700 system enhancements and a focus on streamlined navigation. Altera...
A malfunctioning pager at a remote Air Force base hospital exposed a supervisor’s abusive behavior, prompting the hospital commander to intervene. The commander forced a formal apology, reassigned the supervisor, and installed new service chiefs to restore stability. Leveraging the...
X‑on Health has launched Omni Consult, an upgrade to its Surgery Connect platform that unifies patient request channels into a single, structured workflow. The solution lets patients submit requests via voice agents, web forms or staff entry, consolidating them for GP...
Engineers at the University of Utah unveiled a 5.5‑pound portable hip exoskeleton that reduces the metabolic cost of walking for stroke survivors with hemiparesis by roughly 18%. The device delivers side‑specific motor assistance synchronized in real time, allowing users to...
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is outperforming the broader market, climbing roughly 14% in the last 30 days and trading near its all‑time high of $245. The health‑care giant boasts a 64‑year streak of dividend growth, a low beta of 0.35,...
The article revisits the long‑standing self‑versus‑non‑self paradigm in immunology, highlighting fetal immune tolerance as a natural exception. It explains how maternal‑fetal microchimerism and epigenetic plasticity challenge traditional dogma and could unlock new treatments for auto‑immune disease, cancer, and age‑related inflammation....
The article outlines five practical steps for clinicians and IT teams to improve collaboration with healthcare vendors, from early stakeholder involvement to shared success metrics, clear roadmaps, dedicated onboarding managers, and comprehensive training. It stresses the growing role of IT...
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) released its February 2026 Guidance Agenda, outlining the draft and revised guidances it plans to develop this calendar year. The agenda features the first issuance of a Level 1 draft guidance alongside updates to...
Healthcare leaders and clinicians are evaluating top‑rated gel packs for physical therapy, focusing on durability, temperature retention, and supply‑chain reliability. Leading providers include Pelton Shepherd, Chattanooga ColPac, Elasto‑Gel, Core Products, and Cardinal Health, each offering reusable hot and cold packs...
In May 2025 the National Academy of Medicine released an Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct for Health and Medicine, outlining ten principles to guide trustworthy, human‑centered AI across health care. The framework is especially relevant for behavioral health, where AI...
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin demonstrated a non‑contact method for measuring blood pressure by reflecting near‑field radio waves off the wrist. They built a wearable prototype using a patch antenna, circulator and a custom 2.4 GHz integrated circuit...
ShopRite has introduced Wellness Your Way Starter Kits aimed at customers who are filling a GLP‑1 prescription for the first time. The free kits bundle a dietitian‑crafted wellness guide, sample products and coupons for protein‑rich and low‑calorie groceries. The rollout...
General Catalyst’s Dr. Stephen Klasko will headline HIMSS26’s Smart Health Transformation Forum, delivering a keynote that imagines a personalized‑care landscape by 2035. Drawing inspiration from Taylor Swift’s storytelling, he will link today’s AI, genomics, and data‑exchange advances to future patient‑centric models....
A Gallup poll shows 16 % of U.S. adults now rely on consumer AI chatbots for medical advice, highlighting a shift in patient behavior. These tools can simplify medical language and help patients prepare for visits, but they lack HIPAA compliance...
CMS has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings, targeting the 2028 and 2029 rating cycles. The agency will drop 12 administrative and two clinical measures, eliminate the Health Equity Index incentive, and introduce a depression‑screening metric....
AI‑enabled ultrasound is emerging as a tool to improve prenatal detection of congenital heart defects (CHDs), which affect about 1 % of U.S. births and are frequently missed. FDA‑cleared AI platforms can analyze cardiac images in real time, flagging abnormal views...
Big tech companies like Amazon, Google/Alphabet, Apple, NVIDIA and Microsoft are taking their move into healthcare and medicine seriously. They are developing new, health-related features on their platforms. They are also teaming up with research institutions and developers to create new...
Continuing medical education doesn’t have to mean stepping away from patients. Colin Banas, MD, explains how real-time access to evidence-based guidelines can reinforce learning and support patient care. 🔗https://t.co/BOGg49TELs @DrFirst @ElsevierConnect #CMEs #HITSM https://t.co/cGEozKOfKU
The FDA has appointed Dr. Jeffrey Abramson, a veteran radiologist with extensive AI and health‑policy experience, to a senior role within its Digital Health Center of Excellence. The move comes as the agency shifts toward a more hands‑off regulatory stance...
Vir climbs on Astellas deal, study results for ‘masked’ T cell engager https://t.co/336c9FJdjt by @Lilah_Alvarado $VIR + 27% $JANX $ALPMY
Novo to cut GLP-1 drug prices; Palvella soars on study data https://t.co/UAs4IETgPX $NVO $PVLA+ 32% $GOSS $VNDA $PFE #biotech
The FDA issued a warning letter to MedisourceRx after an inspection found the facility’s compounded sterile drugs failed to meet 503B outsourcing‑facility requirements. Specific violations include marketing unapproved new drugs, misbranding due to inadequate labeling, and inadequate adverse‑event reporting. The...
Every org struggles with RCM—but not every org fixes what’s leaking revenue. This look at denials, claim errors, and today’s patient-pay realities makes the case for tightening processes now. https://t.co/lWo3nK666k #RCMFix #HITsm #HITSM #TempDev
Failing to find a buyer, BioMarin is voluntarily withdrawing Roctavian from the market. A fitting end for what was once one of the highest-profile gene therapies in development — and a reminder of the gap between promising science and a viable...
Medical device maker Medi‑Globe has launched mAI Companion, a CE‑marked real‑time AI assistant for pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Developed with IHU Strasbourg, the system analyses the pancreas during procedures to highlight solid and cystic lesions, acting as a second set...
This survey of leaders from #healthcare plans, health systems, and innovative solution providers reflects optimism about clinical innovation and emerging #AI use, balanced against concerns over costs, payment models, and politics: https://t.co/xFXpbqfhbY via @TTCapPartners https://t.co/tG3a2CGn90
SaaS may be in its bloodbath moment but as @Bob_Wachter says: When AI replaces doctors it means we are all out of jobs. Doctors, writers, lawyers, consultants, knowledge workers, etc. Healthcare is highest regulation, liability, risk. It’ll be one of the...
The FDA has opened public comment on a citizen petition that would shift oversight of adaptive radiology AI tools from repeated pre‑market reviews to continuous post‑market monitoring. As AI algorithms are updated to improve performance or expand indications, the traditional...
The Miracles You’re Living Through (And Don’t Even Notice) by @PeterDiamandis and @Steven_Kotler https://t.co/jB8O0q00KT https://t.co/21Snf2EBxG
Novo, searching for a spark, spotlights new data for three-pronged obesity drug https://t.co/pPo9Oc1wlF $NVO $LLY #obesity
Camunda introduced a Skyflow connector that tokenizes and de‑identifies PII/PHI within BPMN workflows. The connector forwards selected fields to Skyflow’s vault, replaces them with tokens, and permits controlled re‑identification only at approved steps. This approach shrinks the cleartext data footprint...
FDA Issues Plausible Mechanism Pathway Draft Guidance to Spur Innovation for Individualized Therapies https://t.co/OZW6Q27zMa via @Inside_PM
Pfizer’s post‑COVID strategy pivots from vaccine and antiviral sales to rebuilding growth through oncology and metabolic assets. The 2026 guidance excludes COVID revenue, projects modest 4% operational growth, and anticipates a $1.5 billion patent‑cliff hit. To offset these pressures, Pfizer completed...
Natera reported Phase 2 SINERGY trial results showing a 63% objective response rate in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma when treatment was adapted using Signatera circulating tumor DNA monitoring. Seventy‑four percent of the 27 patients were de‑escalated...
As more patients live years—sometimes decades—beyond a cancer diagnosis, we need smarter, sustainable care models focused on improving quality of life. At @Oracle, we're use AI and real-world evidence to advance smarter, more equitable cancer care: https://t.co/h28j1sIrN3
Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust completed a pilot of ambient voice technology (AVT) across inpatient and outpatient settings, testing four vendors – Accurx Scribe, Tortus, Heidi and Lyrebird. Almost 90% of clinicians reported reduced documentation time, with 88%...
The latest AI biotech raise comes not from the Bay Area or Boston, but out of Budapest Turbine has closed a $25M Series B, planning to build AI models that can simulate more and more lab experiments: https://t.co/Q31DVENA9G
New Zealand health‑tech firm MediMap was forced offline after an unauthorized intrusion altered patient records, including changing names to “Charlie Kirk” and marking individuals as deceased. The breach affected dozens of providers in aged‑care, disability, hospice and community settings, prompting the...
