Today's Healthcare Pulse
FDA greenlights durvalumab combo for high‑risk bladder cancer
The FDA approved durvalumab (Imfinzi) combined with Bacillus Calmette‑Guerin for BCG‑naïve, high‑risk non‑muscle invasive bladder cancer. The POTOMAC trial enrolled 1,018 patients and showed a 32% reduction in disease recurrence risk (hazard ratio 0.68, p=0.015). Durvalumab is given at 1,500 mg IV every four weeks for up to 13 cycles.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Apogee Therapeutics raises $1.3B royalty financing
Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 3/16/26
After‑hours care remains a persistent gap in primary‑care delivery, with offices typically closed about 75 % of the day. The article argues that expanding capacity for both urgent and non‑urgent visits is essential to improve patient access without overloading clinicians. It highlights surge capacity as a systemic challenge, urging practices to rethink staffing, workflows, and technology. The discussion calls for solutions that balance availability with provider well‑being.
How Health System Leaders Are Responding to Medicare Advantage Pressures
Alvarez & Marsal’s MA Pulse Survey of 30 health‑system executives reveals a sharp inflection in Medicare Advantage participation, with declining reimbursements and rising denials eroding profitability. Six in ten respondents expect lower payments, while 74 % anticipate tougher collections and 52 % foresee...
Off-Prescription Adderall Increases Blood Pressure, Heart Rate
A randomized, double‑blind study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that a single 25 mg dose of off‑prescription Adderall caused significant acute increases in blood pressure and heart rate among healthy young adults. Systolic pressure rose by roughly 10 mm Hg, diastolic by...
SOLVE-TAVI: Patient Sex, for the Most Part, Doesn’t Sway Outcomes by Valve Type
The five‑year SOLVE‑TAVI trial shows that self‑expanding and balloon‑expandable transcatheter aortic valves deliver comparable long‑term efficacy and durability in both men and women with severe aortic stenosis. Stroke incidence was markedly lower in women receiving the self‑expanding valve (0.9% vs...
Placenta: Century‑Old Medical Resource Beyond Waste
Actually yes. The placenta has been used in medicine for over 100 years. The amniotic membrane is used in eye surgery for corneal reconstruction. It's used as a graft for burn treatment and wound healing. It's used in dental and orthopedic...
Kent and Medway Mental Health Introduces Tools to Capture Peer Support Outcomes in EPR
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust has added three digital tools to its electronic patient record (EPR) to capture peer support outcomes, including the Hope, Agency and Opportunity (HAO) measure, a dedicated peer‑support tab, and a specific SNOMED activity...
NeoGenomics’ PanTracer LBx Receives Medicare Coverage, Expanding Access to Comprehensive Liquid Biopsy Profiling
NeoGenomics announced that its PanTracer™ LBx liquid biopsy test has received Medicare coverage under CMS’s MolDX program. The CLIA‑certified assay profiles more than 500 genes, including MSI and blood‑tumor mutational burden, with a seven‑day turnaround. Coverage allows Medicare beneficiaries to...
Your Medical Record Is Too Big To Read. AI May Be The Fix.
Modern electronic health records now contain years of notes, labs, imaging and messages, creating a “storage unit” that clinicians cannot fully review in the few minutes before a visit. This overload forces doctors to perform a real‑time “chart biopsy,” often...
Six Biotech Companies Advancing the Next Generation of Prostate Cancer Therapies
Six biotech firms are pushing next‑generation prostate‑cancer therapies through late‑stage trials and financing milestones. Candel Therapeutics secured a $100 million royalty deal to fund aglatimagene’s launch, while Coherus Oncology closed a $50.1 million offering and partnered with J&J for a CCR8 antibody...
UnitedHealthcare Expands Doula Offering to Employer-Sponsored Plans Nationwide
UnitedHealthcare announced a nationwide rollout of its Doula Support program for employer‑sponsored health plans, potentially reaching 7.2 million members by January 1, 2027. The benefit gives members the option to engage doulas in‑person or virtually throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. UnitedHealthcare estimates its...
In Tense Meeting, Dr. Oz Pressed Medical Societies on Trans Care for Teens
CMS head Mehmet Oz convened leaders of the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Society of Plastic Surgeons for a closed‑door meeting on transgender medical care for adolescents. While the AMA and APA reaffirmed support for hormone therapy,...
L&T Technology Services Launches NVIDIA-Powered AI Lung Digital Twin Platform for Advanced Respiratory Diagnostics
L&T Technology Services (LTTS) unveiled an AI‑powered digital twin platform that creates immersive 3D models of patients’ lungs from CT scans. The solution leverages NVIDIA’s Physical AI stack—including Omniverse, TensorRT and MONAI—to deliver real‑time visualization, automated segmentation of airways, vessels...
3 Medical Service Industry Stocks Set to Counter Workforce Issues
The medical services sector is being reshaped by rapid digital‑health adoption and a booming healthcare analytics market valued at $30.33 billion with a 28.2% CAGR through 2034. A persistent workforce shortage—projected at 100,000 vacant positions by 2028, especially 73,000 nursing‑assistant roles—pressures...
What Determines Success in Complex MASH Clinical Research Today?
Recent FDA approvals of resmetirom and semaglutide have shifted MASH care from a treatment‑void to a therapeutic reality, prompting sponsors to redesign trial endpoints and enrollment strategies. Non‑invasive diagnostic tools are emerging as potential primary endpoints, reducing reliance on liver...
Homecare Homebase Announces the Launch of Curate: Scribe
Homecare Homebase (HCHB) unveiled Curate: Scribe, an AI‑assisted documentation tool built into its EHR. Developed with StenoHealth, the feature generates draft clinical notes that clinicians can review and edit, aiming to cut the time spent on paperwork. By embedding AI...
Ethermed, VisiQuate Partner to Transform Revenue Cycle Automation
Ethermed and VisiQuate announced a strategic partnership that merges Ethermed’s embedded prior‑authorization automation with VisiQuate’s AI‑driven predictive models, data engine, and robotic process automation. The combined platform predicts authorization requirements, executes submissions directly within clinical workflows, and continuously refines its...
Why Women’s Health Is at an Inflection Point and Why Commercialization Models Must Advance
Women’s health funding has exploded, with investment rising over 300% since 2018 and tripling again by 2024, reflecting a clear market opportunity. Yet commercialization lags, leaving startups unable to scale, patients facing delayed access, and revenue potential unrealized. Fragmented care...
Malicious Metals Muddy Fragment-to-Lead Optimization
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic pursued fragment‑based inhibitors of SARS‑CoV‑2 NSP14, a viral exonuclease essential for replication and immune evasion. Initial crystal‑guided merges appeared active in a biochemical assay, prompting optimism about fragment linking. Subsequent resynthesis and rigorous purification revealed...
The Health Care Job Market
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total non‑farm payrolls fell by 92,000 jobs in February, with health‑care employment shrinking by 28,000 jobs after a wave of worker strikes. Despite the dip, the health‑care sector has added an average of...
Two Publications Highlight Clinical Utility of Signatera™ in Anal and Rectal Cancers
Natera announced two peer‑reviewed studies demonstrating the clinical utility of its personalized ctDNA assay, Signatera, in anal squamous cell carcinoma and locally advanced rectal cancer. In the ASCC cohort of 84 patients, baseline negativity or clearance of ctDNA during chemoradiotherapy...
Elevara Begins Phase 2b Trial of ELV001 in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Elevara Medicines has dosed the first patient in its phase 2b START‑SYNERGY trial, testing the oral CDK4/6 inhibitor ELV001 in rheumatoid arthritis patients who have failed methotrexate and TNF inhibitors. The randomized, placebo‑controlled study will enroll about 180 participants across nine...
Photonics and Nanotech Could Spot Cancer Signals 5 to 8 Years Earlier
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign have engineered a photonic‑nanomaterial platform that senses microRNA and DNA signatures linked to cancer up to five to eight years before conventional diagnostics can. The system leverages photonic crystal grating resonance and nano‑assemblies...
Researchers Identify Low Clinician Response to Elevated Lp(a) Levels
A multicenter retrospective cohort of nearly 15,000 low‑risk adults showed that 80% of patients with Lipoprotein(a) above 50 mg/dL did not start any lipid‑lowering medication within 90 days of testing. Initiation of statins was modest, while use of PCSK9 inhibitors and...
China Startup CirCode Gets Clearance for Trial of Circular RNA Therapy
Cir‑Code Bio‑med, a Chinese biotech focused on circular RNA medicines, has secured an Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commence its first human trial. The therapy targets a rare genetic disorder using a...
Four‑Tier Framework Cuts Through AI Healthcare Hype
It’s incredibly hard to see through the current AI hype in healthcare. To facilitate that, I have mapped the rapidly expanding universe of AI use cases in healthcare from early-stage “on the horizon” innovations to “safe bets” that are already backed...
Here’s How Physicians Can Better Treat Thyroid Issues
Physicians are adopting minimally invasive tools like radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat benign thyroid nodules, reducing the need for surgery and preserving gland function. Enhanced diagnostics—including high‑resolution ultrasound and comprehensive hormone panels—are improving accuracy and enabling data‑driven treatment adjustments. Integrating...
Oxford Medical Simulation Secures €5.78 Million to Tackle Healthcare Training Gap with Virtual Reality
Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) has secured €5.78 million in growth funding from Salica Investments. The capital will fund OMS’s expansion into U.S. health systems and universities, and accelerate product innovation such as AI‑driven scenarios, learning analytics, and workflow tools. The round...
The Clementine Churchill Hospital First Private Hospital in the UK to Install Da Vinci 5
Circle Health Group’s Clementine Churchill Hospital in London has become the UK’s first private facility to install Intuitive’s da Vinci 5 surgical system. The fifth‑generation robot, featuring AI analytics and ten‑thousand‑fold computing power, supports minimally invasive procedures in general surgery,...
The Promise and Problems of Hospital Price Transparency
In 2021 CMS mandated hospitals to publish machine‑readable price lists for 300 common services, hoping transparent pricing would spur competition and lower costs. Five years later, health spending still outpaces inflation and the rule’s impact remains minimal. Low public awareness,...
What’s at Stake for Bayer in Its Supreme Court Showdown?
Bayer’s 2018 acquisition of Monsanto brought a wave of glyphosate lawsuits, prompting a proposed $7.25 billion class settlement and an undisclosed additional pact. The company’s CEO, Bill Anderson, is steering a restructuring that includes 12,000 layoffs and a focus on pharma...
Re: Abu-Sitta Case: New Regulator Joins Appeal Effort on Doctor Cleared of Supporting Terrorism
The Professional Standards Authority has announced it will support the General Medical Council’s appeal of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service’s decision that cleared Dr Ghassan Abu‑Sitta of terrorism‑related misconduct. The appeal follows a petition signed by thousands of doctors demanding the...
STAT+: Structure Therapeutics Reports Significant Weight Loss From Mid-Stage GLP-1 Pill
Structure Therapeutics announced that its daily oral GLP‑1 obesity pill produced an average 16% body‑weight reduction versus placebo after 44 weeks in a Phase 2 trial. The result outperforms Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, which showed about 11% loss over 72 weeks, and rivals...
Prioritize History and Exam Before Trusting MRI Findings
The irony I find myself returning to is that MRI technology has not made us better diagnosticians. It has, in many cases, made us worse ones, because the image is so concrete and the language of the report so authoritative...
AI-Driven Digital Biology Delivers Custom Cancer Vaccine for Dog
The era of digital biology, exemplified by making a bespoke and effective vaccine for cancer in a dog, is taking off. Access to the AI-Coscientist. A new feature @NatureMedicine https://t.co/AR9lqne7E1
Havas Life London Identifies Stigma as a Structural Barrier in Rare Disease
Havas Life London’s new report reveals that stigma is a pervasive, structural barrier in rare disease care, affecting 89% of patients and caregivers surveyed. Healthcare settings account for the largest share of stigma incidents, with 42% reporting dismissed symptoms and...
AI Bridges Patients, Providers, Payers, and Public Health
Last week at #HIMSS26, the Oracle Health and Life Sciences team showcased how AI can connect patients, providers, payers, and public health organizations. See what you missed and learn how our AI-powered tech can help your organization. https://t.co/JphBBwbFT2
Jason Hoffman’s Interview Packs Dense AI Insights
Can't emphasize enough the amount of valuable AI insights per word in this masterpiece by Jason A. Hoffman, CSO @Switch. Got to this after he was interviewed by the great @furrier https://t.co/dlM9fL53Xi https://t.co/UcyXJnkcrg
Structure Therapeutics Reports More Phase 2 Data for Oral GLP-1
Structure Therapeutics released Phase 2 data for its oral GLP‑1 agonist, positioning the candidate as a next‑generation alternative to injectable therapies from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The trial demonstrated a mean 30% reduction in HbA1c and 70% of participants achieving target...
Aged Blood Stem Cell Mutations Drive Aortic Aneurysm Growth
Just weeks ago we didn't know that mutant clones of our aged blood stem cells could be linked to expansion of an aortic aneurysm. No less how. And so much more https://t.co/YuEmJPkdg2 https://t.co/qQq2dgAfWf
Sarepta Tests Elevidys Safety, Sana
Sarepta tests new Elevidys safeguards; Sana advances diabetes cell therapy https://t.co/hkixuANCCV $SRPT $SANA $INO $BAYRY #biotech
The Peptide Boom Is Getting Out of Hand
The Atlantic outlines a surge in off‑label and experimental peptide use, noting that Vyleesi—approved for women’s hypoactive sexual desire disorder—is being bought by men through “research use only” listings and online pharmacies. Compounding pharmacies and telehealth firms now market customized...
Structure's Obesity Pill Shows Phase 2 Weight‑Loss Promise
Pretty impressive data from $gpcr, which remains my favorite ticker. Structure's obesity pill shows weight loss promise in Phase 2 trial https://t.co/T0JU2UuftY
‘Compensation Remodeling’ and 9 Other Solutions to Help Preserve Radiology’s Core Mission
The American College of Radiology’s 2025 Intersociety Meeting produced ten actionable solutions to halt the erosion of academic radiology’s core mission of patient care, education, and research. Experts cite practice consolidation, rising imaging volumes and burnout as primary threats. Recommendations...
Widespread US Shift From Prescription to OTC Lies in Pharma’s Hands
The FDA is accelerating the shift of prescription medicines to over‑the‑counter status, highlighted by Commissioner Marty Makary’s call for broader OTC availability and the introduction of the Additional Condition for Non‑Prescription Use (ACNU) framework. Former FDA counsel Heidi Gertner stresses...
AHF Urges EU to Stop Blocking Health Equity
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Europe will stage an advocacy action and press conference in Brussels on March 18, 2026, urging the European Commission to adopt a legally binding Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The organization...
Family Caregivers’ Needs in Late-Stage Dementia
A new qualitative study in BMC Geriatrics reveals the intense psychological, physical, and social pressures faced by family caregivers of late‑stage dementia patients. Interviews expose high rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout, compounded by fragmented health‑care navigation and dwindling social...
The Antibacterials of Tomorrow
The blog recaps the 2026 New Antibacterial Discovery and Development conference in Tuscany, where researchers presented emerging strategies against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Dr. Quave highlighted her lab’s plant‑derived natural products targeting Gardnerella vaginalis, a key cause of bacterial vaginosis. The...
“Mad Scientist” Mike Schultz Has Created Prosthetics for Para Snowboarders That Often Beat Him
Mike Schultz retired from Paralympic snowboarding after winning a bronze in the Cortina banked slalom, capping a career that includes four medals and two golds. He is celebrated for designing the BioDapt prosthetic knee and foot that now equip every...
After Novartis Pact, Macrocycle Shop Unnatural Products Gets $45M Series B
Santa Cruz‑based Unnatural Products secured a $45 million Series B round to accelerate its macrocycle drug platform. The financing follows a newly announced partnership with Novartis that will grant the pharma giant early access to the company’s pipeline and a co‑development option...
Officials ‘Missed 99% of Data’ on Covid Vaccines Before Making Recommendation, Memos Reveal
Internal HHS memos released in a lawsuit reveal officials ignored about 99% of available safety and efficacy data when deciding to end COVID‑19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant people and children. The decision was announced by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy...