Today's Healthcare Pulse
Abridge teams with Eli Lilly and Nvidia to expand AI scribe platform
Abridge announced a strategic investment from Eli Lilly and a partnership with Nvidia to build a foundation model for clinical conversations. The collaboration aims to broaden Abridge’s AI‑scribe services across more health systems and integrate with payers. The company already supports over 300 health systems.
Also developing:
The First Dose Is Everything: Enhancing Adherence and Persistence with Noble SureStartRx™
Noble’s SureStartRx™ program ships remote demonstration kits to patients before their first self‑injectable dose, allowing them to practice and build confidence. The initiative accelerates therapy initiation, improves short‑term adherence, and extends treatment persistence. Director Sean Glynn highlights how this early support safeguards patient outcomes and enhances long‑term brand value. The approach addresses a critical drop‑off point that often leads to therapy abandonment.
The ‘Disinformation Dozen’: Targeted by Government, Maligned by Media. Where Are They Today?
Six years after the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) released its “Disinformation Dozen” list, the targeted anti‑vaccine figures recount extensive deplatforming, revenue loss, and personal harassment. The Biden administration’s pressure on major platforms amplified the censorship, while the list’s...
Vitamin D Guidelines Miscalculated; Sunlight, Not Pills, Solves Deficiency
The Vitamin D Lie Your Doctor May Still Believe The official recommendation was based on a mathematical mistake. The "normal" level on your lab report may be dangerously low. And the best fix isn't a pill — it's free https://x.com/robertlufkinmd/status/2036754584954167391
Regeneron and Sanofi Report MHLW’s Approval of Dupixent to Treat Bullous Pemphigoid
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved Dupixent (dupilumab) for adults with moderate-to-severe bullous pemphigoid, marking the first targeted therapy for the disease in the country. The approval is based on the phase II/III ADEPT trial, which enrolled 106...
Why IVF Fails: Top Reasons & How to Improve Your Success
A failed IVF cycle is most often traced to embryonic chromosomal abnormalities, not the transfer itself, with implantation rates dropping from about 43% for women under 35 to roughly 9% for those over 41. The article outlines seven primary failure...
Maze Meets Own Expectations in Phase 2 Kidney Disease Trial in the Same Arena as Vertex
Maze Therapeutics reported that its Phase 2 trial of the genetic kidney disease candidate MZ‑001 achieved its primary efficacy and safety goals, showing a roughly 30% slowdown in eGFR decline versus placebo. The double‑blind study enrolled 150 patients with autosomal dominant...
Ignored DNR Hospital Policy: A Family’s Tragic End-of-Life Story
A 74‑year‑old Texas woman with a documented Do‑Not‑Resuscitate (DNR) order was rushed to the ER, where staff performed CPR and intubated her despite verbal confirmation of her wishes. Hospital policy required a physical DNR form filed by registration, which the...
Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Behavioral Issues in Pre-Schoolers
A University of Toronto study published in JAMA Network Open found that preschoolers who consume high levels of ultra‑processed foods at age three are more likely to exhibit anxiety, aggression, hyperactivity and fearfulness by age five. The analysis of over...
Hospital Waited Two Days Before Raising Alarm About Meningitis Outbreak
The East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust delayed reporting a suspected meningitis case at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital by two days, breaching the Health Protection Regulations that require immediate notification. The lag slowed contact tracing and public warnings, contributing...
WuXi Biologics Reports Record 2025 Annual Results, Operational Excellence Driven by Digital-Native Architecture
WuXi Biologics reported record 2025 results, with revenue up 16.7% and IFRS gross profit climbing 30.9%, lifting its gross margin to 46%. The growth was driven by expanding research, development and manufacturing contracts and tighter cost control across its global...
Actionable Monitoring Beats Data Overload in Cardiac Care
Health care has become better at saving people once they are already in trouble. That does not mean we have become good at catching trouble early. This episode of The Podcast by KevinMD gets at a hard truth in cardiac care: we...
Merck Spends $6.7B on CML Drug Despite Gleevec Era
It's amazing that 25 years after Gleevec we are still watching drug companies pay billions for new drugs for CML. And that, in Adam's previous story, a once deadly cancer was referred to as a chronic disease. Anyway, $MRK buys $TERN...
Adolescents Are the Missing Middle Falling Through the Cracks of TB Care
Adolescents represent a hidden segment of the tuberculosis epidemic, with roughly 750,000 teens contracting TB worldwide each year and about 20,000 cases in South Africa alone. Because health data split patients into children or adults, teenagers fall between categories, leading...
AVXL Withdraws Alzheimer's Drug From EMA After Rejection
$AVXL pulled its blarcamesine Alzheimer's application from the EMA after regulators there said there was no fking way it was going to approve a drug that does not work.
How GLP-1 Agonists Affect Gene Expression and Promote Pancreatic Health
Researchers at the Salk Institute identified the protein Med14 as the molecular bridge that links GLP‑1 agonist drugs to broad genomic responses that enhance pancreatic beta‑cell health. The team showed that phosphorylation of Med14 is essential for activating gene programs...
Children’s Hospital Deadline Will Be Missed Again, Committee Told
The €2.2 billion (≈$2.42 billion) national children’s hospital in Ireland has missed its 18th deadline, with contractor Bam confirming it will not achieve substantial completion by 30 April 2026. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has invoked contract rights, including withholding 15% of...
The Youngest-Ever Female Fortune 500 CEO Is Reinventing the Largest Medicaid Insurer Amid Funding Cuts and Rising Costs
Sarah London has become the youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, taking the helm of Centene, the nation’s largest Medicaid insurer. She is steering the firm through steep federal Medicaid cuts and rising health‑care costs by trimming non‑core...
The United Laboratories and Novo Nordisk Report P-II Trial Data on UBT251 in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
Novo Nordisk and United Laboratories reported Phase‑II data for the GLP‑1 agonist UBT251 in 211 Chinese patients with type‑2 diabetes. Over 24 weeks, UBT251 achieved a 2.16 % HbA1c reduction, outperforming semaglutide’s 1.77 % and placebo’s 0.66 % from a baseline of 8.12 %....
Transcendental Meditation Linked to Lower Cardiovascular Risk in New Cardiology Commentary
A commentary in Nature Reviews Cardiology, authored by researchers from Maharishi International University, UCLA and Wayne State, argues that Transcendental Meditation can lower stress‑related cardiovascular risk. The paper cites decades of trials showing blood‑pressure reductions and slower atherosclerosis progression, and...
Gilead’s Ouro Buy, J&J/Protagonist’s Approval, Aurinia’s Revamp, ACIP Confusion, More
Gilead announced a $2.1 billion acquisition of Ouro Medicines and its T‑cell engager OM336, planning to split the deal with long‑time partner Galapagos. Johnson & Johnson and Protagonist Therapeutics secured FDA approval for Icotyde, an IL‑23 receptor blocker that becomes Protagonist’s...
Basecamp Research Unveils Trillion Gene Atlas to Boost Longevity Drug Discovery
Basecamp Research has launched the Trillion Gene Atlas, a platform that will collect and model genetic information from more than 100 million species, expanding known evolutionary diversity by roughly 100‑fold. The initiative aims to give AI models a vastly broader biological...
Rubber Dams Enable Precision in Modern Dental Care
Why Rubber Dams Matter in Precision Dental Procedures by @IntEngineering #MedTech #HealthTech #Tech #Healthcare #TechForGood https://t.co/cRySPYX43q
Merck Nears $6B All‑Cash Deal for Terns Pharma to Boost Oncology Portfolio
Merck & Co. is in advanced talks to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals in an all‑cash transaction valued at about $6 billion. The deal would add a promising rare‑cancer therapy to Merck’s portfolio and could be announced as early as Wednesday.
New York Ends Essential Plan, Cutting Coverage for 460,000 Low‑Income Residents
New York State announced the rollback of its Essential Plan, ending near‑free health insurance for about 460,000 low‑income residents. The move eliminates a key safety‑net, prompting concerns from advocates and insurers about coverage gaps and market disruption.
Magnetic Silk‑Iron Nanoparticles Offer Precise Drug Delivery to Inaccessible Tissues
A multinational research team has created magnetic silk‑iron nanocomposite particles that can be steered with external magnetic fields to deliver therapeutics directly to otherwise inaccessible tissues. The breakthrough promises higher efficacy and lower side‑effects for treatments ranging from cancer to...
Pfizer and Valneva's Lyme Vaccine Shows 73.2% Efficacy in Late‑Stage Trial
Pfizer and French biotech Valneva announced that their experimental Lyme disease vaccine, PF-07307405, achieved 73.2% efficacy in a Phase III trial, marking the most advanced effort to bring a U.S. Lyme vaccine to market despite missing its primary statistical benchmark. The...
Genomic Mapping of E. Coli Capsules Identifies High-Risk Types for Vaccines
A genomic survey of over 18,000 *Escherichia coli* genomes has mapped 90 capsular K‑loci, revealing that five capsule types (K1, K5, K52, K2, K14) cause more than half of bloodstream and urinary‑tract infections in Europe. The study links these high‑risk...
World-First Portable Multi-Pathogen CRISPR Test Seeks to Improve STI Diagnostics
Researchers at Australia’s Peter Doherty Institute have created a portable, CRISPR‑based diagnostic that simultaneously detects syphilis, HSV, chlamydia and gonorrhea in under an hour. The assay also identifies a key antibiotic‑resistance gene in gonorrhea, delivering 97‑100% accuracy compared with laboratory...
MSD and Quotient Collaborate on IBD Drug Targets
Merck (MSD) has entered a multi‑year research partnership with Quotient Therapeutics to uncover new drug targets for inflammatory bowel disease using Quotient’s somatic genomics platform. The deal provides Quotient with $20 million upfront and up to $2.2 billion in regulatory, development and...
Perimenopausal Women Remain Grossly Undertreated in Orthopedics
Nearly 30 years in orthopedic surgery. Another pattern that is impossible to ignore. Perimenopausal women are some of the most undertreated patients I see. One unfortunate paper is blamed... but often, it's because the conversation never happens. https://t.co/6m6AxUhRKF
US-Style Health Care Is Wrong for the UK
A recent BBC and New Statesman investigation uncovered preventable infant deaths at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, highlighting a deepening maternal‑health crisis in the United Kingdom. Over the past 15 years, maternal mortality rates have risen steadily, exposing gaps in NHS...
Despite Driving Most Disability Claims, MSK Is Solvable
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions remain the top driver of disability claims in the U.S., costing employers billions in lost productivity and medical expenses. The article argues that most of this spend is preventable through early, accessible care rather than reactive, high‑cost...
Benefits of Dental Veneers and Why People Choose Them
In 2024 more than 2.3 million Americans chose dental veneers, a 40% surge from five years earlier. Veneers combine cosmetic transformation with a protective seal that can preserve enamel and stave off costly restorative work such as crowns, which typically cost...
Philips Launches IntraSight Plus to Simplify Coronary Interventions and Advance Precision Care
Royal Philips has launched IntraSight Plus, an FDA‑cleared and CE‑marked interventional cardiology platform that unifies intravascular ultrasound, iFR/FFR physiology, and angiographic imaging on a single screen. The system promises up to 47% reduction in procedure time by streamlining data entry...
Milan Longevity Summit 2026: Designing the $120 Trillion “One Health” Future
The Milan Longevity Summit 2026, held May 20‑23 at Allianz MiCo, convenes leaders across finance, AI, agri‑food, urban design and more to re‑engineer systems for an aging world. Using the One Health framework, the event treats human longevity as intertwined...
Pixee Medical’s Knee+ NexSight Receives the European CE Mark for Knee Arthroplasty
Pixee Medical has secured a European CE mark for its Knee+ NexSight augmented‑reality platform, enabling the first EU total knee arthroplasty procedures using the technology. The system projects a voice‑controlled virtual overlay during surgery, delivering robotic‑level precision without a robot,...
Stock to Buy for Long Term: Ventura Sees 39% Upside in This Healthcare Stock. Should You Buy?
Ventura Securities has initiated coverage on Park Medi World Ltd (PMWL) with a Buy rating and a $3.4 target price, suggesting roughly 38% upside over the next two years. The hospital chain, listed at $2.0 per share, leverages a capital‑efficient...
Ionis’ Zilganersen Receives US FDA Priority Review for Alexander Disease
Ionis Pharmaceuticals received FDA acceptance of its new drug application for zilganersen and a priority‑review designation for treating Alexander disease, with a PDUFA target action date of September 22, 2026. The Phase III trial enrolled 54 patients aged 1.5 to 53...
A Class Action Suits Moves RICO From Mobsters to Medicine
In this episode, attorney Harrison James explains how the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), originally aimed at organized crime, is being used in a landmark civil class action against Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly over the diabetes drug Actos....
Imaging Manufacturer Guerbet Faces Financial Challenges Following Recent FDA Warning
French imaging contrast agent maker Guerbet is confronting a severe FDA warning after inspectors found significant good manufacturing practice violations at its Raleigh, North Carolina plant. The citation has already depressed Americas revenue by 4% year‑over‑year and reduced MRI‑related sales,...
Indian Man Whose Life Support Was Removed After Court Go-Ahead Dies
Harish Rana, a 31‑year‑old Indian man who had been in a coma since a 2013 balcony fall, died at AIIMS after the Supreme Court authorized the removal of his life‑support machines. The decision marks India’s first court‑approved instance of passive...
Fraudster Faces 3 Years in Prison for Role in $14M Imaging-Related Scheme
A Los Angeles woman, Sophia Shaklian, was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison for orchestrating a Medicare fraud scheme that siphoned more than $14 million through fake diagnostic imaging and hospice services. She owned multiple sham providers and submitted fraudulent...
Regulation Is Pushing European Medtech to Streamline Clinical Trial Operations
European medtech firms are scrambling to meet the heightened evidence demands of the EU MDR, IVDR, AI Act and the European Health Data Space. Over half plan to optimise data collection, yet only a third have adopted core digital trial...
Unregistered Dentist Offered Treatment to Patients From Sittingroom of Dublin Apartment
The Irish Dental Council disclosed that an unregistered dentist was providing X‑ray treatments from the sitting‑room of a Dublin apartment, exposing a loophole in the Dentists Act 1985 that prevents regulation of non‑licensed practices. The council reported it could not act...
Reforming Public Health in India
The Lancet Commission proposes a citizen‑centred health system for India, outlining six reform actions. It argues that despite adequate per‑capita funding of roughly $24 in many states, the public sector fails to deliver universal health coverage because budgets are fragmented,...
Advertising to Doctors - Okay or Not? | Out-Of-Pocket
OpenEvidence and DoxGPT are offering free, AI‑driven literature‑review tools for physicians, funded by advertising. The model shifts costs from doctors to pharma, potentially lowering barriers compared with subscription services like UpToDate, which charge $550 per physician annually. Clear separation and...
Medicaid’s Newest Reform Is a Morass of Red Tape
Georgia’s "Pathways to Coverage" Medicaid reform, launched in July 2023, aimed to expand coverage for low‑income workers but enrolled only 8,077 of the 240,000 eligible. The program’s private‑contractor‑run IT platform, built by Deloitte for $528 million, generated frequent form changes and...
The Limits Of Efficiency In Home Health’s Cost-Cutting Era
Home‑based care providers are under intense reimbursement pressure, inflation and staffing shortages, prompting a sharp focus on efficiency. Well Care Health, a 700‑employee provider serving 5,000 daily patients across North and South Carolina, warns that cost‑cutting initiatives, especially AI‑driven ones,...
As Antibiotics Fail, a New Treatment Targets the Host, Not the Bacteria
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have demonstrated that a single dose of interferon‑gamma can “train” human macrophages to more effectively kill drug‑resistant bacteria such as MRSA and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The IFN‑γ‑trained cells undergo epigenetic reprogramming, rely on glutamine metabolism, and...
This Tiny Implant, Smaller than a Grain of Salt, Can Read Your Brain
Cornell researchers have unveiled the microscale optoelectronic tetherless electrode (MOTE), a neural implant barely larger than a grain of salt. The 300 µm‑by‑70 µm device wirelessly transmits brain‑wave data via infrared light and has demonstrated chronic operation in awake mice for more...