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
Rising Amid Flurry of CAR T Deals, Stylus Proves Cell Therapy Is Not Dead
Stylus Medicine entered the cell‑therapy arena in May 2025 with an in‑vivo CAR‑T platform that delivers a lipid nanoparticle‑encapsulated recombinase to engineer T cells inside patients. The move comes after major pharma acquisitions—BMS buying Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion and Gilead acquiring Arcellx for $7.8 billion—signaling renewed confidence in CAR‑T despite earlier asset divestitures by Takeda and Novo Nordisk. Stylus aims to simplify manufacturing, lower costs, and accelerate timelines, initially targeting oncology before expanding to immune and autoimmune diseases. The company reports strong interest from large pharma partners seeking early‑stage collaborations.
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These Are the Best States for Senior Health and Well-Being
Opera Beds released a new study ranking U.S. states by senior health and well‑being, using America’s Health Rankings data from 2015‑2025. Vermont topped the list with the lowest diabetes rate (16.7%) and below‑average obesity, while Hawaii and Colorado followed thanks to...
Lundbeck Names AI Head in Quest to Become 'Bionic' Company
Lundbeck has promoted Markus Kede to chief AI officer, shifting him from finance to lead the drugmaker's AI agenda. The newly created role reports directly to CEO Charl van Zyl and will be based in Sweden. Kede will oversee AI...
Arginine Plus Fish Oil May Help Manage Sarcopenia: Study
A twelve‑week randomized, double‑blind trial found that daily supplementation with 14 g arginine and 6 g fish oil improved gait speed, hand‑grip strength, and functional activity scores in older adults with sarcopenia. The intervention also lowered inflammatory markers (TNF‑α, IL‑6) and triglyceride...
Who Will Be This Year’s Femtech Company of the Year?
The Femtech Company of the Year award, sponsored by Cross‑Border Impact Ventures (CBIV), seeks to elevate firms that are reshaping women’s health through technology. It recognizes companies tackling reproductive health, maternal care, menopause and related gaps, rewarding exceptional impact and...
Executives Want in, but Researchers Want Out — How Pharma’s US Job Picture Is Changing
U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing is booming, with companies pledging over $370 billion in new facilities through 2030, prompting senior executives to relocate to the United States. At the same time, U.S. academic and research funding has been slashed, leading a majority of...
Malaria Is Not Just a Health Crisis, It Is an Economic Crisis
New research using a general‑equilibrium model for Tanzania shows that a nationwide malaria vaccination program with 75% efficacy could lift per‑capita income by 5.2% in the short run and up to 6.7% over generations—five times larger than earlier estimates. The...
Pharma Pulse: Ipsen’s Global Tazemetostat Withdrawal and FDA Approval of Deucravacitinib for Psoriatic Arthritis
French biotech Ipsen announced an immediate, global voluntary withdrawal of its oncology drug tazemetostat (Tazverik) after safety signals in the SYMPHONY‑1 confirmatory trial indicated a rise in secondary hematologic malignancies. The company is coordinating with the FDA to manage the...
ControlUp Introduces Tap-to-App, Bringing True End-to-End Visibility to Clinician Login Experiences, Exclusively on IGEL OS
ControlUp has launched Tap-to-App, the industry’s first clinician‑centric tool that delivers end‑to‑end visibility of login experiences on shared hospital workstations. The capability is built exclusively for IGEL OS and links badge‑tap events with virtual desktop and application layers to show...
Puberty Blockers Were Never Reversible
The blog post contends that puberty‑blocking drugs such as Lupron cause irreversible damage, highlighting a social‑media case of jaw deterioration and enamel loss. It asserts that these medications lead to permanent bone mineral density loss and lifelong health risks, framing...
Large Language Models and Medical Misinformation
Large language models are increasingly embedded in clinical documentation, patient chatbots, and medical education, but a new Lancet Digital Health study reveals they can still repeat or partially accept false medical claims. Researchers tested leading models with misinformation‑laden prompts and...
Canada’s Long Medical Wait Times Drain More than $4.2B in Lost Wages
New Fraser Institute research reveals that 1.4 million Canadians awaiting medically necessary procedures in 2025 collectively lost more than $4.2 billion in wages and productivity. On average, each patient forfeited about $3,043 of earnings while waiting. The study highlights a median wait...
Re: Medical Training Prioritisation Bill Passes but Clarification Still Needed on IMGs, Leaders Say
The UK Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill 2026 passed, aiming to give preference to doctors trained within the country. Critics argue the bill’s wording unintentionally excludes refugee and asylum‑seeking physicians who have completed NHS‑funded training. Leaders of the UK National Refugee...
From Human Review to Full Automation: AI’s Oncology Journey
Today, I gave a virtual talk to a leading pharma company's team about the future of oncology. As they asked me to focus on AI's role in that, I'll describe real-life and some hypothetical examples of how the 5 levels...
Officials Avoided Saying “Vaccine” For over a Year During Measles Outbreak
https://open.substack.com/pub/pauloffit/p/the-v-word?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web More than one year passed before a public health official said the "V" word during a recent measles epidemic. Why?
Dyne Plans Post-Prasad FDA Run as Duchenne Exon Skipper Sustains Benefit in Long Term Data
Dyne Therapeutics reported that its exon‑skipping candidate z‑rostudirsen sustained respiratory and cardiac benefits through 24 months in the Phase 1/2 DELIVER study for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The therapy maintained forced vital capacity, circumferential strain and left‑ventricular ejection fraction improvements compared with...
Government Responds to NICE Regulations Consultation: Cost-Effectiveness Threshold
The UK Department of Health and Social Care has answered its five‑week consultation on NICE regulations by granting ministers a limited power to set the cost‑effectiveness threshold used in technology appraisal (TA) and highly specialised technology (HST) programmes. The change...
Radiology Residency Costs Rising, Posing a Potential Barrier to Entering Profession
A new study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology shows radiology residency costs are climbing again after a pandemic‑induced dip. Diagnostic radiology applicants now spend about $3,800 on average, a 65% increase from the 2021‑2022 low, while...
SS Innovations Raises $18.6M as Surgical Robot Nears US Market
SS Innovations announced an $18.6 million private placement to accelerate its global rollout, including a U.S. launch of the SSi Mantra surgical robot. The company filed for FDA 510(k) clearance in December, with a decision expected by mid‑2026, and aims to compete...
Junshi Receives China’s NMPA Acceptance for Toripalimab Injection
Junshi Biosciences has received acceptance from China’s National Medical Products Administration for its subcutaneous toripalimab injection (JS001sc), covering 12 cancer indications. The filing marks the first domestic anti‑PD‑1 monoclonal antibody in a subcutaneous formulation to reach the marketing application stage....
Alabama Passes Legislation Requiring Insurers to Cover Supplemental Breast Imaging
Alabama enacted House Bill 300, requiring insurers to cover medically necessary supplemental breast imaging—contrast‑enhanced mammography, ultrasounds, and MRIs—without patient cost‑sharing. The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on March 5, joins roughly 30 states that have passed similar mandates. Advocacy groups,...
BioNTech Co-Founders to Exit Company and Start a New One
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci announced they will leave BioNTech by the end of 2026 to launch a new company focused on next‑generation mRNA technologies. BioNTech will concurrently narrow its portfolio, concentrating on late‑stage therapeutic candidates and its existing vaccine...
Fast-Tracking Healthcare Research with Gen AI
AIAInow is hosting a deep‑dive session on using generative AI to accelerate healthcare research through Unity Health’s Gemini network. The program showcases Gemini’s ability to process massive clinical notes, automate ICD coding via the ICD Assist project, and generate synthetic...
Women Who Struggle With This Are At An Increased Risk For High Blood Pressure
A 16‑year longitudinal study of more than 66,000 women aged 25‑42 found that those who regularly slept fewer than seven to eight hours faced a markedly higher risk of developing hypertension. Participants with sleep difficulties also tended to have poorer...
New Body to Drive Transformation in Health and Care in Scotland
The Scottish Government will launch Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) on 1 April 2026, merging NHS Education for Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland into a single body. PSD Scotland will lead workforce planning, infrastructure, innovation and, crucially, digital transformation across...
Managing Shadow AI Risks as Healthcare Embraces Innovation
Healthcare organizations are grappling with “shadow AI,” the unsanctioned use of generative AI tools by staff. A Wolters Kluwer survey found 40% of workers encounter such tools and 17% use them, while Netskope reports enterprise‑managed AI adoption jumped from 12% to...
STAT+: Large Drugmakers Are Developing Fewer Antibiotics, Analysis Finds
A new analysis shows the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms cut antimicrobial development by 35% over the past five years, dropping from 92 to 60 candidates. Only five of the 39 pipeline projects aimed at WHO priority pathogens include pediatric formulations...
How AI Can Improve Breast Cancer Detection in the UK
New research by Google, Imperial College London and the NHS, published in Nature Cancer, demonstrates that an AI‑based mammography system can identify 25% of interval cancers previously missed by radiologists. In a study of 125,000 women, the AI also detected...
How FDA's Removal of the Two-Trial Requirement Affects Development Programs
The FDA has eliminated the longstanding requirement for two pivotal clinical trials, adopting a single‑trial default to speed drug approvals. The agency pairs this change with a mandate for more rigorous post‑market surveillance to catch safety signals after launch. Pharmaceutical...
Under Financial Strain, Primary Care Doctors Unite
Primary care physicians are feeling the squeeze from projected Medicaid cuts and low insurer reimbursement rates, prompting practices like Valley Medical Group in western Massachusetts to lay off 40 staff members, roughly 10% of its workforce. To regain bargaining power...
NewcelX and Eledon Partner for NCEL-101 Programme
NewcelX has entered a collaborative research agreement with Eledon Pharmaceuticals to advance its NCEL‑101 cell therapy for type‑1 diabetes. The partnership integrates NewcelX’s off‑the‑shelf islet replacement product with Eledon’s anti‑CD40L monoclonal antibody, tegoprubart, which has been used in over 100...
Paperpal for Life Sciences Establishes HIPAA Readiness, Strengthening Enterprise Adoption of AI in Regulated Medical and Scientific Writing Workflows
Paperpal for Life Sciences, Cactus Communications' AI platform, has completed a HIPAA readiness assessment and can now offer Business Associate Agreements for handling PHI and PII. The certification underscores the platform’s secure‑by‑design architecture and data‑governance framework. Paperpal claims its AI...
Murder Mysteries Are the Best Way to Understand the Slow Death of Abortion Rights
The author uses a murder‑mystery framework to expose how the gradual erosion of abortion rights was driven by obscure legislators and policy architects rather than obvious villains. By tracing tragedies such as Rosie Jimenez’s 1977 death and Becky Bell’s 1984...
For the First Time, Ferring Reports Revenue of Over €2.5 Billion in 2025
Ferring Pharmaceuticals reported revenue above €2.5 billion for 2025, a 7% increase at actual exchange rates and 10% at constant rates. Growth was powered by its flagship reproductive medicine Menopur and the U.S. ramp‑up of gene‑based bladder‑cancer therapy Adstiladrin. Operating profit...
GP Who Exposed Defence Forces Officer’s Breast Found Guilty of Poor Professional Performance
A medical council fitness‑to‑practice committee found Dr C guilty of poor professional performance after he inappropriately exposed a Defence Forces officer’s breast during a September 2022 consultation at the Curragh Camp. The panel also determined he failed to document the exam...
More Kids Are in ERs for Tooth Pain. Trump Cuts and RFK Jr.’s Anti-Fluoride Fight Aren’t Helping.
Eight‑year‑old Jonah’s severe tooth infection forced his family into two emergency‑room visits, highlighting a national surge in pediatric dental emergencies. ER visits for non‑traumatic dental issues among children rose roughly 60% from 2019 to 2022, with some hospitals reporting increases...
Researchers Take a Step Closer to Finding a Treatment for a Rare Genetic Neurodevelopmental Condition
Researchers at Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute and Baylor College of Medicine demonstrated that skipping exon e2 of the MECP2 gene boosts MeCP2 protein production by 50‑60%, rescuing neuronal function in Rett syndrome mouse models and patient‑derived cells. The study...
Cyberattack Forces Polish Hospital Revert to Paper-Based Operations
The Independent Public Regional Hospital in Szczecin, Poland, was hit by a ransomware‑style cyberattack on the night of March 7‑8, 2026, encrypting key parts of its electronic medical record system. With digital access blocked, the hospital shifted to a fully paper‑based...
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Opinion: Asia’s Growing Influence in Healthcare Private Equity
Raj Shah, head of healthcare at Nordic Capital, argues that Asia is becoming a pivotal arena for healthcare private equity. Demographic pressures, especially aging populations and rising middle‑class incomes, are creating a surge in demand for medical services. Investors, both...
Why the FDA Is Embracing Old Math for New Drugs
The FDA released draft guidance encouraging the use of Bayesian statistics in drug and biologic clinical trials, aiming to shorten development timelines and lower costs. By allowing external data—known as priors—to be incorporated, the approach promises more efficient, adaptive studies,...
Rubella Vaccines: What You NEED To Know
The episode challenges the conventional view of rubella, arguing that the virus was never definitively isolated and that the disease is historically mild. It critiques the 1941 Australian study linking rubella to congenital cataracts and the subsequent vaccine rollout, suggesting...
President of Microsoft Science Saw ChatGPT Coming (and Now He Predicts How It Will Change Healthcare) | Peter Lee
In this episode, Peter Lee, President of Microsoft Research, recounts the evolution of AI from early neural networks to today’s large language models, describing how Microsoft recognized OpenAI’s potential early on and invested heavily despite industry skepticism. He explains the...
Rapport Therapeutics Partners with Tenacia Biotechnology to Advance RAP-219 in Greater China
Rapport Therapeutics has granted Tenacia Biotechnology exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its TARPγ8‑specific AMPA receptor negative allosteric modulator RAP‑219 in Greater China, covering indications such as focal onset seizures and bipolar mania. The agreement provides Rapport with a $20 million...
Liberal Arts Education As a Counterbalance To Trumpian AI
Amid rising mental‑health crises, policy attacks, and AI‑driven discourse, author Mike Magee argues that a liberal‑arts education offers a vital counterbalance to the divisive Trump era. He highlights how institutions like Le Moyne College embed ethics, history, and critical thinking into...
Chessie King on the Shocking Reality of IVF Costs
The "Happy Mum Happy Baby" podcast’s Season 17 delivers a diverse lineup of episodes that explore parenting realities, from Steve Backshall’s reflections on fatherhood to raw conversations about postpartum psychosis, breastfeeding pressures, and celebrity motherhood stories. Notable milestones include the 300‑episode...
Experience the Sights and Sounds of the HIMSS26 Preconference
At HIMSS26, the pre‑conference highlighted how healthcare organizations are deploying digital technologies and artificial intelligence to transform care delivery. Sessions showcased AI‑driven diagnostics, telehealth expansion, and data‑interoperability initiatives across hospitals and health systems. Demonstrations illustrated real‑world use cases, from predictive...
Inside PE’s ‘Financial Gamesmanship’: PE-Owned Nursing Homes Face 10 Times Greater Bankruptcy Risk, Higher Mortality
New research from NYU Stern finds private‑equity‑owned nursing homes have 11% higher resident mortality, 4.4% fewer nurses, 25% more hospital complications, and a ten‑fold increase in bankruptcy risk. The study links these outcomes to aggressive debt‑laden buyouts, sale‑leaseback deals and...
Mouse Brain Study Reveals Why Blockbuster Weight-Loss Drugs May Work Differently in Females and Males
Researchers at Icahn School of Medicine created the first sex‑specific atlas of GLP‑1 expression in the mouse brain using RNAscope, mapping the peptide across 25 nuclei. The atlas shows pronounced differences between females and males, especially in hindbrain nuclei of...
The Skin We’re In: Microfluidics, Bubbles, and Healthcare Solutions with Prof. David Fernández Rivas
In this episode, Professor David Fernández‑Rivas discusses the role of engineers as problem‑solvers and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration, especially between physics, chemistry, and bioengineering. He explains microfluidics—manipulating fluids at the micrometer scale—and its parallels with microelectronics, then delves into...
#597: Behavioral Psychology in Diet & Health Counselling – David Creel, PhD, RD
David Creel, PhD, RD, a clinical psychologist and dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic, emphasizes that lasting weight‑loss hinges on behavioral psychology rather than isolated diet or exercise prescriptions. He outlines a framework that blends collaborative communication, self‑monitoring, skill‑building, and relapse‑prevention...