Today's Healthcare Pulse
Allogene Therapeutics CEO David Chang to step down
Allogene Therapeutics announced that chief executive David Chang will leave his role. The news was reported by STAT+ and echoed in a follow‑up piece covering broader pharma updates.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Boston Scientific invests $1.5B for 34% stake in MiRus
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 the science of bubbles and cavitation, highlighting how controlling these phenomena can unlock new healthcare and industrial applications. Throughout, he stresses empathy as a key driver for translating academic discoveries into real‑world solutions, urging scientists to bridge the gap between research and societal impact.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Spoofs Smash Bros. Melee to Promote Food Pyramid Changes
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under new leader Robert F. Kennedy Jr., released a video that mimics Nintendo’s Smash Bros. Melee to announce an inversion of the traditional food pyramid. The spoof places Kennedy himself in the game’s style,...
AI Ethics and Regulation Discussed on HIMSS26 Day 1
On the opening day of HIMSS26, industry leaders debated AI ethics and regulation in healthcare. Sessions emphasized deploying AI responsibly, with a human‑centered approach that safeguards patient data and outcomes. Speakers highlighted the gap between rapid AI innovation and the...
CEO Hal Wolf Recognized on Day 1 of HIMSS26
CEO Hal Wolf received a tribal honor on the opening day of HIMSS26. The award recognized his leadership in advancing digital health solutions for federally recognized tribes. The ceremony took place during the conference’s pre‑conference forums, underscoring HIMSS’s emphasis on...
Can You Drink Coffee While Pregnant?
Maternal‑fetal specialist Dr. Cara Dolin confirms pregnant people can drink coffee, but only in moderation. The American College of Obstetricians recommends keeping caffeine below 200 mg per day, roughly one 12‑ounce cup of coffee. Exceeding this limit has been associated with...
Should You Exercise When You Have Cancer?
Exercise is generally safe for most cancer patients and can be a powerful adjunct to treatment. Medical oncologists emphasize that even modest activity—walking, yoga, or light strength work—helps lower inflammation, fatigue, and improves sleep and mood. The American Cancer Society...
Other News to Note for March 10, 2026
Merck released phase III data from its Litespark‑011 trial, showing a potent HIF‑2α inhibitor that could reshape renal‑cell carcinoma therapy. Researchers at INSERM uncovered hypothalamic tanycytes as a primary mechanism for clearing pathological tau, opening new avenues for Alzheimer’s treatment....
Aquila Emerges From Stealth with Healthcare Data Integration Platform
Aquila has stepped out of stealth mode, securing state and federal contracts to deploy a healthcare data integration platform aimed at cross‑jurisdiction epidemiological and population‑health tracking. Led by Dr. Jaime Bland, the startup targets the 30% of U.S. hospitals that...
New Zealand Covid Response Among World’s Best but ‘Scars’ Remain, Inquiry Finds
A royal commission report released in March 2026 concluded that New Zealand’s Covid‑19 response was among the world’s most effective, crediting low death rates and aggressive elimination tactics. The inquiry focused on the 2021‑2022 shift from elimination to a suppression strategy,...
Resident Macrophages Play a Role in Maintaining Murine Intraocular Pressure
Duke University researchers discovered that resident tissue macrophages (RTMs) are essential for maintaining intraocular pressure (IOP) in mice. Fluorescent tagging showed that selective removal of RTMs clogged the eye's outflow pathway, causing fluid buildup and elevated IOP, while depletion of...
RFK Jr. Contradicts Himself on GRAS Chemical Policies
Another example of how RFK Jrs version of MAHA is totally incoherent. --> he wants to end 'GRAS' chemicals in food (generally regarded as safe) --> his FDA opens door to flavored e-cigs (which use GRAS chemicals - NEVER TESTED FOR INHALATION...
Advance Care Planning Urges Aussies to Plan Ahead This Advance Care Planning Week 2026 in New Campaign via Binge Creative
Advance Care Planning Australia, together with Binge Creative, is launching a national campaign for Advance Care Planning Week (16‑22 March 2026). The theme, “Your story, your choice”, urges Australians to document their health‑care preferences before a crisis. The story of...
COOs’ Role Gains Complexity Amid Outpatient Care Shift
Healthcare chief operating officers are confronting a dramatically broader remit as care migrates to outpatient, virtual and community settings. A WittKieffer study shows 80% of COOs say their duties have surged, with 63% adding more direct reports, while operational oversight...
New Jersey's Opioid Gap Persists as High-Risk Counties Fall Further Behind
Researchers at Rutgers University analyzed opioid outcomes across New Jersey’s 21 counties from 2014‑2022, using the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index to categorize counties as high or low vulnerability. The study found that high‑vulnerability counties consistently experienced higher treatment admissions, naloxone...
Chronic Pain Requires Years, Not Two‑Month Fixes
PAIN takes PATIENCE It takes years to develop chronic pain. We can’t fix that in two months. 
AI-Driven Solutions Target Autism at Frontera Panel
Great evening with Frontera’s mgmt team and Denver area founders. Frontera is using AI to impact behavioral disorders, esp Autism. No holds barred panel w/ friends Ben Hemani (Bison Ventures, ex Gates Ventures), Galym Imanbayev (Lightspeed) and Amol (Frontera, ex...
Consumer-Centered Care Can Help Patients Better Control Their Health
Dr. Stephen Klasko, executive in residence at General Catalyst, urges health systems to move beyond treating illness toward a consumer‑centered model that partners with patients to sustain healthier lives. He argues that proactive collaboration can dramatically improve chronic disease management...
NCI Grants Halted Under Trump, Cancer Research Stalls
Trump has collapsed cancer research. —> The National Cancer Institute hasn’t made a single grant this fiscal year https://t.co/3mKjoMua8Q
Morning Headlines 3/10/26
Medhost unveiled Medhostone, an AI‑driven platform aimed at streamlining clinical workflows and data analytics. The product’s branding—capitalizing the “one” suffix—draws attention to its unified approach. Meanwhile, Epic Systems intensified its legal offensive against patent trolls, signaling a broader push to...
'I'm in Constant Pain' - Woman Harmed by Vaginal Mesh Urges Action on Redress Scheme
Susan McLarnon, a Belfast woman who underwent a vaginal mesh implant in 2016, now lives with constant, excruciating pain and has joined a group of nearly 700 victims traveling to Downing Street to demand a government‑backed compensation scheme. The UK Department...
Shoulder Innovations Inc (SI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Shoulder Innovations reported a record fourth‑quarter revenue of $56.3 million, up 15 % year‑over‑year, and full‑year sales of $200.9 million, reflecting 20 % growth. Gross margin stayed near 79 % while adjusted EBITDA turned positive at $5.1 million, a 176 % improvement, and the company generated its...
Biontech SE (BNTX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
BioNTech’s Q4 2024 earnings call highlighted a strategic pivot toward oncology, emphasizing the advancement of its bispecific antibody BNT327 and the recent acquisition of Biotheus to secure Chinese manufacturing and development capabilities. The company reported positive Phase 2 data for...
ADC Therapeutics SA (ADCT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
ADC Therapeutics reported Q4 2025 product revenue of $15.8 million, down from $18 million a year earlier, while GAAP net loss narrowed to $41 million ($0.30 per share). Non‑GAAP operating expenses fell 12.1% to $45 million, driven by lower R&D spend. A $60 million private...
Esperion Therapeutics Inc (ESPR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Amarin reported fourth‑quarter 2025 net revenue of $49.2 million, down 21% year‑over‑year, while U.S. sales slipped 7% due to proactive pricing. Operating expenses fell 31% as the company pursued a global restructuring, narrowing the non‑restructuring operating loss to $2.3 million and generating...
China Investors Energise Hong Kong Biotech Stocks. Is Foreign Money Missing Out?
Mainland Chinese investors can now trade more than a dozen newly added Hong Kong‑listed biotech and pharmaceutical firms through the Stock Connect southbound leg, reflecting the sector’s rising prominence. Shares of Insilico Medicine surged over 58% after a string of...
Mpox Immune Test Validated During Rwandan Outbreak
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, Rwanda Biomedical Centre and the University of Rwanda have validated an IgG ELISA assay for mpox antibodies during the clade 1b outbreak in Rwanda. The MpoxCARE test, built on four key antibody signatures, demonstrated high...
ANAO Finds Health Flying Blind on $990m Suicide-Prevention Investment
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has criticised the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for spending almost $1 billion on suicide‑prevention programs without any evaluation criteria. Between 2022‑23 and 2025‑26 the department administered 41 measures, yet failed to establish performance...
Hong Kong: Tech Centre Fosters AI-Driven Healthcare Innovation
The Hong Kong Productivity Council has opened the Future Life and Health Tech Centre, a research‑development hub designed to fast‑track AI‑driven innovations across medical technology, biotechnology, functional foods and modernised traditional Chinese medicine. The facility offers an end‑to‑end platform that...
Australia: Digital Health System Strengthens NSW Rural Healthcare
Australia’s Western NSW Local Health District has deployed a virtual support service that continuously monitors patient data across 35 rural hospitals. Algorithm‑driven early warning scores flag clinical deterioration in real time, allowing clinicians at a central hub to alert frontline...
Hidden Blood Mutations Drive Severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but a New Treatment Target Is in Sight
Indiana University researchers linked clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) to heightened severity of inflammatory bowel disease. Analysis of UK Biobank and All of Us data showed women with DNMT3A mutations and younger individuals with TET2 mutations face higher Crohn’s...
Gene Edit Makes Probiotic Safer for Immunocompromised Patients
An international team genetically deleted the ENA1 gene from Saccharomyces boulardii, a common probiotic yeast. In immunosuppressed mice, the ENA1‑deficient strain showed no mortality, raising survival from 30‑40% to 100% compared with wild‑type isolates. The edit also reduced osmotic stress...
Senate Dems Ask How Trump’s MFN Deals Mesh With GENEROUS Model
Senate Democrats have pressed major pharmaceutical companies to clarify the secretive most‑favored‑nation (MFN) pricing agreements they struck with the Trump administration in December. Lawmakers are questioning how those deals align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new GENEROUS...
Stay or Stray? Why some Gut Microbes Persist After Fecal Transplants
Researchers at King's College London identified genetic markers that determine whether donor microbes persist after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). By tracking biosynthetic gene clusters in 86 healthy adults over a year, they distinguished stable clusters that remain long‑term from transient...
IPV Doesn’t Block Infection, but Stops Paralytic Polio
Actually he has it a bit backwards, those vaccinated with IPV can still acquire poliovirus and shed virus, but it prevents the virus from entering the bloodstream + protects almost 100% paralytic polio, just like the Covid vaccine protects 80-90%...
‘Code Red’: Chronic Underfunding Is Forcing State’s Nursing Homes to Close, Worsened by Medicaid Cuts, $2B Gap
Health care leaders in Western New York warned that chronic underfunding and looming federal Medicaid cuts are creating a $2 billion budget gap that could force additional nursing homes and hospitals to close. Recent shutdowns of Weinberg Campus, Eastern Niagara Hospital...
Interoperability, Half Finished
The article highlights e‑prescribing’s rapid national rollout, which eliminated paper scripts and enabled direct provider‑to‑pharmacy transmission. However, critical gaps remain: pharmacies cannot share real‑time inventory data, and pharmacy‑to‑pharmacy transfers still rely on fax and phone calls. The author’s personal experience—an...
Small Drop in Measles Vaccinations Tied to Big Jump in Cases
A new Common Health Coalition report warns that a modest 1% annual decline in childhood MMR vaccination rates could trigger a seven‑fold surge in measles cases. The model predicts an additional 17,000 infections, 4,000 hospitalizations and 36 preventable deaths each...
California Hospital CEO to Retire Amid Chapter 11 Process
Oroville Hospital President and CEO Robert Wentz is retiring after more than four decades of service, with the board approving a leadership transition to COO Scott Chapple. The change will take effect once the Chapter 11 reorganization plan receives court...
Two Healthcare Organizations Will Receive 2025 Baldrige National Quality Awards
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has named two healthcare organizations—Nor Lea Hospital District in New Mexico and Northwell Glen Cove Hospital in New York—as its 2025 recipients. Both institutions demonstrated sustained, patient‑centered excellence across leadership, operations, and community impact,...
Montrose Regional, Colorado Hospital Explore Partnership
Montrose Regional Health and Grand Junction’s Community Hospital have signed a letter of intent to explore forming a tax‑exempt nonprofit entity. The partnership would focus on nonclinical functions such as information technology alignment, group purchasing, long‑term planning, and revenue‑cycle optimization....
Roche’s Giredestrant Miss Refines Treatment Settings for Oral SERDs
Roche’s oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) giredestrant failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late‑stage Phase III trial, but the data revealed meaningful activity in specific patient subgroups, particularly those with ESR1 mutations. The miss prompted Roche to...
Lumina Health Partners Joins ECG Management Consultants
Lumina Health Partners has joined ECG Management Consultants, integrating its co‑founders into ECG’s Payer Strategy and Contracting Division. The move deepens ECG’s expertise in value‑based care, combining Lumina’s ten‑year track record advising hospitals with ECG’s national scale and tech‑enabled solutions....
Vertex Drug Cuts Kidney Disease Marker in Late-Stage Trial
Vertex $VRTX says its drug successfully reduced marker of kidney disease in late-stage trial https://t.co/TbEkcHVYBB via @Jasonmmast
Oracle Sets New Standard for Intelligent, Secure Healthcare Solutions
Oracle isn’t just working to keep pace with industry change. We’re setting the standard by delivering intelligent and secure solutions that can directly impact patient care and boost efficiency across the healthcare ecosystem. Here’s what you can expect this week at...
Baby Boomers Are a Transition Generation in Our Longevity Crisis
U.S. life expectancy has essentially plateaued since 2010, delivering only a few months of gain compared with the steady improvements of previous decades. A new PNAS study identifies the Baby Boomer cohort as a mortality inflection point, with earlier generations...
Vertex Kidney Disease Drug Hits Mark in Late-Stage Study
Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that its experimental IgA nephropathy drug povetacicept met primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 trial, cutting urine protein by roughly 50% versus placebo after 36 weeks. The interim results also showed reductions in abnormal antibodies...
CRISPR-Based Technique Unlocks Healing Power of Mitochondria for Heart Failure Therapy
Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine used a non‑editing CRISPR system to activate the PPARGC1A gene, boosting mitochondrial production in human cardiomyocytes. The technique safely increased cellular energy output, as shown by higher oxygen consumption in cell...
Tennessee OKs $900M Regional One Health Hospital
Regional One Health received a certificate of need from the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission to build a $900 million hospital on the former Commercial Appeal site in Memphis. The project, slated to break ground in late September 2025, is underpinned by a...
HIMSS26 Executive Summit: The ROI of AI – CIO Vs. CFO
At HIMSS26 Executive Summit, senior leaders from Parkland Health and AltaMed debated how to quantify AI’s return on investment in healthcare. They highlighted the difficulty of measuring hard financial gains while acknowledging that AI can free clinicians from documentation and...
American Diabetes Association Statement on Student Access to Diabetes Care in South Dakota
The American Diabetes Association praised South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden for signing House Bill 1143, which allows students with diabetes to possess and self‑administer insulin and related supplies during school hours and activities. The legislation requires written authorization from a...