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
Promises and Challenges of Working With a Multidisciplinary Team
Clinical psychologists at Northwestern University partnered with corrections officials, public‑health scholars, judges and victim advocates to create ACTV‑3, a value‑based intervention for intimate‑partner violence offenders. Over two years the multidisciplinary team co‑designed the manual, adapted language for community‑corrections settings, and launched the program across multiple states. The effort demonstrates how early collaboration can accelerate translation of evidence‑based treatments into real‑world practice. Ongoing adaptations, including a virtual format during COVID‑19, highlight both the promise and the logistical hurdles of cross‑disciplinary work.
To Fix or Replace: Options for Femoral Neck Fractures
Hip fractures affect roughly 300,000 Americans annually, with half classified as femoral neck injuries, and incidence is projected to rise as the population ages. Traditional internal fixation carries a roughly 30% re‑operation rate in older patients, prompting a shift toward...
Low‑Dose Lithium Orotate May Counteract Alzheimer’s Deficiency
We’ve spent decades treating lithium as a heavy duty psychiatric tool. New evidence suggests it’s actually a foundational brain nutrient and that Alzheimer’s may essentially be a localized lithium deficiency. By using the Orotate salt, we can bypass plaque-induced transport...
Mind and Body Approach
In a rapid‑response letter to the BMJ, specialist doctor Laura Jarvis thanks Barbara Holtzman for her piece on chronic pain and highlights the Institute of Psychosexual Medicine’s mind‑body approach. The letter describes how psychotherapy‑based training helps patients link emotional trauma to physical...
The American Diabetes Association Announces the 2026 National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Award Winners
The American Diabetes Association announced the 2026 National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Award winners at its upcoming Scientific Sessions. Honorees include Takashi Kadowaki (Banting Medal), Timo Müller (Outstanding Scientific Achievement), Gerald Shulman (Albert Renold Award), and several others recognized...
Digital Nudges Amplify Lifestyle Gains for GLP‑1 Patients
Medicines plus healthy habits create outcomes that neither could achieve alone. A new @StanfordMed study published in JAMA shows digital lifestyle nudges may catalyze a critical first step toward behavior change for patients on GLP-1 medications. “Achieving your best health involves a...
Modular Cleanroom Supports Scale-Up of Cosmetic Microneedle Production
CipherX, a biotech start‑up specializing in microneedle platforms, partnered with Connect 2 Cleanrooms to install a 12 m² soft‑wall cleanroom for pilot production. The modular unit, validated to ISO 14644 class 7, was delivered and fully operational within 48 hours. Its PVC curtains, steel framing and...
Here’s When It Actually Makes Sense to Go on Ozempic for Weight Loss, According to Experts
Ozempic (semaglutide) is FDA‑approved for type‑2 diabetes but has become a popular off‑label weight‑loss drug, prompting shortages and easy online access for paying patients. Experts stress it should be reserved for individuals with diabetes or obesity who have failed diet...
HSCC, Health-ISAC Launch National Cyber Exercise to Test Healthcare Incident Response
Operation Vital Signs, a national cyber‑security stress test, will be co‑hosted by the Health Sector Coordinating Council’s Cybersecurity Working Group and Health‑ISAC on July 21‑22. The virtual two‑day exercise simulates a cyber incident that threatens critical functions and patient safety across...
Which Healthcare Facility Retrofits Save the Most Energy and Emissions?
Hospitals are turning to retrofits rather than new construction to meet tighter sustainability rules, budget constraints, and patient demand, according to a Schneider Electric and JLL white paper. The study examined nine energy‑and‑carbon conservation measures (ECCMs) across seven facilities in...
The Quiet Paradox of Physician Mental Health and Medication
Physician wellness leaders are confronting a hidden paradox: while therapy is increasingly normalized, medication use remains stigmatized. Psychiatrist Jessi Gold, chief wellness officer for the University of Tennessee System, disclosed her 13‑year daily Wellbutrin regimen, revealing the pressure physicians feel...
A Daily Multivitamin May Slightly Slow Rates of Ageing
Researchers conducted a double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial with 1,000 participants averaging 70 years old, giving half a daily multivitamin (Centrum Silver) and the other half a placebo. After two years, analysis of five epigenetic aging clocks indicated the supplement group aged...
FDA Slashes Advisory Panels, Threatening Drug Safety Oversight
I've covered most of the big controversies the FDA has faced over the past 25 years: Vioxx, drug-coated stents, and Aduhelm all spring to mind. In all of these cases, the FDA's advisory panel system, in which the agency calls together...
ORN0829
Taisho Pharmaceutical’s vornorexant (TS‑142), marketed as Vorzzz®, received Japanese regulatory approval in August 2025 as a dual orexin‑1/2 receptor antagonist for insomnia. The drug distinguishes itself from existing DORAs through rapid absorption and a short elimination half‑life, aiming to minimize...
Health Care Project in Downtown Indianapolis Takes Cues From Military Book
Indiana University Health’s new downtown Indianapolis hospital, a $2.31 billion, 864‑bed project, is being built using principles from General Stanley McChrystal’s book *Team of Teams*. Vice president Jim Mladucky says traditional hierarchical methods can’t handle the post‑COVID labor shortages, price escalations, and rapid...
ACOs Meet With Hill Staff On MACRA Reform
Accountable Care Organizations met with congressional staff last week to discuss reforms to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) after a bipartisan request for information was issued. The meeting aimed to explore long‑term solutions for physician payment that...
An Emerging Longevity Supplement May Accelerate Cancer Growth, Scientists Say
Researchers at Tokyo University of Science discovered that polyamines, especially spermidine—a compound touted for longevity—can accelerate the growth of cancer cells. Laboratory experiments on cervical and breast cancer lines showed polyamines promote aerobic glycolysis and increase the oncogenic protein eIF5A2....
New Day Healthcare Taps Interim CEO
New Day Healthcare appointed co‑founder and COO Kathy Poland as interim CEO following the death of founder G. Scott Herman. Poland brings decades of home‑based care leadership to guide the organization through a period of transition. New Day, owned by...
ECRI Releases 2026 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns Highlighting AI, Rural Health, and Workforce Shortages
ECRI released its 2026 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns, placing AI diagnostic dilemmas at #1. The report warns that unchecked AI tools can cause missed or incorrect diagnoses due to automation bias and biased training data. Rural healthcare access ranks...
Cognitive Impairment Risks Rise with CKD Progression
A large JAMA Network Open study of 5,607 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients found that lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and higher urinary protein‑to‑creatinine ratio (UPCR) significantly raise the risk of cognitive impairment. Each standard‑deviation drop in eGFR increased...
Safe AI Scaling Key for Healthcare Leaders in 2026
Kyndryl’s Healthcare Readiness Report finds a widening gap between AI ambition and safe, compliant scaling in the sector. While 55% of providers worry about keeping up with evolving regulations, only 30% feel prepared, and 76% have more AI pilots than...
He Promised His Dying Mother He’d Protect the Family’s Health. In This Georgia Town, It Isn’t Easy.
Clifford Thomas lost four relatives, including his mother, to COVID‑19 and vowed to keep his family healthy. In Albany, Georgia, that promise collides with a healthcare landscape dominated by Phoebe Putney Memorial, the city’s sole hospital system. Stringent state Medicaid...
AbbVie’s Amylin Candidate ‘Competitive’ in Early-Stage Trial
AbbVie announced top‑line Phase 1 multiple ascending‑dose data for its amylin analog ABBV‑295, showing 7.75‑9.79% weight loss after 12 weeks of treatment. The long‑acting compound was administered every other week then monthly, with a favorable tolerability profile and no serious adverse...
UCSF Program Trains Optometrists for Glaucoma Comanagement
A UCSF study evaluated a glaucoma comanagement model where trained optometrists provided routine care and referred to specialists as needed. Over five years, 775 eyes of 391 patients showed comparable stability between a transfer‑care pathway (optometrist only) and an alternate‑care...
Hook Plugs Help Rescue Intrascleral Secondary IOL Fixation
Intrascleral secondary IOL fixation demands precise haptic handling to avoid slippage. Agarwal and Narang detail a method where a bisected iris‑hook plug is mounted on a 26‑gauge needle, threaded onto the IOL haptic, and then slid into place to lock...
AbbVie, Gubra Post Obesity Data; Regeneron Obesity Drug Succeeds in China
AbbVie and its partner Gubra released Phase 2 data on a long‑acting amylin analogue that produced significant weight loss in obese participants, with reductions approaching double‑digit percentages and a clean safety signal. The study highlighted dose‑responsive efficacy and tolerability, positioning the...
HIMSS26: Verily and Samsung Partner to Integrate Galaxy Watch 8 Into Precision Health Platform
Verily Life Sciences and Samsung Electronics have announced a partnership to embed the Galaxy Watch 8 into Verily’s precision health platform, PRE. The FDA‑cleared wearable will stream continuous biometric data—such as SpO2, sleep‑apnea scores, and AFib alerts—directly into Verily’s Viewpoint...
Calif. FD Drops Private Service, Launches City-Run Ambulance Service
The Fullerton Fire Department launched a city‑run ambulance service on Feb 2, hiring 32 operators after receiving over 500 applications. The program began with refurbished ambulances while awaiting seven new units, and it operates three 24‑hour shifts plus an additional 12‑hour...
Don't Dismiss Chemical Pregnancies—Investigate Underlying Causes
It's more common than you think. A woman gets a faint positive on a pregnancy test, starts telling family, and then bleeds four days later. This is called a chemical pregnancy. And most OBs will say "it was just a...
Personalizing Atopic Dermatitis Treatment in a Growing Landscape: April Armstrong, MD, MPH
At the Winter Clinical Dermatology meeting, UCLA dermatologist April W. Armstrong outlined how clinicians are personalizing atopic dermatitis treatment amid a surge of targeted options. She highlighted that oral JAK inhibitors are chosen for rapid itch control, while IL‑13 biologics...
The Fully In-Person Physical Therapy Model Is Starting to Crack
The traditional fully in‑person outpatient physical‑therapy model is under strain from tighter reimbursement, staffing shortages, and patients demanding more flexible scheduling. Clinics are turning to hybrid care, combining essential hands‑on visits with short virtual check‑ins to maintain outcomes while improving...
FDA Leaders Makary and Pazdur Meet Investors in Miami
Re: Prasad, from this morning's @statnews Readout newsletter: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is in Miami this week speaking to health care investors attending a slew of broker conferences, noted Mizuho health care strategist Jared Holz. That should make for some...
Retinal Implants Let Blind See, BCI Future Looms
Max Hodak (@maxhodak_) is the co-founder of Neuralink and founder of @ScienceCorp_, a company building brain-computer interfaces that can restore sight. Science has developed a tiny retinal implant that stimulates cells in the eye to help blind patients see again. More...
Why Medicine Ignores Its Cassandras: A Case Study in Health Disparities
Developmental‑behavioral pediatrician Ronald L. Lindsay reflects on a 1998 grant that outlined nine concrete goals to address health disparities for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, women with disabilities, and underserved families. He argues that his early warnings—now framed as a Cassandra‑type...
UniQure Sparks Gene Therapy Rally After Prasad Departs
UniQure leads genetic medicine biotech rally after news of Prasad’s exit https://t.co/zu1CtJfj29 by @realJacobBell $QURE $RGNX $ATRA $LXEO #GeneTherapy
Multivitamin Modestly Slows Epigenetic Aging; Cocoa Doesn’t
Just published @NatureMedicine A daily multivitamin (MVM) slowed epigenetic aging in a randomized trial after 2 years; effect was small (~2 months) and not seen with cocoa extract supplement (vitamin was Centrum Silver) https://t.co/snOMNsTzW7 https://t.co/a6MhMuRhJb
GlobalData’s Key Thoughts From World EPA Congress 2026
GlobalData Healthcare attended the World Evidence, Pricing and Access (EPA) congress in Amsterdam, where industry leaders debated mounting market instability. Sessions focused on the impact of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy, shifting US tariffs, rapid AI integration, and the...
Oregon's Corporate Health Law Faces First Challenge
After a UnitedHealth Group takeover prompted a physician exodus & turmoil for patients, Oregon lawmakers sought to rein in corporate health care. Now, the new law is facing an early test. https://t.co/ABNLPXk5US via @statnews
The Fight Over Tylenol and Autism Just Got Messier
In September, President Trump urged pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, echoing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claim of a link between prenatal acetaminophen and autism or ADHD. The FDA responded that no causal relationship has been established, citing mixed...
Pharma Pulse: NCPA’s Medicare Negotiation Overhaul Advocacy and Norgine’s $67M UK Supply Investment
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) warns that independent pharmacies are facing a cash‑flow crisis as 67% report Medicare drug‑price negotiation refunds delayed 22 days or more, forcing 60% to dip into personal savings. NCPA is urging the Centers for...
The Marketplace Exchanges for Health Insurance
The ACA’s state‑run health‑insurance marketplaces, which require essential benefits and sort plans into Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze tiers, covered about 10 million people before COVID‑19. A 2021 expansion of premium tax credits more than doubled enrollment to 23 million and pushed...
GLP-1 Drugs Modulate Gene Expression via MED14 Phosphorylation
Stable GLP‑1 receptor agonists such as Exendin‑4 and Ozempic improve beta‑cell viability by modulating gene expression. Researchers at the Salk Institute discovered that these drugs induce phosphorylation of Med14, a core subunit of the Mediator transcription complex. Phosphorylated Med14 enables...
A New Standard of Care
The Elekta Gamma Knife Esprit, featuring 192 simultaneous beams and millimeter‑level precision, is cementing radiosurgery as a first‑line therapy for brain tumors, vascular lesions, and emerging functional disorders. Advances in high‑resolution MRI, functional imaging, and AI‑driven contouring have streamlined planning and...
We Destroyed One of the Best Health IT Systems Ever Built — and Replaced It With Something Worse
Veterans Affairs’ homegrown VistA electronic health record, praised for usability and clinical outcomes, was replaced by Cerner’s commercial Millennium platform through a sole‑source $10 billion contract. The transition has ballooned to an estimated $37‑$50 billion, far exceeding the roughly $2 billion that modernizing...
VisualVault to Showcase Healthcare Solutions at HIMSS
VisualVault, a digital information management firm, will exhibit at HIMSS Global Health Conference 2026 in Las Vegas from March 9‑12, occupying booth 6424 in the Carahsoft Pavilion. The company will highlight a suite of solutions—including Digital Patient Intake, AI‑Enabled Document Workflow, Legacy Data Archive,...
Digital Data May Sway Intensive BP Treatment in the Elderly
Physicians are more likely to choose intensive blood‑pressure targets for elderly patients when digital health data—home BP readings and wearable mobility metrics—are available. A discrete choice experiment with 197 Australian doctors showed an odds ratio of 2.7 for intensive treatment...
Meet 2026 Innovators at HIMSS Booth 6453
We’re excited to introduce the 2026 Innovators You Need to Know at #HIMSS26! 📍Stop by Booth #6453 Scan QR codes for exclusive insights, guides, and resources… every scan gives you a chance to win prizes.🤩 Start exploring now, or see it in person:...
Bristol Myers Says Second CELMoD Succeeds in Phase 3
Bristol Myers Squibb announced that its oral CELMoD candidate mezigdomide met primary endpoints in the Phase 3 SUCCESSOR‑2 trial for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The open‑label study showed a statistically significant improvement in progression‑free survival compared with the current standard...
Healthy Lifestyle Habits Lower CV Risk in Type 2 Diabetes, Regardless of GLP-1 Use
A prospective cohort of 98,261 U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes found that each additional healthy lifestyle habit—such as a plant‑based diet, regular exercise, non‑smoking, adequate sleep, and stress management—significantly lowered the risk of major cardiovascular events. Participants reporting all eight...
HPV-Related Precancerous Condition Tied to CVD Risk
Researchers analyzing nearly 30,000 Swedish women aged 15‑24 with prior cervical high‑grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) found a markedly elevated risk of cardiovascular disease compared with over 149,000 matched controls. Hazard ratios indicated a 20% increase in overall CVD, with...