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
Shaping the Future of Asthma Management with the NObreath® at ATS 2026
Bedfont Scientific, a 50‑year‑old breath‑analysis specialist, is exhibiting its NObreath® fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) device at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in Orlando, May 15‑20. The showcase, held at booth 1236 alongside U.S. distributor coVita™, targets the 15,000‑plus pulmonary, critical‑care and sleep‑medicine experts attending. NObreath® has been used for more than 15 years to provide clinicians with a non‑invasive, objective measure of airway inflammation, a key driver of asthma severity. The company will also feature a talk by respiratory expert Carol Stonham on the clinical role of FeNO.
Many Common Surgeries Fail to Outperform Placebos
Imagine a pill that works no better than a sugar pill BUT still gets prescribed thousands of times a year. That's the state of these surgeries: Vertebroplasty- no better than sham (NEJM, 2009) Knee arthroscopy for OA- no better than sham (NEJM, 2002) Meniscectomy-...
GLP‑1 Cash‑pay Users Set to Triple by 2030
In its initiation on $HIMS, The J.P. Morgan healthcare team estimates the long term GLP-1 cash pay addressable market to be over 120M individuals in the US, with only ~3M of those currently utilizing compounded or branded GLP-1s (~2.5% penetration)....
FUJIFILM Biosciences and NextCell Launch New Commercial Platform Comprised of RUO Stromal Cells and Cell Culture Media
FUJIFILM Biosciences and NextCell Pharma have launched a global commercial platform that pairs FUJIFILM’s PRIME‑XV MSC Expansion XSFM medium with NextCell’s research‑use‑only umbilical‑cord mesenchymal stromal cell product, NextCell‑Cord RUO. The bundle offers a standardized, scalable solution for MSC research, addressing...
Palantir’s Access to Identifiable NHS England Patient Data Is ‘Dangerous’, MPs Say
The UK NHS has granted US‑based Palantir access to identifiable patient records as part of a £330 million (≈$420 million) contract to build a federated data platform powered by AI. The arrangement allows Palantir engineers “unlimited” access to raw data before it...
Rosemary's Nanny
The UK Parliament approved a ban that prohibits the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after Jan 1 2009, effectively preventing under‑17s today from purchasing tobacco and creating a legally smoke‑free generation. Critics label the measure as nanny‑state paternalism, arguing it may...
Unavoidable Pressure Ulcer Claims Live and Die by the Record
The article explains how federal regulations under OBRA ’87 and CMS’s F‑Tag F686 set a four‑step standard—assessment, planning, implementation, and revision—to determine whether a pressure ulcer is "unavoidable." It highlights that the Supreme Court’s 2023 Talevski ruling now allows residents of...
Novo Hands Over Parkinson’s Therapy to Zuckerberg-Backed Startup
Novo Nordisk agreed to transfer its experimental Parkinson’s disease therapy to Cellular Intelligence, an AI startup backed by Mark Zuckerberg, to accelerate development. Cellular Intelligence will assume responsibility for clinical‑trial execution, while Novo retains rights to milestone payments and royalties...
Telehealth Playbook Aims to Bolster Rural Hospitals Amid Funding Crisis
Rural hospitals are confronting a perfect storm of workforce shortages, declining patient volumes and a looming $1 trillion cut to Medicaid and ACA funding under H.R. 1. To counteract these pressures, Congress launched the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, earmarking funds for...
Democrats Have A Plan To Restore Obamacare Subsidies Next Year
Democrats in Congress are drafting legislation to restore the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies for 2027, aiming to lower costs for roughly 20 million Americans who face higher premiums or lost coverage. The strategy hinges on leveraging upcoming debt‑limit negotiations and...
GSK Enlists Local Aid for Chinese Rollout of Hep B Drug
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has signed a five‑and‑a‑half‑year agreement with Sino Biopharm’s subsidiary Chia Tai Tianqing Pharma (CTTQ) to import, distribute and promote its investigational hepatitis B antisense drug bepirovirsen across more than 5,000 Chinese medical centres, pending NMPA approval. The partnership gives...
Makary’s Reported FDA Removal Could Be ‘Broad Positive’ for Biopharma
Industry sources report that President Donald Trump has approved a plan to remove FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, following the recent departure of CBER head Vinay Prasad. Makary’s tenure has been marked by calls for greater transparency but also criticism over...
Makary’s Reported FDA Removal Could Be 'Broad Positive' For Biopharma
President Donald Trump reportedly agreed to remove FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, a move confirmed by the Wall Street Journal and echoed by anonymous sources. The announcement follows the recent departure of CBER director Vinay Prasad and adds to a pattern of...
Vigilance Needed to Ensure Safety in Pediatric MR Imaging, Experts Warn
A new study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology examined safety incidents across five leading pediatric hospitals from 2017 to 2022. Out of roughly 541,000 pediatric MRI scans, 146 safety events were recorded, most occurring in Zone 4,...
PulseSight Therapeutics Reports P-I (PST-611-CT1) Trial Data on PST-611 in Dry AMD/Geographic Atrophy
PulseSight Therapeutics presented Phase I (PST-611-CT1) trial data for PST-611 in dry age‑related macular degeneration (geographic atrophy) at ARVO 2026. The study enrolled six patients across two dose cohorts and demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability, stable best‑corrected visual acuity, and no...
Administration Quietly Lifts Hold on Immigration Applications for Radiologists and Other Docs
The Trump administration has quietly removed a visa and green‑card pause for radiologists and other physicians, while the broader immigration hold for high‑risk countries remains. The exemption applies only to pending applications, leaving already denied cases untouched. Medical societies and...
How Is Keir Starmer Getting on with His Pledges to Deliver Change?
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s December 2024 pledge package set measurable milestones for housing, health, living standards, policing, education and clean energy. To date, the government is building just over 200,000 homes a year—well short of the 300,000‑annual rate needed to...
Deal Finally Unlocks NHS Access to ITF's Duchenne Drug
ITF Pharma’s oral HDAC inhibitor Duvyzat has secured NICE endorsement for ambulatory Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, unlocking access for more than 500 NHS England cases. The drug will be funded immediately through the Innovative Medicines Fund while NHS England arranges...
States Start Requiring Vaccine Records in Infant Death Autopsies
Oklahoma and Louisiana enacted legislation requiring coroners to record any vaccines administered within 90 days of a child’s unexpected death on autopsy reports for minors under 15. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed the bill, while Louisiana’s measure cleared the House...
Report Urges NHS to Embed Welfare Advice in Mental Health Care
The Centre for Mental Health released a report urging the UK NHS to embed specialist welfare advice within mental health services. Citing evidence from three England partnerships, the study argues that integrated advice improves wellbeing, reduces admissions and eases staff...
Facing Financial Headwinds, Health Systems Prioritize Patient Loyalty
Mid‑2026 data from Kaufman Hall shows hospital margins slipping as Medicaid reforms and Medicare site‑neutral payments tighten revenue streams. In response, health systems are shifting from merely measuring patient satisfaction to treating patient loyalty as a core financial lever. Executives...
European Regulators Greenlight Fractyl Health's Clinical Test of GLP-1 Gene Therapy
European regulators have granted Fractyl Health permission to begin the first human trial of a GLP‑1 gene‑therapy candidate. The Phase 1 study will test a single‑dose AAV‑based vector designed to produce continuous GLP‑1, aiming to replace daily injections for type 2 diabetes...
Quality CDMO, Inc. - 665961 - 05/01/2026
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a closeout letter to Quality CDMO, Inc., confirming that the firm’s corrective actions have addressed the violations cited in the September 11, 2024 warning letter. While the FDA acknowledges the remediation, it emphasizes that compliance...
Harm Reduction Effectively Treats Substance Use Disorder
Recent analysis underscores that harm‑reduction strategies such as syringe service programs and naloxone distribution dramatically lower overdose deaths and infectious disease transmission among people with substance‑use disorder. A 2021 study showed a $500,000 SSP budget can be cost‑saving by preventing...
CRISPRi Screening Identifies Fungal-Specific Drug Targets
Researchers adapted a pooled CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) platform for Candida albicans, allowing high‑throughput repression of 130 essential, fungal‑specific genes. The screen revealed dosage‑sensitive vulnerabilities across ten infection‑relevant stress conditions. Testing two drug‑resistant clinical isolates showed most hits are conserved, indicating...
Missing the Obvious: Ask the Right Questions in ICU
A woman walked into a hospital able to give her own history. She did not walk out. Nobody asked the right question for eighteen hours. The procedure was an NG tube under anesthesia. The complication was a tear in the...
Fertility Industry Skips Basic Tests for Profit
This essay by @rivatez is the most thorough piece I have ever seen on what is wrong with the American fertility industry. We see this every day at Ferta. Women come to us after one or two clinics have already...
ABEC Expands Process Sciences Support for Biomanufacturing
ABEC announced the expansion of its Process Sciences group to provide biopharmaceutical manufacturers with end‑to‑end support across the bioprocess lifecycle. The team combines chemical and bio‑engineering expertise with advanced modeling, experimental testing, and custom equipment design, covering everything from early...
New Patent Covers Short-Acting Monoamine Releasers
Short-acting monoamine releasers D Nutt, A Borthwick, R Tyacke - US Patent 12,590,077, 2026 https://t.co/P99hvyXiil
New Discovery Bridges Eastern and Western Medicine
I find this sort of show-off online design irritating, for it adds little to nothing to understanding and drags out reading. The Astounding Discovery That Could Link Eastern and Western Medicine https://t.co/FJjz1KWRVV
Bridging the Gap Between Patients and Innovative Treatments
Medical breakthroughs are outpacing patient access, leaving many receiving outdated care. Geographic isolation, insurance denials, and low health literacy create a persistent gap between available therapies and those who receive them. Hospitals, advocacy groups, and tech platforms are launching education...
Duke Study Shows Six Blood piRNAs Predict Two‑Year Longevity with 86% Accuracy
Researchers at Duke Health announced a blood test that measures six circulating piRNAs and predicts two‑year survival in adults over 71 with up to 86% accuracy. The finding, published in Aging Cell, could give clinicians and biohackers a precise, minimally...
Hantavirus Outbreak Forces MV Hondius Evacuation and Quarantine in Tenerife
A deadly hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch‑flagged cruise liner MV Hondius killed three passengers and left dozens ill. The ship docked in Tenerife, where 94 passengers of 23 nationalities were evacuated for quarantine and repatriation, sparking a multinational public‑health response.
Kissei Pharmaceutical Posts 15% Profit Rise on 10% Revenue Surge
Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced full‑year earnings of ¥13.78 billion, a 15% increase from the prior year, while revenue rose 10.3% to ¥97.41 billion. The results highlight robust demand for its portfolio and signal broader momentum in Japan’s pharmaceutical market.
FDA Locks Down Post-Approval Pregnancy Safety Data Framework
The FDA issued final guidance on post‑marketing safety data collection for drugs and biologics used in pregnancy. The framework details best practices for pregnancy registries, case‑control, electronic health record‑based and population‑level studies, stressing early enrollment and multi‑pronged recruitment. It requires...
Evidence for Sleep Apnea to Accelerate Vascular Aging via Increased Cellular Senescence
Researchers modeled obstructive sleep apnea by exposing C57BL/6J mice to intermittent hypoxia. The exposure rapidly increased epigenetic age acceleration and p16‑positive senescent cells in vascular tissue. Mice developed higher systolic and diastolic pressure and endothelial dysfunction. Systemic removal of p16‑expressing...
20 Future Scottish HealthTech and MedTech Leaders
Scotland’s health‑tech and med‑tech ecosystem is shifting from academic clusters to a global industrial powerhouse, propelled by the Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland 2035. The sector already generated over £10 billion (≈$13 bn) by early 2021, beating its interim £8 billion target four...
Whoop Adds In‑app Video Doctor Visits and EHR Sync, Expanding Wearable‑based Telehealth
Whoop announced that its fitness tracker app will offer on‑demand video consultations with licensed clinicians and electronic health‑record syncing this summer in the United States. The rollout comes as the company rolls out new AI‑driven coaching features and responds to...
Rachele Nardella | Meet the Speakers: Med-Tech Expo 2026
Regulatory body updates ISO 10993‑1 to its 2025 edition, prompting medical device makers to rethink biocompatibility planning. At Med‑Tech Expo 2026, TÜV SÜD’s Rachele Nardella will show how the new standards can be turned into a cost‑saving, timeline‑protecting strategy. Her session focuses...
Precision HealthTech Launches, with Minuteful for Wound as Flagship Digital Care Solution
Precision HealthTech, an independent UK health‑tech firm, has launched to scale digitally enabled wound care worldwide. Its flagship solution, Minuteful for Wound, is a CE‑certified Class IIa platform that combines a mobile app, caseload portal and clinical dashboard to standardise...
Daiichi Sankyo Forecasts $1.7B Net Income on Surge in Enhertu, Datroway Sales
Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo said it expects a net income of about ¥260 billion ($1.7 billion) for the year ending March 2027, driven by higher sales of its oncology drugs Enhertu and Datroway. The outlook reflects a broader shift in cancer‑treatment markets, where...
Five Themes Likely to Emerge at ECO2026 in Istanbul
The 33rd European Congress on Obesity (ECO2026) in Istanbul is pivoting from a sole focus on body weight to a broader view of chronic disease management. Five dominant themes will shape the agenda: health‑outcome‑centric treatment, next‑generation therapeutics, obesity as a...
Lifelong Cognitive Enrichment Is Linked to a 38 Percent Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
A study of 1,939 older adults in the Rush Memory and Aging Project found that higher lifetime cognitive enrichment reduces Alzheimer’s disease risk by 38% per point increase. Participants with the highest enrichment scores developed dementia about five years later...
A Single Infusion Could Suppress H.I.V. for Years, Study Suggests
Scientists presented early data showing that a single infusion of genetically engineered immune cells can drive HIV to undetectable levels in patients. In a small study, two participants received the therapy, with one maintaining viral suppression for almost two years....
Adjusting Strategies Over a 25-Year-Long Career
Tris Pharmaceutical, founded by CEO Ketan Mehta 25 years ago, began as an oral‑technology platform company. Over time it broadened its focus to neurology and neuroscience, now offering a commercial ADHD portfolio and pursuing treatments for narcolepsy, spasticity, pain and...
Healthcare Cuts Threaten Sullivan’s Reelection Chances in Alaska
Alaska’s healthcare landscape has been reshaped by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of ACA premium subsidies, pushing average insurance costs up by more than $1,800. The fallout has become a focal point for Democrats, who are using the issue...
Georgia Tech Builds Network Sandbox to Test Hospital Cyber Defenses
Georgia Tech secured up to $12 million from ARPA‑H’s UPGRADE program to launch the Hospital‑Integrated Vulnerability Identification and Proactive Remediation (H‑VIPER) project. The initiative builds a whole‑hospital network sandbox that lets IT teams test patches and remediation strategies without disrupting patient...
FDA Cliffhanger: Will Marty Makary Stay or Go?
The FDA’s leadership is in flux as reports suggest President Trump may fire Commissioner Marty Makary, though the president has so far remained noncommittal. Makary, a Johns Hopkins physician, has overseen controversial moves on abortion pills, flavored vapes, and accelerated...
What to Look for When Choosing a Dentist in Avondale, AZ
Choosing a dentist in Avondale, AZ goes beyond proximity; it impacts oral health, confidence, and long‑term costs. The article outlines how comprehensive services, modern technology, and clear communication create a smoother patient experience. It stresses the role of preventive care,...
Biopharma Evumed to Create 30 New Jobs in Cork
Evumed, a biopharmaceutical firm, will establish its European headquarters at Cork Airport Business Park and create 30 new positions across quality, regulatory, supply chain, finance and support functions throughout 2026. The move is backed by a multimillion‑euro investment, underscoring Cork’s...