🎯Today's Healthcare Pulse
Updated 3h agoWhat's happening: FDA puts Regeneron's anti‑activin A antibody garetosmab under priority review
The agency has granted priority review to Regeneron's garetosmab for the rare disease fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, with a decision expected by August. Phase 3 OPTIMA data showed a 94% reduction in new heterotopic ossification lesions at the lower dose and a 90% reduction at the higher dose, alongside a >99% drop in lesion volume.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hims & Hers acquires Eucalyptus in $1.15B deal
News•Feb 17, 2026
Montana Hospital Restores Phones as Cyber-Related Network Disruptions Persist
Livingston HealthCare in Montana announced that its phone system has been fully restored after a recent cybersecurity incident forced the hospital to shut down communications and other network services. The disruption, first reported on Feb. 13, stemmed from a potential cyberattack that compromised internal systems, prompting the nonprofit to isolate affected segments. While voice services are back online, critical network infrastructure remains offline as IT teams continue remediation and data recovery. The hospital cautions that patient care processes may still experience delays.
By DataBreaches.net
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Plasmid Injection Triggers Immune Attack on Cancer Survival Protein
What if a physician could inject you with a plasmid that would induce an immune response against a protein needed for cancer cell survival? This novel strategy is being tested and looks promising for refractory cancers. Talking Biotech 488 ...
By Kevin Folta
News•Feb 16, 2026
FastFinance: Cost Implications of New HOPD Reporting Rules; Election Year Opportunity on Affordability
HFMA’s FastFinance podcast highlights new off‑campus HOPD reporting requirements that could impose significant cost burdens on health systems. The episode also cites a "Weird Number"—a 3‑5% annual net revenue loss attributed to inefficient electronic health records and billing platforms. Additionally,...
By HFMA – Healthcare Financial Management Association
News•Feb 16, 2026
How Smart Hospitals Push Forward From Pilot to Practice
Smart hospital rooms equipped with interactive displays, sensors, and AI are moving from pilot projects to core infrastructure in new builds and retrofits. The global market, valued at $67 billion in 2024, is expected to nearly triple by 2030 as health...
By HealthTech Magazine
News•Feb 16, 2026
Big Financial Impacts From Off-Campus HOPD Rule Change
Effective Jan. 1 2028, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026 requires hospitals to assign separate NPIs and submit two provider‑based attestations for each off‑campus hospital outpatient department (HOPD) or lose Medicare OPPS reimbursement. Compliance documentation can be extensive—up to 200 pages per...
By HFMA – Healthcare Financial Management Association
Blog•Feb 16, 2026
MRNA-Packed Nanoparticles Restore Fertility in Genetically Infertile Mice and Produce Live Offspring
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University engineered a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation that delivers therapeutic mRNA directly to spermatocytes in mice. By injecting mRNA encoding the wild‑type Msh5 gene, they transiently restored meiosis in mice with a genetic block, achieving...
By Nanowerk
News•Feb 16, 2026
Leveraging AI to Predict Patient Deterioration
Dr. Michael Spaeder will present at HIMSS26 on using AI‑enabled analysis of continuous bedside cardiorespiratory monitoring to detect patient deterioration earlier than traditional electronic health record methods. He will contrast predictive insights from live physiologic data with retrospective EHR analytics,...
By Healthcare IT News (HIMSS Media)
News•Feb 16, 2026
FDA Approval of Sibeprenlimab Signals New Era in IgA Nephropathy: Jackson Peter Kim, MD
The FDA granted accelerated approval to sibeprenlimab‑szsi (Voyxact) for primary IgA nephropathy, marking the first APRIL‑inhibiting monoclonal antibody for this condition. Interim results from the phase 3 VISIONARY trial showed a 50 % reduction in proteinuria at nine months versus 2 % with...
By AJMC (The American Journal of Managed Care)
News•Feb 16, 2026
HIMSS26: AdventHealth CEO to Give Keynote Address at the Executive Summit
AdventHealth President and CEO David Banks will deliver the opening keynote at HIMSS26’s Executive Summit in Las Vegas, titled “Leading Through Healthcare’s Perfect Storm.” He will frame the current systemic headwinds as an opportunity to shift from episodic, diagnosis‑centric care to...
By Healthcare IT News (HIMSS Media)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Reclaiming Nursing Time for Patient Care Through Better Automation
Healthcare faces a looming shortage of over 63,000 full‑time registered nurses by 2030, intensifying pressure on existing staff. Manual tasks such as charting and medication administration divert nurses from bedside care, prompting a push for smarter automation. Omnicell’s new Titan...
By Becker’s Hospital Review
News•Feb 16, 2026
Compassionate Leadership in Times of Disruption
Healthcare leaders traditionally separate emotion from decision‑making, but a recent hospital closure in New York demonstrates that compassionate leadership can coexist with operational rigor. The tertiary medical center reduced from 700 to 200 beds, faced financial loss, and ultimately closed...
By Becker’s Hospital Review
News•Feb 16, 2026
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs
Federal policies driven by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are creating a hostile environment for vaccine developers, prompting companies like Moderna to scale back late‑stage studies. A Texas startup canceled a new manufacturing plant, and a San Diego firm...
By New York Times – Health
News•Feb 16, 2026
HIMSSCast: 2026 Could Be the Most Challenging Year yet for Medicare Advantage Payers
Medicare Advantage insurers are confronting a perfect storm of rising medical costs and a flat payment increase of less than 1% announced by CMS for 2026. The new risk‑adjustment formula and stagnant reimbursement fall below the medical‑cost trend, compressing margins...
By Healthcare IT News (HIMSS Media)
News•Feb 16, 2026
Dr. Oz Endorses AI Avatars for Rural Mental Health Access
Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, advocated AI avatars as the most effective solution to bridge mental‑health gaps in rural America. He highlighted the chronic shortage of clinicians and argued that agentic AI can conduct early intakes, detect subtle speech cues,...
By MobiHealthNews (HIMSS Media)
Social•Feb 16, 2026
B‑Cell Depletion: Rebooting Immunity to Cure Autoimmunity
"Immune Reset" Rebooting the immune system by depletion of B cells, like a reboot of a computer, to achieve cures vs autoimmune diseases https://t.co/253NtyFmCN
By Eric Topol
News•Feb 16, 2026
Prime Healthcare Pits Two Virtual Sitter Vendors Against One Another – Who Won?
Prime Healthcare conducted a nine‑month, 13‑hospital trial of two virtual sitter models—an integrated turnkey vendor and a split‑component approach—to enhance patient safety in Phase 2 of its virtual care strategy. The integrated model, which supplies hardware, software, and remote observers, outperformed...
By Healthcare IT News (HIMSS Media)
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Women Show Higher P‑tau217 Levels and Tau Deposition
p-tau217 is a breakthrough blood test for risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Important to know there are sex differences for this biomarker, with women having higher values at baseline and more tau deposition. @JAMANeuro https://t.co/Xrr8SjsiVY https://t.co/eyDt6mgSqR
By Eric Topol
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Psychedelic Shows Rapid Depression Relief in Small Trial
A psychedelic quickly reduced depression (in patients with major depression disorder) in a small, double-blind placebo randomized trial @NatureMedicine https://t.co/vvug72VGBi https://t.co/Tn58rP0ufS
By Eric Topol
News•Feb 16, 2026
Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 2/16/26
The article traces the shifting terminology of digital health records, noting that the "electronic health record" (EHR) label gained popularity during the Bush 43 era while earlier versions were called CPR and later EMR. It argues the rebranding served vendor pricing...
By HIStalk
Social•Feb 16, 2026
Bionic Eye Mimics Animal Pupils for Sharper Focus
A new Science #Robotics study describes a #bionic eye that can simulate irregular pupils such as a cat’s vertical pupil for precise focus while hunting and a toad's heart-shaped pupil for improved depth perception. https://t.co/p1uZy6rbky https://t.co/X4pzdrnoIi
By Science Robotics
News•Feb 16, 2026
Should Drug Companies Be Advertising to Consumers?
Direct‑to‑consumer advertising for prescription drugs is resurging, highlighted by Novo Nordisk’s $180 million spend on Ozempic TV spots in 2022 and $189 million in 2023. The ads use upbeat jingles and lifestyle imagery to present the GLP‑1 medication as a gateway to...
By New York Times – Health
News•Feb 16, 2026
Produce Prescription Program Shows Limited Impact on Cardiometabolic Health in Diabetes
A pragmatic randomized trial in the southeastern US tested a 12‑month produce‑prescription program that gave diabetes patients at risk of food insecurity an $80 monthly debit card for fruits and vegetables. After enrolling 2,155 participants, the intervention showed no significant...
By AJMC (The American Journal of Managed Care)
Social•Feb 16, 2026
LLM-Edited Radiology Reports Boost Patient Understanding, Preserve Accuracy
When the LLM rewrites the radiology report, patient understanding is increased and clinical accuracy is maintained. @LancetDigitalH @curtlanglotz @smrabd https://t.co/q2UHebBQG7 https://t.co/IwZAx59brY
By Eric Topol
Social•Feb 16, 2026
AI Subtyping Boosts HR+/HER2‑ Breast Cancer Therapy
Precision treatment with artificial intelligence assisted subtyping enhances therapeutic efficacy in HR+/HER2− breast cancer: The LINUXtrial https://t.co/UF4Lt3g5QK https://t.co/LWuJYD2qGh
By Ming Tang
News•Feb 16, 2026
Systematic Discovery of Molecular Glues Targets Protein Degradation in Leukemia
Researchers at the AITHYRA Institute introduced a high‑throughput chemical diversification platform that systematically creates molecular‑glue candidates and screens them directly in living cells. Applying the workflow to the leukemia‑associated protein ENL, they identified a small molecule that selectively induces ENL...
By GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)
News•Feb 16, 2026
VISIE Achieves Commercial Milestone With Launch of Partner APIs
VISIE Inc. announced the launch of its Partner APIs, a robot‑agnostic interface that brings the company’s spatial computing and real‑time scanning capabilities to surgical robotics platforms. Built on gRPC and supporting multiple programming languages, the APIs deliver scanner control, object...
By AI-TechPark
News•Feb 16, 2026
I Tested Sentai, the AI Voice Companion for Seniors – and Now I Get Why It’s More than Just Another...
TechRadar’s Graham reviews Sentai, a UK‑made AI voice companion built for seniors living independently. The speaker delivers reminders, medication prompts, and conversational companionship while deliberately avoiding constant listening or surveillance. In testing, Sentri handled emotional cues, emergency alerts, and privacy...
By TechRadar
News•Feb 16, 2026
Google Puts Users at Risk by Downplaying Health Disclaimers Under AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overviews, which appear atop search results, provide health answers without an upfront safety disclaimer. The only warning—"For informational purposes only"—shows after users click the “Show more” button and is rendered in a smaller, lighter font. Experts say this...
By The Guardian AI
News•Feb 16, 2026
New Broad-Spectrum Infection Prevention Method Successfully Blocks Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Influenza
Researchers at KRIBB demonstrated that the pharmaceutical excipient n‑dodecyl‑β‑D‑maltoside (DDM) can pre‑activate innate immunity, delivering complete survival in mice challenged with multidrug‑resistant bacteria and lethal influenza. The protection stems from selective neutrophil mobilization that activates only upon pathogen detection, avoiding...
By Bioengineer.org
News•Feb 16, 2026
2026 Could Mark a Turning Point for American Innovation
The United States faces a potential decline in biotech leadership as recent Supreme Court decisions blur patent eligibility and congressional price‑control measures under the Inflation Reduction Act force program cancellations. Proposals to seize university licensing revenue further strain tech‑transfer offices,...
By BioSpace
News•Feb 16, 2026
Handgrip Strength Forecasts Depression in Chinese Elders
A new BMC Geriatrics cohort study of Chinese seniors finds handgrip strength inversely predicts incident depression. Participants with lower baseline grip were significantly more likely to develop depressive symptoms over several years, even after controlling for age, gender, socioeconomic status...
By Bioengineer.org
News•Feb 16, 2026
Ultrasound Enables In Vivo Acoustoelectric Neural Recording
Researchers have demonstrated in‑vivo acoustoelectric neural recording in mice using ultrasound‑induced frequency mixing, achieving high‑fidelity, non‑invasive monitoring of brain activity. The technique converts neuronal electrical fields into detectable frequency shifts, delivering millimeter‑scale spatial resolution and millisecond‑level temporal precision. By calibrating...
By Bioengineer.org
Social•Feb 16, 2026
China’s Biotech Boom: 5 Hidden Drivers & Future Forecasts
5 Hidden Themes Driving China’s Biotech Surge | Ep. 314 ...and 5 Bold Predictions for What’s Next https://t.co/TxBhvw5PG8 https://t.co/jTR63o431j
By BowTiedBiotech
News•Feb 16, 2026
How AI Innovations Like DeepSeek Are Revolutionizing Emotional and Mental Health Support for Chinese Youth
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has launched a conversational platform that delivers real‑time emotional and mental‑health support to teenagers. Leveraging large‑language models tuned with culturally specific data, the service offers 24/7 chat‑based counseling, crisis detection, and personalized coping strategies. Within...
By Bioengineer.org
News•Feb 15, 2026
What Makes an Agentic AI System Safe for Medical Records Management?
The episode explores how Non‑Human Identities (NHIs)—machine credentials like tokens and keys—are reshaping cybersecurity in healthcare, especially as cloud adoption and Agentic AI expand. It outlines a lifecycle‑focused NHI management strategy that includes discovery, classification, continuous threat monitoring, and context‑aware...
By Security Boulevard
Blog•Feb 15, 2026
Nanopillar-Studded Plastic Films Physically Destroy Viruses, Cutting Infectivity by 94% without Chemicals
Researchers at RMIT and international partners engineered flexible acrylic films stamped with dense nanopillar arrays using ultraviolet nano‑imprint lithography. The 60 nm pitch configuration reduced human parainfluenza virus type 3 infectivity by up to 94 % within one hour, achieving mechanical rupture of...
By Nanowerk
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Physicians Evolve Into AI‑Guided Medical Orchestrators
Think AI will reduce demand for doctors? Consider this: Claude writes 100% of its own code, yet Anthropic's engineering team is exploding. We aren't looking at the end of the physicians, but the birth of Medical Orchestrators. When asked why Anthropic...
By Joshua Liu, MD
Social•Feb 15, 2026
120 Biomarkers for $99 and Nationwide CT Calcium Scans
This is how I test 120 biomarkers for $99 and get CT calcium scans anywhere nationwide. Vitals Vault. https://www.vitalsvault.com/
By Robert Lufkin, MD
News•Feb 15, 2026
What Medicines Are Kept on the International Space Station, and Why?
The International Space Station maintains a structured “space pharmacy” organized into color‑coded medical kits that address convenience care, minor illnesses, and emergency stabilization. Medications are selected for stability in radiation‑rich microgravity, versatility across multiple symptoms, and ease of use by...
By New Space Economy
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Modern Bluetooth Pacemakers Continuously Broadcast When Disconnected
Regarding this, there was a couple questions on does the pacemaker continue to advertise - most BLE implantable devices go into a sleep type mode. In this case, we are lucky - it does not. We know based on law enforcement...
By Dave Kennedy
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Insurance Doesn't Prevent Massive Medical Debt, Even for Celebrities
When a celebrity tragically dies with massive medical debt, I’m left with the questions. Did they have insurance? People with insurance absolutely have medical debt, but out-of-pocket costs are capped. Debt may be from out-of-network care, claims denials, or unocvered...
By Larry Levitt
Blog•Feb 14, 2026
DNA Nanomachine Inside Living Cells Measures How Aggressive a Cancer Is
Researchers at Wenzhou and Fuzhou Universities unveiled a three‑wheel DNA nanomachine (TW‑harvester) that rides a gold‑nanoparticle track inside living tumor cells. The device uses a DNA tetrahedron with an aptamer targeting nucleolin and miR‑21‑triggered wheel activation to cleave fluorescent substrates,...
By Nanowerk
Social•Feb 15, 2026
Saudi‑US Biotech Tie Is Just a Pay‑for‑promotion Scheme
This is not a Saudi-USA Biotech Alliance, it’s a Saudi @DrPatrick $IBRX “you pay we pay” marketing campaign. Anktiva is stalled in the US because he can’t generate the clinical data to move the drug forward, so he goes to...
By Adam Feuerstein
Social•Feb 15, 2026
15‑PDGH Inhibition and Ozempic May Restore Cartilage
Two things that may help restore cartilage —15-PDGH inhibition https://t.co/chCj9Lj5qk —Semaglutide (Ozempic), independent of weight loss https://t.co/fqbrQQYfRt https://t.co/6CRdY1QtC1
By Eric Topol
Blog•Feb 14, 2026
Beyond the Fitbit: Why Your Next Health Tracker Might Be a Button on Your Shirt
Scientists at King’s College London discovered that loose‑fit clothing can track human movement more accurately than tight wearables, delivering 40% higher precision while using 80% less data. The research, published in Nature Communications, suggests that simple fabric elements—such as a...
By Nanowerk
News•Feb 14, 2026
Guernsey Medical Practice Sanctioned After Cyber Criminals Access Patient Data Through Email Account
Guernsey’s Data Protection Authority has sanctioned First Contact Health after a phishing attack compromised an employee’s email, exposing confidential patient data. The breach was discovered by the practice, which reported it to authorities, but regulators found the organization lacked adequate...
By DataBreaches.net
Social•Feb 14, 2026
AI Docs Tools Expand Into Health System Enterprise
Those “direct-to-physician” CDS AI tools like OpenEvidence and DoximityGPT? They're now going after health systems too. My 5 thoughts on how this will all play out: First, the gist of what was announced: → Sutter Health will integrate OpenEvidence with Epic, allowing...
By Joshua Liu, MD
Social•Feb 14, 2026
Age‑Restricted Longevity Drugs: Accept Risks After 70
We should have a class of drugs you can only sell to people over 70 —super aggro longevity stuff, muscle regeneration, etc - tolerate more possible bad side effects given you don’t have much time left for effects to manifest...
By Jason Kelly
Social•Feb 14, 2026
3D‑Printed Brain Phantoms Replicate Gray and White Matter
Printing brain phantoms in a support gel and selectively replicates gray and white matter https://t.co/9rIVOPCjd2 https://t.co/LFwa9Qlqjc
By Brian Ahier
Social•Feb 14, 2026
US Infectious‑Disease Center Halts Pandemic Preparedness Efforts
But this is such treachery. Doesn’t our govt understand pandemic threats? New waves of zoonotic flu, SARS-3 coronavirus; arboviruses from climate change; bioweapons from our enemies: Russia, DPRK, Iran; return of measles, pertussis, soon polio. What’s going on? Exclusive: Key US...
By Peter Hotez