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
Stem Cell-Derived Islet Therapies Target Type 1 Diabetes Challenges
Sana Biotechnology is leveraging hypoimmune cell engineering to create allogeneic, stem‑cell‑derived pancreatic islet‑like cells that can evade both adaptive and innate immune attacks. The company aims to deliver a single intramuscular injection that restores normal blood‑sugar control for type 1 diabetes patients without chronic immunosuppression. Recent advances in scalable stem‑cell manufacturing enable the production of these therapeutic cells at commercial volumes. Dr. Steve Harr, Sana’s CEO, believes this approach could transform regenerative medicine by making cell therapies broadly accessible.
AI Longevity Promises Overlook Tiny Real-World Gains
If you hear another AI celebrity telling you on stage that in the next 5 years we will double lifespan or eliminate all diseases - please show them this output from their own LLMs and ask them "How?". This simple...
Aptevo Reports Strong Remission Data in Frontline AML Trial as RAINIER Study Advances Toward Phase 2
Aptevo Therapeutics disclosed Phase 1b data from its RAINIER trial, showing mipletamig combined with venetoclax and azacitidine achieved an 87% clinical benefit rate and an 81% composite remission rate in 31 frontline AML patients. The regimen produced a 65% complete remission...
What Now Predicts Outcomes in Older Adults With ALL: Emily K. Curran, MD
Emily K. Curran, MD explains that outcomes for older adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have improved dramatically, especially for Philadelphia chromosome‑positive disease thanks to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and newer immunotherapies. She highlights that T‑cell ALL remains a therapeutic blind...
WittKieffer Execs on How the Chief AI Officer Role Is Evolving
Health systems are rapidly adding chief AI officer (CAIO) positions, with the number of incumbents having more than quadrupled in the past few years. The role is shifting from back‑office AI pilots to enterprise‑wide programs that cover clinical, imaging, and...
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How Concerta Can Help Children With ADHD
Concerta, an extended‑release methylphenidate tablet, is a first‑line treatment for children over six with ADHD. It delivers symptom control—reducing inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity—for up to 12 hours with a single daily dose. The medication comes in 18‑, 27‑, 36‑ and 54‑mg...
Targeting Ischemic Disease with DiaMedica CEO Rick Pauls — Episode 254
DiaMedica Therapeutics, led by CEO Rick Pauls, is advancing a recombinant KLK1 protein to treat ischemia‑driven diseases such as preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and acute ischemic stroke. The podcast episode highlights the company’s focus on restoring vascular blood flow and...
Micronutrient Intake in Adults with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy Treated with the Modified Atkins Diet Needs Monitoring
A prospective study of 56 adults with drug‑resistant epilepsy on a modified Atkins diet (MAD) found that while fat‑soluble vitamins A, D and E were higher than in a normal‑diet reference, intake of several water‑soluble vitamins, electrolytes and minerals fell...
5 Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Credentialing Service
Credentialing delays can drain a new practice of $50,000‑$100,000 in fixed costs, as payer enrollment often stretches 90‑180 days. While most providers compare services on price and promised turnaround, hidden risks lie in payer‑specific expertise, CAQH management, recredentialing continuity, reporting...
Marberry: New Study Finds Patients Care About Environmental Impact of Healthcare
A new UC San Diego Health survey of over 5,000 respondents shows that 94% consider planetary health essential to their own well‑being, and 85% would choose providers that prioritize sustainability. The study highlights patients’ demand for waste reduction, clean energy,...
Asembia AXS26: How Drug Innovation Could Strain Access Systems
In a follow‑up interview at the Asembia AXS26 summit, Aradigm Health CEO Will Shrank warned that emerging therapies priced above $1 million per patient could overwhelm existing market‑access and financing frameworks. He highlighted upcoming treatments for type 1 diabetes, wet macular degeneration...
Remembering J. Craig Venter, PhD
In this tribute episode of Touching Base, host Corinna Singelman and Gen editors John Sterling and Kevin Davis reflect on the life and legacy of biotech pioneer J. Craig Venter, who recently died at 79. They recount Venter's groundbreaking role...
SDSC: Using NSF ACCESS Supercomputers to Improve Tuberculosis Treatment Options
A University of Michigan research team, led by Denise Kirschner, used NSF ACCESS allocations on the Expanse and Anvil supercomputers to simulate 219 tuberculosis drug combinations. By pairing a small set of virtual experiments with a machine‑learning surrogate, they rapidly...
Large Language Models Offer Potential for Helping Appeal Denied Radiology Claims
A recent Academic Radiology analysis tested four large language models—Claude 3.5, Nova Pro, Llama‑3.1‑70B and ChatGPT‑4o—by tasking them with drafting appeal letters for simulated denied radiology exams. Across 12 generated letters, the models achieved average content and grammar scores of 3.9 and...
Outdated Policy, Modern Costs: Rethinking Pharmacy Choice in Workers’ Compensation
Workers' compensation statutes still mandate unrestricted pharmacy choice, a rule rooted in a century‑old model of personalized drug dispensing. Over the past decades, independent pharmacies have vanished, giving way to large chains, big‑box retailers, and online providers dominated by Pharmacy...
Amazon Adds Ozempic Pill to Same-Day Prescription Drug Kiosks
Amazon Pharmacy is adding the GLP‑1 drug Ozempic to its same‑day prescription kiosks, which already dispense Wegovy. The vending‑machine‑style units allow customers to collect a prescription within minutes of approval, expanding Amazon’s instant‑pickup pharmacy footprint. By targeting a high‑demand weight‑loss...
It Will Now Be Easier for some Canadians to Qualify for the Disability Tax Credit
The Canadian government announced changes to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) in its Spring Economic Update, introducing a streamlined application process for more than 40 long‑lasting medical conditions. For these conditions, physicians no longer need to certify the severity of...
FDA Proposed Rule Would Eliminate Term ‘Gender’ From Regulations
The FDA has issued a proposed rule to replace every instance of the term “gender” with “sex,” or to delete the reference entirely, across its federal regulations. The change is framed as compliance with the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity,...
Thursday May 7, 2026 — Field Note
Johnson & Johnson presented first clinical data for its Ottava robotic surgery system at the ASMBS meeting, reporting that all 30 gastric‑bypass cases were completed robotically without conversion and met 30‑day safety endpoints. The FORTE feasibility study, conducted across six...
Prior Authorization During Surgery Is Not Oversight
A growing number of insurers are using real‑time prior‑authorization calls to alter surgical procedures while patients are under anesthesia, as illustrated by a hysterectomy where an insurer demanded one ovary be left intact and a breast‑reconstruction case where UnitedHealthcare interrupted...
From Compliance Pipes to Data Streams: Modernizing Healthcare EDI for Strategic Value
Healthcare insurers are rethinking EDI as a strategic data engine rather than a compliance afterthought. By publishing claim events to Kafka, exposing real‑time eligibility via REST APIs, and storing raw X12 files in a cloud data lake, organizations unlock analytics,...
Reading OpenAI’s Keeping Patients First Blueprint: What the April 2026 Healthcare Policy Document Proposes on Data Portability, Information Blocking, Regulatory...
OpenAI released a nine‑page "Keeping Patients First" blueprint in April 2026, outlining four policy pillars: expanded data portability, transparent clinician AI use, regulatory sandboxes, and FDA modernization for AI‑enabled software. The document proposes extending information‑blocking prohibitions to labs and pharmacies...
Screen for Asymptomatic MGD Before Refractive Surgery
A retrospective case‑control study of 3,472 eyes found that nearly half of refractive‑surgery candidates exhibit high‑grade meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) despite lacking dry‑eye symptoms. Patients with high MGD were significantly older and more myopic, and they demonstrated poorer uncorrected, corrected,...
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Stroke Incidence Widening in the UK
A new analysis of the South London Stroke Register shows that first‑stroke incidence has risen sharply among Black African and Black Caribbean residents while remaining flat for white residents. Between 2020 and 2024, Black African individuals experienced more than twice...
Mid-Cycle Revenue Integrity: Leveraging Clinician-Governed AI to Reduce Denials and Understated Acuity
Health systems are confronting hidden revenue loss caused by gaps between bedside care and the administrative record. At the mid‑cycle—where documentation, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) and coding converge—denial rates are nearing 10% and under‑documented acuity can cost a hospital up...
Upfront Costs of Robotic Heart Surgery Are High—But It May Be a Smart Investment
New research presented at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery meeting examined over 8,000 mitral valve repairs, including 780 robotic procedures, and found that robotic surgery costs about $6,000 more per case than traditional methods. Despite higher operating‑room expenses, patients...
UnidosUS: GOP Policies Put Latino Health, Coverage Gains At Risk
UnidosUS released a report warning that the Trump administration’s GOP health‑care agenda could trigger the largest drop in insurance coverage ever recorded, disproportionately harming Latino families. The analysis links proposed Medicaid work requirements, cuts to outreach funding, and a rollback...
Many Older Adults with Lung Cancer Do Not Receive Systemic Therapy
A new JAMA Oncology analysis of 254,611 Medicare patients aged 65 and older with stage IV non‑small cell lung cancer found that only 46.8% received any systemic therapy between 2006 and 2021. Despite the rollout of immunotherapy and targeted agents, treatment...
Lyra Health Launches Urgent‑Care Cutting Youth Mental‑Health Wait Times 54%
Lyra Health announced a new urgent‑care network for pediatric and young‑adult mental health, promising same‑day appointments and a 54% reduction in care costs. The rollout adds Behavioral Health Urgent Care, High‑Risk Behavioral Skills Therapy and Virtual Intensive Outpatient programs, aiming...
Chi Longevity Clinic Opens in Singapore, Marking a Clinical Shift in Longevity Care
Chi Longevity has opened in Singapore, providing a suite of biomarker, metabolic and imaging assessments aimed at proactive health‑span management. The clinic exemplifies a broader national pivot toward preventive, precision medicine for an aging population.
FDA Turmoil Casts Shadow Over Gene‑Therapy Conference in Rome
At the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine’s meeting in Rome, industry leaders grappled with heightened U.S. regulatory uncertainty after the FDA’s cell‑and‑gene therapy rejection rate doubled since 2024 and the agency’s top gene‑therapy regulator, Vinay Prasad, left. Recent approvals for rare‑disease...
The American Diabetes Association Urges California Lawmakers to Restore Access to Obesity Medications and Improve Health Through Sugary Beverage Labeling
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is urging California lawmakers to restore Medi‑Cal coverage for GLP‑1 obesity medications and to back Senate Bill 869, which would require chain restaurants to display a clear added‑sugar icon on high‑sugar beverages. California faces a...
TerraPower Isotopes Breaks Ground on $450 Million Actinium‑225 Plant in Philadelphia
TerraPower Isotopes broke ground on a $450 million, 250,000‑square‑foot Actinium‑225 manufacturing plant in Philadelphia, a move that will increase global supply twentyfold. The flagship Bellwether Laboratory aims to support next‑generation alpha‑particle cancer treatments and create roughly 225 permanent jobs.
Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness
A hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship led to the death of a passenger and the evacuation of 30 others, including six Americans who have now returned to the United States. The CDC only formed a response team a month...
CMS Launches Digital Prior Authorization for Nursing Homes, Aiming $15B Savings
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unveiled a nationwide electronic prior‑authorization system for skilled‑nursing facilities, projecting $15 billion in savings over the next decade. The rollout, slated for Jan. 1 2027, integrates EHR vendors, hospitals and payers to cut paperwork and speed...
CVS Health Beats Q1 Estimates, Raises FY2026 Guidance on Aetna Surge
CVS Health reported first‑quarter net income of $2.94 billion and sales of $100.43 billion, surpassing analyst forecasts. The company lifted its full‑year 2026 earnings guidance to $7.30‑$7.50 per share and revenue target to at least $405 billion, citing a stronger Aetna insurance unit.
Q&A: Nephrologist on ‘Evolving’ Field of Kidney Transplantation
Roslyn Mannon, MD, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was honored with the Excellence in Kidney Transplantation Award at the 2026 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings. Her career spans more than 250 peer‑reviewed papers on kidney...
EVERSANA Appoints Mike Guarino as CEO of Global Agency INTOUCH
EVERSANA announced that Mike Guarino, former CCO of IPG Health, will become chief executive of its global agency EVERSANA INTOUCH. The move is designed to accelerate data‑ and AI‑powered commercialization for life‑sciences brands.
Dandelion Health Raises $14M for Precision Medicine Platform
Dandelion Health announced a $14 million Series A round led by Healthier Capital, with participation from Colle Capital and existing investors. The New York‑based startup’s multimodal precision‑medicine platform combines structured EMR and claims data with unstructured clinical text and raw biosignals such as...
Feds Expand Pharmacy Benefit Program
The U.S. Department of Labor announced an expansion of pharmacy‑benefit reforms under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, extending cost‑saving measures to workers covered by the Black Lung, Longshore and Harbor, and Energy Employees compensation programs. The initiative builds on 2018...
Just ‘Stay Alive for the Next 10 Years’ – Anti-Ageing Drugs Are Coming, Says Billionaire Investor
Billionaire investor Jim Mellon told attendees at Spear’s 500 Live that the first truly anti‑ageing drugs could hit the market within a decade. He highlighted clinical‑stage senolytics, partial genetic reprogramming and repurposed weight‑loss medicines as the leading candidates to halt...
Johnson & Johnson’s Ottava System Completes First Robotic Gastric Bypass
Johnson & Johnson reported that its Ottava robotic platform successfully performed its first fully robotic gastric bypass, with no cases converted to open surgery. The milestone supports the pending FDA De Novo filing and positions Ottava against established systems from...
SJMC Was Neglected for Years; We Chose to Fix It
San Juan City has earmarked roughly US$10 million to overhaul its public hospital, San Juan Medical Center (SJMC). Since the mayor took office in 2019, the facility has been upgraded from a Level 1 to a DOH Level 2 hospital, adding MRI, CT,...
California Regulators Post Proposed Medical Evaluator Rules
The California Division of Workers' Compensation released an informal draft of rules to clarify eligibility for qualified medical evaluators (QMEs) and to permit remote‑only office listings. The proposal revises timelines for agency responses to applications and QME placement exams. It...
Eli Lilly Adds $4.5 B to Indiana Plant Portfolio, Launches First Genetic Medicine Facility
Eli Lilly announced a $4.5 billion expansion across two Lebanon, Indiana sites and opened Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies, its first dedicated genetic‑medicine manufacturing plant. The move lifts the company’s cumulative Indiana capital commitments since 2020 to more than $21 billion, underscoring a...
Parallel 3D Bioprinting Builds Tissue Model Arrays in Minutes
Researchers have introduced a slippery‑liquid‑infused porous surface (SLIPS) droplet microarray that enables parallel digital light processing (DLP) bioprinting of hydrogel tissue models. By removing physical walls and using hydrophilic spots on a superhydrophobic background, the system prints dozens to hundreds...
Black Patients, Women with UC Less Likely to Undergo Colectomy
A retrospective analysis of 727,515 ulcerative colitis admissions (2016‑2020) found that Black, Hispanic and female patients are significantly less likely to receive colectomy, the definitive surgery for refractory disease. After adjusting for clinical factors, Black patients were about 50% less...
Wearable Health Data Needs Integration; DIY Solutions Lead
Google Health/Fitbit vs Whoop is gonna be a heck of a fight $100-300 a year for these products is tiny price to pay for the massive gains you get from them If only doctors and medical record companies and these...
CDC Retires Its Cruise Ship Health Monitoring Program
Amid plenty of hantavirus headlines... The official leading CDC’s cruise ship program has retired, according to an internal announcement obtained by STAT https://t.co/NTjmeIhWdB
Preprints Safeguard Vaccine Safety Data From FDA Suppression
"The Paper That Didn't Disappear" FDA reportedly held back several vaccine safety papers headed to publication. Fortunately, one was on medRxiv and remains available. Why preprints matter; my latest Substack: https://t.co/YfTbkEPBU4 Also discussed in #healthandveritas podcast. https://t.co/k24zPtoGA2