Know What's Happening in Healthcare
Know What's Happening in Healthcare
FDA approves KRESLADI, first CIRM‑backed gene‑editing therapy
The FDA cleared KRESLADI, a gene‑editing treatment from Rocket Pharmaceuticals for severe leukocyte adhesion deficiency‑I in children, eliminating the need for a bone‑marrow donor. It is the first product directly funded by California’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine to receive approval.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Syneron Bio raises $150M Series B
Recent studies reveal that while hospice and palliative services are increasingly aligning with patient goals, significant gaps remain, especially among advanced‑cancer patients who often receive life‑extending treatment despite preferring comfort care. Only 15% of cancer patients with comfort preferences receive goal‑concordant care, highlighting a disconnect between documented wishes and delivered treatment. Meanwhile, hospice discharges after ICU stays have risen from 7% in 2011 to 15% in 2023, indicating broader upstream adoption of comfort‑focused pathways. Physicians and nurses also show higher rates of home or hospice deaths than the general public, suggesting professional experience influences end‑of‑life choices.
Robots’ potentials have been a fascination for humans and have even led to a booming field of robot-assisted surgery. Surgical robots assist surgeons in performing accurate, minimally invasive procedures that are beneficial for patients’ recovery. The assistance of robots extend beyond incisions...
Intuitive Surgical disclosed a phishing breach that accessed employee and customer data via a compromised internal administrative network. The company promptly activated its incident‑response plan, secured affected applications, and confirmed that its da Vinci, Ion, and digital platforms remained untouched....
Dompe, a privately owned biopharma, is advancing an intranasal nerve growth factor (NGF) therapy to treat non‑arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a leading cause of sudden vision loss affecting roughly 6,000 U.S. patients annually. The approach leverages NGF’s neuroprotective...
During the COVID‑19 pandemic, vaccine makers pledged not to enforce mRNA‑related patents, but that restraint has ended, sparking a wave of litigation over lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and mRNA payload technologies. Major cases include Alnylam’s suits against Pfizer and BioNTech, Arbutus’s...
Turning 65 activates Medicare eligibility, but retirees face a maze of parts, plans, and supplements. The system comprises four core parts—A (hospital), B (outpatient), C (Medicare Advantage), and D (prescription drugs)—each with distinct coverage and cost structures. Beneficiaries must choose...
SpyGlass Pharma’s Bimatoprost Drug Pad‑IOL System demonstrated significant intra‑ocular pressure (IOP) reductions and vision gains in a phase 1/2 trial of 104 patients with open‑angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension undergoing cataract surgery. At 12 months, the 78 µg dose lowered mean IOP 34%...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Novartis' secukinumab, marketed as Cosentyx, for adolescents aged 12 and older with moderate‑to‑severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). This marks the first IL‑17A inhibitor cleared for a pediatric indication, extending the drug’s adult HS...
The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and nine other medical groups released new guidelines urging cholesterol testing as early as age ten and aggressive LDL reduction beginning around age thirty. The recommendations aim to lower lifelong LDL...
The health‑care sector continues to pour seven‑figure bonuses into elite physicians while neglecting the training of frontline nursing assistants, widening a credentialing gap at the base of care delivery. WHO projects an 11 million worker shortfall by 2030, underscoring that prestige...
The FDA Compounding Quality Center of Excellence is launching a series of instructor‑led training courses, offered both in‑person and virtually, for outsourcing facilities, pharmacy compounders, and regulators. Each course costs $249 per participant and awards continuing‑education credits to pharmacists, technicians,...
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld West Virginia's ban on Medicaid coverage for gender‑affirming surgeries, extending the restriction from minors to adults. The ruling overturns a lower court finding that the 2004 statute violated anti‑discrimination laws and...
Interventional echocardiographers using Biotronik’s Zero‑Gravity suspended lead suits during left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) procedures experienced dramatically lower radiation, with undetectable levels in 60% of cases. In a JAMA Network Open study of 125 LAAO cases, median dose dropped from...
Researchers at Jeonbuk National University have unveiled DDINet, a lightweight neural network designed to predict drug‑drug interactions (DDIs) for previously unseen compounds. The model employs five fully‑connected layers and molecular fingerprints, with Morgan fingerprints delivering the best results. Using a...
At HIMSS26, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz outlined a sweeping technology overhaul aimed at boosting healthcare efficiency and cutting waste. He announced a new Salt Lake City office to attract tech talent and highlighted a $300 billion annual waste figure, with...
In‑home care services provide personalized assistance that enables seniors to remain in familiar surroundings while receiving professional support. Caregivers monitor health, manage medication, and adapt routines, which helps prevent emergencies and reduces the physical and emotional burden on families. Flexible...
A West Health‑Gallup survey reveals that over 82 million Americans have reduced daily spending to afford healthcare, highlighting deepening affordability pressures across income levels. The FDA has broadened GSK’s RSV vaccine Arexvy to cover high‑risk adults aged 18‑49, a group responsible...
The latest dyslipidemia guideline introduces the PREVENT risk calculator, enabling clinicians to personalize ASCVD risk using routine health data and specific risk enhancers. It expands recommendations to include non‑contrast coronary artery calcium scans, as well as Lp(a) and apoB testing,...
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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first‑line pharmacologic treatment for obsessive‑compulsive disorder, helping roughly 70% of patients achieve a 40‑60% reduction in symptoms. FDA‑approved SSRIs such as fluvoxamine, paroxetine, fluoxetine and sertraline are dosed higher than for depression, and...
Minnesota reported the largest U.S. outbreak of Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII), a sexually transmitted fungal infection that appears as round, red rashes and can be mistaken for eczema, psoriasis or bacterial skin conditions. More than 30 cases have been confirmed,...
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to weaken limits on ethylene oxide emissions from medical device sterilization plants. The change would affect roughly 90 facilities and eliminate the requirement for continuous emissions monitoring. About 2.3 million people, many in low‑income...
ACCESS GPO has signed a multi‑year preferred agreement with Medtronic to supply the Affera™ Mapping and Ablation System, featuring the Sphere‑9™ catheter, to physician‑led ambulatory surgery centers across the United States. The partnership aims to accelerate adoption of pulsed field...
Congressional advisers call to rein in Medicare Advantage spending amid industry pressure I’ll summarize for you. EVERY SINGLE FAMILY IN THE USA IS PAYING $800 A YEAR to the big insurance companies because taxpayers pay them more than it...
Augie Luptak, Vice President of Strategy & Operations at St. Croix Hospice, has been honored as a 2025 Future Leader by Hospice News. The award recognizes high‑performing professionals under 40 who demonstrate vision, advocacy for seniors, and operational excellence. In...
CommonSpirit Health launched a Virtually Integrated Care (VIC) nursing model that embeds remote nurses into bedside teams across its 158 hospitals. The program, built on proprietary telehealth software, has been deployed on 1,075 beds and aims to reach 3,000 by...
The FDA has released a searchable table of extended use dates for specific drug lot numbers, based on manufacturer‑provided stability data. These extensions allow providers and patients to continue using existing stock beyond original expiration dates, helping to mitigate ongoing...
Epic Systems secured a stipulated judgment and permanent injunction against GuardDog Telehealth in its lawsuit with Health Gorilla. GuardDog admitted its business model involved requesting and summarizing medical records via the Carequality and TEFCA interoperability frameworks under the guise of...
Recent peer‑reviewed study of 20 adults with chronic pain and substance misuse found ketamine therapy improved pain, mood, and dependence scores. The integrated treatment was delivered within a coordinated pain program, highlighting benefits of interdisciplinary care. Findings suggest ketamine can...
The Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) 2026 meeting showcased a suite of late‑breaking interventional cardiology studies, ranging from long‑term TAVR versus SAVR outcomes to novel radiation‑shielding devices. A seven‑year PARTNER 3 substudy found comparable health‑status results for low‑risk patients after TAVR and...
Researchers at INSERM uncovered hypothalamic tanycytes as a previously unknown tau‑clearing pathway, opening fresh therapeutic avenues for Alzheimer’s and related tauopathies. Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) announced the synthesis and pre‑clinical testing of novel PET tracers that bind α‑synuclein, aiming...
I’ve been an orthopedic surgeon for nearly 30 years, and a few patterns have become impossible to ignore. One is that many musculoskeletal problems in adults aren’t sudden injuries. They’re the moment when declining capacity and awful metabolic health finally...
At Vision Expo, optometry leaders highlighted how empathy and cultural competence can close the trust gap for Hispanic, Latino, and African‑American patients with chronic eye diseases. Panelists urged clinicians to acknowledge patients' fears, involve family members, and leverage multilingual tools...
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the largest affiliate in California and Nevada, announced it will now offer Botox injections and IV hydration packages alongside its traditional reproductive health services. The move is a direct response to severe budget shortfalls caused by the...
Shilpa Biologicals and mAbTree Biologics received FDA orphan drug designation for an investigational monoclonal antibody that targets an immune‑evasion pathway in essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera. The designation validates the novel mechanism and accelerates plans for IND‑enabling studies and first‑in‑human...
The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has expanded its Drug Safety Podcast series, delivering concise audio briefings that coincide with official Drug Safety Communications. Recent episodes address serious liver injury linked to Ocaliva, rare hypocalcemia risks with Prolia,...
In this episode of Startup Health Now, host Unity Stokes talks with Richard Bennett, CEO of Epicured, about how the company is turning food into a reimbursable, medically‑tailored service that builds trust and addresses social determinants of health, and with...
Sami, a Brazil‑based digital health insurer, combines a proprietary platform with a network of family doctors and specialty clinics to deliver affordable primary care for small and medium‑sized enterprises. The company recently closed a R$60 million financing round aimed at scaling...
The FDA released draft guidance that lets biosimilar developers use foreign comparator data and, in some cases, replace clinical studies with chemical analysis, potentially cutting development costs by $20 million. Simultaneously, the agency launched the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a...
1. #Measles update: The total confirmed cases so far this year has risen to 1362 as of 3/12. Key context: The 2026 total to date is 60% of the 2025 total for the entire year. #CDC reports that among cases with...
New MPO article by Lisa Anderson: From Reactive to Proactive: planning strategies for Medtech customer and margin success. Ready to move from firefighting to proactive planning? Contact LMA. #MedTech #SIOP #SupplyChain https://t.co/6Kr0hpMRaq
The J. Craig Venter Institute unveiled a 4D, nanoscale simulation that tracks the entire life cycle of a minimal bacterial cell, marking a milestone for synthetic biology. A new gene‑editing platform designs DNA donors that dodge immune detection, enabling safer,...
The longer we live, the more the cancer odds go against us. So it is a race between medicine and aging. More on this in the Chartbook Top Links today. https://t.co/RpUy2t9fij
Class-action lawsuit claims Epic’s MyChart fragments patient records across portals, blocking full access & delaying disability claims. True interoperability still a challenge in digital health. https://t.co/jiKal8ggTl #DigitalHealth
The latest ASCO GU strategic intelligence report spotlights renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as a field entering a transformative phase. Analysts highlight emerging biomarkers, novel HIF‑2α inhibitors, and evolving immunotherapy combinations as potential high‑impact developments. While these advances promise to reshape...
HEARING $UHS --negative call out right now- CMS has delayed Florida Direct payment approval due to CMS concerns-- capital forum confirmed
Great to see ophthlamologists adopting epigenetic modifications and resets to treat eye diseases like glaucoma. A paradigm shift in medicine https://t.co/g2gr3WVpkf https://t.co/6gbBVHJuXI
BlackDoctor, a Black‑owned health media brand, has launched BlackDoctor Pro, a dual‑platform clinical delivery model that equips providers with culturally fluent data and AI tools. The rollout adds a network of more than 20,000 practitioners, a proprietary AI assistant called WellBot,...
With FDA go ahead, a China #biotech notches a first in cell therapy testing https://t.co/QorwJmou8w by @realJacobBell $XENE $BHVN
Cancer vaccines are showing marked efficacy vs refractory cancers and are going to be part of the future Rx armamentarium. Beyond that, ultimately, for prevention in high-risk individuals. A new stellar review @NatureMedicine https://t.co/PhtdZDtSBl https://t.co/okmwCD8AyB
Lasting improvement doesn’t come from dashboards or mandates. It comes from clinicians who trust the data and own the change. A great conversation on what really works. 👉 https://t.co/SwV5qc59SV @HealthCatalyst #clinicalimprovement #HITSM
