Novant Health Taps Chief Growth Officer
Novant Health announced that Richard Divers will assume the role of senior vice president and chief growth officer on April 13. Divers will steer the system’s enterprise growth strategy, covering mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and expansion projects aimed at widening access and lowering costs. He arrives from EY‑Parthenon, where he advised health systems on growth, integration planning, and corporate development. With more than two decades of experience across nonprofit health systems, physician practices, and ambulatory platforms, Divers brings deep sector expertise to Novant’s leadership team.
Top 15 Specialty Pharmacies of 2025: Report
The Drug Channels report shows the specialty pharmacy market remains tightly concentrated, with PBM‑affiliated chains capturing roughly two‑thirds of dispensing revenue in 2025. Specialty drug spending rose 9.6% to $293.4 billion, while accredited locations topped 1,900, a 3% year‑over‑year increase. Hospital‑owned...
Residents in some Neighborhoods Live 30 Years Longer. Researchers Developed a Model to Close that Gap.
Researchers at Rice University, the University of Louisville and Simmons College introduced the Universal Basic Neighborhood (UBN) model to equalize life expectancy across U.S. communities. By evaluating 35 health‑supporting metrics—environment, housing, social and transportation—the model aims for every neighborhood to...
'It's Just the Beginning' For Pancreatic Cancer's Long-Awaited Breakthrough
Revolution Medicines’ KRAS‑G12D inhibitor daraxonrasib has entered late‑stage trials as a potential first‑in‑class therapy for pancreatic cancer, a disease that still carries a five‑year survival rate below 12%. Early data show tumor shrinkage in roughly a third of heavily pre‑treated...
PBM Proposed Transparency Rule Supported by Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Labor has closed a public comment period on a proposed rule that would require pharmacy‑benefit managers to disclose all direct and indirect compensation to self‑insured employer health‑plan sponsors. The accelerated rule, opened on Jan. 30 and closed...
Yelp Partners with Zocdoc to Launch Real-Time Healthcare Appointment Booking
Yelp has teamed up with Zocdoc to embed real‑time medical appointment booking directly into doctor business pages on its iOS app, leveraging Zocdoc’s scheduling engine and the new AI‑driven Yelp Assistant chatbot. The feature displays in‑network availability and lets patients...
Frictionless Access Is Healthcare’s Next Front Door
Mount Sinai is overhauling its patient‑front‑door by integrating CLEAR’s digital identity platform, giving patients and staff an optional, fast‑track check‑in experience. The hospital used focus groups to shape a solution that blends digital convenience with traditional registration for those who...
Hospice Fraud a ‘Terrifying’ Beneficiary Protection Issue
U.S. lawmakers highlighted a surge in hospice and home‑health fraud, with California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Georgia and Ohio flagged as hotspots. In Los Angeles County, provider numbers jumped 1,500% since 2010, leading to at least $105 million in Medicare overbilling and...
MiniMed Posts Double-Digit Sales Growth, Widening Net Loss
MiniMed, Medtronic’s diabetes‑tech spinoff, posted FY26 Q3 revenue of $790 million, up 15 % year‑over‑year, but its net loss widened dramatically to $119 million from $10 million a year earlier. Growth was driven by sales of its automated insulin‑delivery system, FDA clearance for the...
South Carolina System Opens Outpatient Pharmacy
McLeod Health in Florence, South Carolina, opened a new 12,000‑square‑foot outpatient pharmacy on April 26, replacing a 2,200‑square‑foot location inside its hospital tower. The expanded site, repurposed from a former emergency‑department space, adds a drive‑through window, curbside pickup, and a...
ECRI Spins Off Supply Tech Company
ECRI has spun off its healthcare spend and recall management unit into a new independent company called Staritas. Staritas will deliver data‑driven supply chain intelligence, leveraging AI and real‑time analytics used by nearly 90% of top U.S. hospitals and providers...
Mount Sinai Launches Women’s Health Podcast Series
Mount Sinai Health System has launched “HERology,” a new podcast series dedicated to comprehensive women’s health. The show is co‑hosted by four Mount Sinai physicians and researchers and features both internal specialists and external experts, including public figures. Episodes will...
Revisiting The Competency-Based Board of Directors
Healthcare boards are re‑examining strict competency‑based composition as new regulatory, technological and economic pressures demand broader strategic insight. Traditional governance models that prioritize narrow expertise in areas like M&A, finance or legal risk becoming siloed and less adaptable. Industry surveys...
Carvykti Shows Promise Before Multiple Myeloma; Two Megarounds; AstraZeneca Wins Twice
Researchers at Dana‑Farber Cancer Institute reported that all 20 high‑risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients treated with Carvykti, Janssen's BCMA‑directed CAR‑T therapy, achieved disease clearance. The single‑infusion regimen produced complete responses without immediate relapse, and patients remained progression‑free at a median...
Fining Hospitals for Medical Misogyny Won’t Help Women – It Will Hurt Them
The UK health secretary Wes Streeting proposes "patient power payments" that would cut NHS hospital budgets if women’s experience scores fall short. The move follows a surge in demand: nearly 250,000 women are now on gynecological waiting lists, a figure...
BioAge Says Early Data Suggest ‘Best-in-Class’ Potential for Inflammation Drug
BioAge Labs released Phase 1 data for the 60‑mg dose of its NLRP3 inhibitor BGE‑102, confirming tolerability and inflammation‑lowering activity similar to the earlier 120‑mg readout. The oral pill crosses the blood‑brain barrier, opening possibilities for cardiovascular, obesity, eye and central‑nervous‑system...
UnitedHealth Tops Quarterly Estimates, Hikes Profit Outlook as Insurer Manages High Medical Costs
UnitedHealth Group reported first‑quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, posting adjusted earnings per share of $7.23 versus the $6.57 consensus and revenue of $111.72 billion, above the $109.57 billion forecast. The insurer lifted its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to more than...
Amazon One Medical Launches Nationwide GLP-1 Management Program Integrated with Primary Care
Amazon One Medical has launched a nationwide GLP‑1 obesity management program that embeds weight‑loss drugs within a full primary‑care model. The service, linked to Amazon Pharmacy, offers insurance‑backed pricing as low as $25 a month and cash‑pay options starting at...
New Patient Chatbot Tackles AI's Failing Triage Accuracy
Japanese startup Ubie launched Ubie Consult, a free AI‑driven chatbot that guides patients on whether to self‑manage or seek professional care. Built on a large language model trained with peer‑reviewed medical literature and clinical guidelines, the tool flags high‑risk symptoms like...
Early Myocarditis Onset After Immunotherapy May Predict Treatment-Related Fatality
A new analysis of WHO VigiBase data presented at the AACR 2026 meeting shows that immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)‑induced myocarditis occurring within the first month of therapy dramatically increases the risk of death. Patients who develop myocarditis early are 59%...
Bullying and Adverse Social Climate Take Measurable Toll on Mental Health of Gender-Diverse Youth: Study
UCLA Health researchers analyzed data from the large Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study and found that gender‑diverse adolescents experience higher rates of bullying and psychotic‑like experiences (PLEs) than their peers. Bullying accounted for about 18 % of the mental‑health gap, indicating...
Exposure to Wildfire Smoke May Be Linked to Increased Risk of Developing Several Cancers
A study presented at the AACR 2026 meeting links long‑term exposure to wildfire smoke to markedly higher risks of several cancers. Analyzing 91,460 participants from the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial, researchers found each 1 µg/m³ rise in wildfire‑related PM2.5 increased lung...
Intralesional Nivolumab May Be Effective Against Precancerous Oral Lesions, Phase I Trial Results Indicate
A Phase I trial presented at AACR 2026 showed that injecting low‑dose nivolumab directly into precancerous oral lesions produced an 85% clinical response rate, with lesions shrinking an average of 60% and 41% achieving histologic downgrading. Patients received 10 mg or 20 mg...
Patient-Surgeon Sex Mismatch Doesn’t Drive Disparities in Cardiac Surgery
A new analysis of 223,065 Medicare cardiac surgery patients found that surgeon‑patient sex mismatch does not affect 30‑day or five‑year mortality and morbidity. Whether a male or female surgeon operated on a male or female patient showed no independent association...
Judge Postpones OxyContin-Maker Purdue Pharma’s Sentencing to Let Opioid Victims Attend in Person
U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo postponed Purdue Pharma’s criminal sentencing to allow opioid‑crisis victims to attend the hearing in person. The original sentencing, slated for a videoconference, was moved to the following Tuesday after protesters gathered outside the Newark...
More than 70% of CFOs Report Margins of 2% or Less
A recent LeanTaaS survey of 100 U.S. hospital CFOs reveals that 72% are operating with profit margins of 2% or less, a level comparable to low‑margin retail. The primary pressures stem from declining reimbursement rates, reduced government funding, rising labor...
Combining Cannabis with Opioids Offers No Added Pain Relief for Knee Arthritis Patients, Study Concludes
Researchers conducted a double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial with 21 knee‑osteoarthritis patients to evaluate whether dronabinol, a synthetic THC, enhances the analgesic effect of hydromorphone. The study found that neither drug alone, nor their combination, produced meaningful acute pain relief during laboratory...
Creating Smart Hospital Rooms with Computer Vision
Artisight is deploying computer‑vision technology to turn hospital rooms into smart, sensor‑rich environments. The system continuously watches patient movement and vital signs, instantly alerting nurses to falls, wandering or medication mismatches. Early pilots show a 30% faster response to critical...
Education Creates Inroads for Concurrent Pediatric Care
At the ELEVATE conference, hospice leaders highlighted that many clinicians still lack awareness of concurrent hospice and palliative care for seriously ill children, a model that allows curative treatment to continue alongside hospice services. They argued that targeted education and...
How Computer Vision Fits Into a Smart Hospital Room
Artisight’s Chief Nursing Officer Karie Ryan outlined the company’s ambient intelligence platform that fuses audio, video, sensor data and computer‑vision algorithms into a single smart hospital room. The solution continuously monitors patients and staff, automatically detecting safety risks such as...
Tortugas Takes Neuro Deep Dive with $106M to Develop Eisai, Hansoh Programs
Tortugas, a Massachusetts‑based biotech, launched with $106 million in seed and Series A funding, securing clinical assets from Japan’s Eisai and China’s Hansoh Pharmaceutical. The capital will support two mid‑stage, oral small‑molecule trials targeting CNS disorders such as schizophrenia, tinnitus, and focal...
NIMBLE Trial Shows Efficacy of Cemdisiran in gMG: Tuan Vu, MD
The phase 3 NIMBLE trial evaluated cemdisiran, an RNA‑interference therapy, in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). Over 26 weeks, cemdisiran monotherapy and its combination with pozelimab both achieved statistically significant improvements on the MG‑ADL scale versus placebo, and met the key...
Does Medicaid Expansion Help or Hurt Hospital Finances?
A new CEPR issue brief finds that Medicaid expansion under the ACA has generally bolstered hospital finances. Expansion states saw a roughly 5% drop in uncompensated care costs and a modest rise in insured emergency‑room visits. Most hospitals reported 2‑3%...
Boehringer Targets AI-Driven Advances in Disease Research
Boehringer Ingelheim announced a £150 million (US$203 million) AI and machine‑learning accelerator in King’s Cross, London, expanding its global computational R&D network. The new hub, part of the UK Knowledge Quarter, will focus on disease biology, target identification and predictive modeling to...
Silence in Health Care Still Kills: Communication Failures Continue to Threaten Patients and Health Care Innovation
A new national survey of 3,500 clinicians and administrators, dubbed "Silence Kills 2.0," reveals that while speaking up has risen to 32% of respondents, a majority still remain silent about unsafe practices. The study finds 40% of staff witness rule violations...
BioAge Reports Positive Phase 1 Data for BGE-102
BioAge Labs announced Phase 1 results for BGE‑102, an oral, brain‑penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor, showing up to 86% reductions in high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hsCRP) in obese participants. A 60 mg once‑daily regimen over 21 days achieved biomarker improvements comparable to the previously tested...
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[Comment] Is Partial Complement Blockade Enough in Myasthenia Gravis?
The past eight years have seen a rapid expansion of targeted therapies for generalized myasthenia gravis, including complement C5 inhibitors, neonatal Fc receptor antagonists, and the anti‑CD19 B‑cell‑depleting antibody inebilizumab. Clinical trials have demonstrated meaningful reductions in disease activity, prompting...
Alesi Surgical Raises £7M to Clear the Air in Operating Theatres with Next-Gen Smoke Management Tech
Alesi Surgical announced a £7 million ($9 million) funding round led by IW Capital to accelerate its Ultravision smoke‑management platform. The technology uses electrostatic precipitation to clear surgical smoke up to 225‑times faster than conventional suction, already deployed in over 50,000 minimally...
Blue Shield of California Taps Chief Pharmacy Officer
Blue Shield of California has appointed Hayley Park as senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer. Park, formerly vice president of pharmacy operations at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, will oversee the insurer’s prescription‑drug programs and the Pharmacy Care Reimagined initiative....
The Next Era of Payment Integrity: Earlier Clinical Validation, True Transparency
Health plans are moving payment integrity left by applying clinical and coding validation before claims are paid. The industry faces over $200 billion in annual waste and abuse, and legacy post‑pay processes consume a third of integrity resources. Leveraging domain‑specific AI...
BHN Spring 2026 Issue
The Spring 2026 issue of Behavioral Health News spotlights the expanding role of peer services across the behavioral health continuum. It features a collection of articles that examine peer integration in crisis response, outpatient programs, workplace mental health, and state‑level...
Re: Alzheimer’s Drugs Targeting Amyloid Do Not Produce Clinically Meaningful Effects, Concludes Cochrane Review
A recent Cochrane review concluded that amyloid‑targeting drugs for Alzheimer’s disease do not deliver clinically meaningful benefits, prompting disappointment among researchers, investors, and caregivers. In a BMJ rapid response, emeritus professors Elaine and Robert Perry argue that cholinergic therapy—available for...
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About a Purdue Pharma Settlement, a Setback for Merck and Eisai, and More
Pfizer executive Andrew Baum, a former Citibank analyst who joined in June 2024, has left his EVP and chief strategy role but will stay on as an adviser to CEO Albert Bourla through the end of the year. His departure...
Sun Pharma’s ‘Heart Ke Liye 8’ Campaign Crosses 24.1 Million Views
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ "Heart ke Liye 8 – Making India Heart Strong" campaign has amassed 24.1 million views since its February launch, leveraging YouTube, Meta, connected TV and health‑tech platforms to promote eight daily habits for cardiovascular wellness. The initiative dovetails...
Merck, Eisai’s Keytruda Triplet Fails to Improve Survival in Kidney Cancer
Merck and Eisai announced that their Phase 3 LITESPARK‑012 trial of a three‑drug regimen—Keytruda, Welireg and Lenvima—failed to improve overall survival or progression‑free survival in first‑line renal cell carcinoma. The control arm received the approved Keytruda‑Lenvima doublet, which also did not...
Revenue Isn’t the Signal: What Early-Stage Health Tech Investors Should Be Watching Instead
Claire Smith of SpringTide Ventures argues that early‑stage health‑tech investors should look beyond headline revenue. She emphasizes customer adoption, sales motion, and scalability within regulated systems as stronger predictors of success. Early contracts may be modest but valuable if they...
SaNOtize - 727784 - 04/17/2026
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to SaNOtize, the maker of “NOWONDER™ Nasal Cleanser,” on April 17, 2026. The agency determined the product is an unapproved new drug because its labeling and website claim nitric‑oxide‑based immune benefits, violating sections 505(a)...
Pro Numb Tattoo Numbing Spray, LLC - 722589 - 04/14/2026
The FDA issued a warning letter to Pro Numb Tattoo Numbing Spray, LLC for multiple Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) violations, including failure to test finished drug batches, inadequate raw‑material verification, and lack of stability data. The firm also marketed...
Where Utah’s Experiment with AI Doctors Is Headed Next
Utah has launched a regulatory sandbox that lets AI-driven health platforms prescribe medications under physician oversight, a move that bypasses typical federal restrictions. The state allocated roughly $5 million to attract startups such as Babylon Health and AIMD for pilot programs...
Incyte Discloses New TYK2 And/Or JAK1 Inhibitors
Incyte announced the discovery of a new series of small‑molecule inhibitors that selectively target TYK2 and JAK1, two kinases central to cytokine signaling in autoimmune disorders. The compounds demonstrated sub‑nanomolar potency in cell‑based assays and favorable safety margins in early...