Centene Hikes 2026 Profit Guidance After Buoyant Q1
Centene posted Q1 adjusted earnings of $3.37 per share, far surpassing analysts’ $2.25‑$2.30 expectations, driven by rate hikes that offset a 2‑million drop in ACA enrollment. Net profit rose 18% to $1.5 billion on revenue of $49.9 billion, prompting the company to lift its 2026 EPS outlook to more than $3.40. The insurer’s Medicaid and Medicare divisions showed improving medical loss ratios, while its silver‑tier ACA members became sicker, positioning Centene to benefit from risk‑adjustment payments. Management remains cautious, citing ongoing ACA subsidy uncertainty and a goal of breakeven margins by 2027.
Pfizer Deals Extend Patent Life for a Top-Selling Rare Disease Drug
Pfizer announced settlements with Dexcel Pharma, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Cipla that push the patent expiry of its rare‑disease drug Vyndamax to June 1, 2031. The deals delay generic tafamidis entry, keeping U.S. sales stable through the early 2030s after the company warned...
U.S. Government Will Stop Paying for Test Strips to Detect Deadly Drugs
The Trump administration announced that SAMHSA will stop paying for fentanyl test strips, reversing a policy that began in 2021. The agency says the strips encourage drug use, prompting a letter to states and grant recipients. The change unsettles programs...
Asian American Communities Report Delaying Care Due to Cost, Recent Immigration Policies
A nationwide electronic survey of 1,027 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults revealed major gaps in screening and treatment for hepatitis B, diabetes, and tuberculosis. While 90% reported a primary‑care physician, only 40% had been screened for hepatitis B and...
Restylane, Sculptra Combo Improves Skin Dryness, Collagen Loss for Menopausal Women
Interim data from two investigator‑initiated trials show that a sequential regimen of Restylane Skinboosters followed by Sculptra markedly improves skin hydration, firmness and collagen density in menopausal women. The 9‑month study reported peak patient satisfaction at month six, with measurable...
FDA Grants Clearance for Avatar Medical Vision
Avatar Medical has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Avatar Medical Vision platform, enabling instant 3D processing of CT and MR images for surgical planning. The software supports glasses‑free 3D displays, virtual reality and integrates with Barco’s Eonis monitor, allowing...
Scientists May Have Finally Created a Male Birth Control Pill—So Far, It Shows Very Few Side Effects
YourChoice Therapeutics reported that its experimental male contraceptive pill YCT‑529 was well‑tolerated in a Phase 1 trial of 16 healthy, vasectomized men. The non‑hormonal compound halted sperm production without altering testosterone, heart rate, mood, or sexual desire. Pre‑clinical work in mice...
Frequency of Medical Liability Lawsuits Is Declining, but Risk Remains for Doctors: AMA
The American Medical Association’s latest Physician Practice Benchmark Survey shows that the proportion of doctors sued at least once dropped to 28.7% in 2024 from 31.2% in 2022, indicating a modest decline in medical‑liability lawsuits. However, litigation risk remains concentrated...
Iowa FD's Whole Blood Pilot Program Proves Worth with Stabbing Victim
The Des Moines Fire Department launched a pilot that equips ambulances with whole‑blood units and transfusion kits, allowing paramedics to start life‑saving transfusions before hospital arrival. In February, a paramedic used the system on a stabbing victim, delivering blood on...
5 Costly IP Mistakes to Avoid
The article outlines five costly intellectual‑property mistakes that medical‑device innovators frequently make, from relying on a single patent to neglecting global filings and broader brand protection. It stresses building a “picket fence” of patents that cover the core device, components,...
Mental Health Chatbots Raise Serious Ethical Concerns, Review Warns
A new peer‑reviewed study in Digital Health warns that mental‑health chatbots are outpacing ethical oversight. The authors identify four major risks: limited human involvement, a weak evidence base, extensive data‑privacy concerns, and the potential for undisclosed criminal activity. They argue...
STAT+: Supreme Court to Hear Case About ‘Skinny Labeling’ and Generic Access
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a case involving “skinny labeling,” a practice where generic manufacturers seek approval to market a drug for only a subset of its approved uses. By limiting the label, generics aim to...
CEOs Face Congressional Hearing on High Hospital Prices
Four hospital CEOs testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about soaring hospital prices, which have risen roughly 300% over the past two decades. Committee Chair Jason Smith highlighted that 2,000 of the nation’s 4,500 hospitals have merged, giving...
ACA Market Dynamics Cost HCA $150M in Q1
HCA Healthcare posted a modest 0.6% rise in Q1 net income to $1.6 billion and a 4.3% revenue increase to $19.1 billion. A milder-than‑expected respiratory season slashed related admissions by 42% and ER visits by 32%, curbing volume growth. Storms disrupted markets...
Moderna Deploys Salesforce Agentforce Life Sciences to Unify Global Commercial Operations
Moderna has chosen Salesforce’s Agentforce Life Sciences platform to unify its global commercial operations. The solution will merge data from SAP, e‑commerce and regional systems into a single Customer 360 view, powered by IQVIA OneKey. AI‑driven agents will automate cycle planning,...
$739 Million Acquisition of XOMA Strengthens Ligand’s Biopharma Portfolio
Ligand Pharmaceuticals announced a $739 million acquisition of XOMA Royalty, expanding its royalty‑financing portfolio to over 200 assets. The deal adds more than 120 new royalty streams, including seven marketed drugs such as Vabysmo and Ojemda, and deepens exposure to oncology,...
Zimmer Biomet CFO Departs for New Job
Zimmer Biomet’s chief financial officer, Suketu Upadhyay, is leaving after seven years to become CFO of biotech firm Incyte. The orthopedics maker named controller Paul Stellato as interim CFO while it searches for a permanent replacement. In its first quarter,...
Rocket's PRV Goes for $180M; Oruka Targets $500M Offering
New Jersey‑based Rocket Pharmaceuticals sold its pediatric‑disease priority‑review voucher for $180 million, setting a near‑record price for such assets. The cash infusion strengthens Rocket’s balance sheet as it advances late‑stage gene‑therapy candidates. Meanwhile, biotech firm Oruka Therapeutics announced plans to raise...
Humanizing the Ultimate Balancing Act
The article argues that aligning radiology, IT, finance, and operations in healthcare requires treating stakeholders as humans, not adversaries. It highlights that each function has non‑negotiable priorities—quality and safety for radiology, security for IT, margin for finance, and throughput for...
Integrating a Waste Walk Into Technology Adoption: A Primer
Medical imaging leaders often adopt new scanners, AI tools or PACS without fully understanding the underlying workflow problems, leading to under‑utilization and missed KPI targets. A waste walk—rooted in Lean methodology—offers a low‑cost, observational approach that maps the entire value...
Natural Disasters Can Cause Another Crisis for Those Recovering From Opioid Addiction
Natural disasters such as Hurricane Helene are exposing a critical weakness in the U.S. opioid‑recovery system, leaving patients without essential medication like Suboxone. The storm forced patients to travel out of state and confront pharmacy shortages, illustrating how climate‑related emergencies...
Science in Space
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted the DNA Nano Therapeutics‑3 experiment in the Kibo laboratory’s Life Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. The study explores DNA‑inspired assembly techniques to fabricate nanostructured cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and...
Clinical Utility of the AITIS Model for Test-Free Identification of Sarcopenia in Patients with Stage IV–V Non-Dialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease
The study validates the Artificial Intelligence to Identify Sarcopenia (AITIS) model as a test‑free screening tool for sarcopenia in 236 patients with stage IV–V non‑dialysis chronic kidney disease. Using only age, sex, height, weight and 20 self‑reported functional items, AITIS achieved...
Association Between the Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio and Carotid Plaque: A Retrospective Cohort Study
A retrospective cohort of 5,985 Chinese adults followed for an average of 2.2 years found that a higher non‑HDL‑C to HDL‑C ratio (NHHR) independently predicts incident carotid plaque. Participants in the top NHHR quartile experienced a 64% greater hazard of...
Prognostic Value of the Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) Index for Renal Function Progression in Patients with CKD Stages 3–4
A multicenter retrospective cohort of 53,607 Chinese patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3‑4 found the triglyceride‑glucose (TyG) index to be an independent predictor of renal function progression. Each 1‑unit increase in TyG was linked to a 10% higher hazard,...
Early Combined Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Support for Patients over 80 Years Old with Non-Operative Intestinal Obstruction
A retrospective study of 191 patients over 80 with non‑operative intestinal obstruction compared early combined parenteral and enteral nutrition (ECPEN) to delayed combined nutrition (DCPEN). After 1:1 propensity score matching, 79 pairs showed that ECPEN led to shorter total parenteral...
Development of an Intelligent Food Nutrition Recognition and Nutrient Intake Assessment System in Hospital Settings
Researchers at Peking University People's Hospital created an AI‑driven food nutrition recognition system for therapeutic hospital meals. The platform combines RGB‑D imaging, the Segment Anything Model for segmentation, and a SE_ResNet50_vd classifier, achieving 99.2% accuracy in food type identification. Volume...
BeOne Medicines Licenses Trispecific Antibody Targeting PD-1, CTLA-4 and VEGF
BeOne Medicines, the rebranded former BeiGene, announced a licensing and option agreement to acquire a trispecific antibody that simultaneously targets PD‑1, CTLA‑4, and VEGF. The experimental biologic originates from a Chinese biotech and is positioned for development in solid‑tumor indications....
Economic Deprivation Led to Fewer Days at Home After Hip Fracture
A JAMA Network Open study of 52,012 Medicare hip‑fracture patients found that those living in the most economically deprived ZIP codes spent 23 fewer days at home during the year after surgery compared with peers in affluent areas. Mortality rose...
Med Ad Views Episode 07: Med Ad News 2026 Marketer on the Rise Recipient Dipa Sapre
Dipa Sapre, director of obesity HCP strategy at Novo Nordisk, was honored with the 2026 Marketer on the Rise Manny Award. In a Med Ad Views podcast, she discussed her career path across major pharma firms, the award‑winning obesity launch, and...
Empassion, Karoo Health Partner on Cardiac-to-Hospice Transitions
Empassion Health and Karoo Health announced a strategic partnership to smooth the transition from cardiac management to palliative and hospice care. The collaboration addresses the “gap” where patients with advanced heart disease are not yet eligible for hospice but traditional...
AACR 2026: Combo Therapies by Moderna, Marengo Show Promise in Skin, Breast Cancer
Combination regimens dominated AACR 2026, with biotech firms showcasing new cocktail data across multiple tumor types. Marengo Therapeutics reported that its dual‑T‑cell agonist invikafusp alfa combined with Gilead’s ADC Trodelvy produced complete or partial responses in 40% of heavily pretreated...
KLAS Finds Provider-Payer Collaborations Focused on Value-Based Care Workflows
KLAS’s 2026 Points of Light report shows that nearly 80% of award‑winning provider‑payer collaborations now target value‑based care workflows, up from 48% in 2025. The shift signals that basic interoperability has become a baseline, with success measured by financial and...
Executing Biologics Technology Transfer Through Integrated Operating Models
The article advocates replacing the traditional sequential biologics tech‑transfer model with an integrated operating model that colocates development, manufacturing, MSAT and quality teams. By running small‑scale experiments and large‑scale runs concurrently, organizations can observe scale‑dependent effects in real time and...
Turn on, Tune in, Cash Out … The US Right Used to Fear Psychedelics. Now It Wants to Sell Them...
President Donald Trump, flanked by RFK Jr and podcaster Joe Rogan, signed an executive order on April 18 to accelerate federal approval of psychedelic‑based medicines, with a particular focus on ibogaine. The move marks a dramatic reversal from the 1960s, when the U.S....
AI Builders Summit: Healthcare Boston 2026
The AI Builders Summit – Healthcare edition will convene in Boston in 2026, gathering AI startups, established tech giants, investors, and healthcare providers. Organized by a coalition focused on edge‑AI, the event aims to accelerate machine‑intelligence solutions that process clinical...
Lawsuit Accuses Former N.C. EMT of Taking Photos of Dying Patient
A North Carolina lawsuit filed on April 23 alleges former Onslow County EMT Megan Jenkins photographed a critically injured patient on Aug. 25, 2025, and later shared the images. The complaint claims the county ignored protocols by not securing Jenkins’ phone or investigating...
UnitedHealth’s Next Big Business Line? It Could Be AI Tools and Services
UnitedHealth Group is pouring roughly $1.5 billion into artificial‑intelligence initiatives this year, with a third earmarked for commercial software and services. Its Optum Insight unit already offers products such as Optum Real, which handles half‑billion transactions and aims for 2.5 billion by...
Rape, Sexual Assault and Long-Term Chronic Health Issues – Our New Study
New research using a large Danish cohort shows sexual assault dramatically raises the risk of chronic physical illnesses. Survivors are 69% more likely to report persistent somatic symptoms and six times more likely to develop widespread functional disorders such as...
Digitizing Medical Policy Alone Will Not Automate Prior Authorization at Scale
The CMS Interoperability & Prior Authorization rule now obliges health plans to digitize medical policies and expose them via FHIR APIs, but merely putting policies online hasn’t accelerated prior‑authorization turnaround. Availity’s EVP Matt Cunningham argues that true automation requires translating...
Probiotic Candidate Shows Potential to Suppress UTIs
Researchers reported that the probiotic strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri 3613‑1, which produces the antimicrobial compound reuterin, can inhibit key urinary and vaginal pathogens. In a randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial of 130 healthy women taking the probiotic daily for 24 weeks, the...
As Health Costs Hit Record Highs, Brokers Face a Structural Test
Health insurance premiums surged to their highest level in more than a decade, pushing employers to reevaluate benefit strategies. Over 60% of firms are now actively shopping carriers or pharmacy benefit managers, and nearly half are exploring level‑funded, ICHRA or...
Updated: AbbVie Flirts with Popular Pan-RAS Field in up to $1.45B Option to Acquire Kestrel
AbbVie has signed a deal giving it an option to acquire Kestrel Therapeutics for up to $1.45 billion, targeting Kestrel’s pan‑RAS inhibitor platform. The agreement includes an upfront payment and milestone‑based earn‑outs tied to regulatory and commercial milestones. Kestrel’s lead candidate,...
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About Warnings over Trump’s MFN Plan, Purdue Pharma Sentencing, and More
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan warned that President Trump’s most‑favored‑nation (MFN) drug‑pricing plan creates a "very difficult situation" for both manufacturers and patients. The policy ties U.S. Medicare and Medicaid prices to those in 19 reference countries, including Japan, potentially lowering revenues...
FDA Claims Trial 'Manipulation' Tainted Approval of ChemoCentryx Drug
The FDA has accused ChemoCentryx of manipulating key efficacy data in the pivotal Phase III trial that secured approval for its rheumatoid‑arthritis drug Tavneos. The agency says the new information renders the trial "tainted" and is moving to pull the treatment...
Novartis Dips As Generics Take A Bite Out Of Its First-Quarter Sales
Novartis reported first‑quarter sales of $13.11 billion, a 5% decline that missed the $13.44 billion consensus. Core earnings fell 13% to $1.99 per share, below analysts' $2.10 expectation. The company blamed U.S. generic erosion for the shortfall but kept its outlook for...
Devoted Health’s 2025 Revenue Slips in Turbulent Medicare Advantage Market
Devoted Health reported its first revenue decline since launching Medicare Advantage plans, with 2025 revenue slipping about 5% to roughly $2.1 billion. Membership also fell 3% to an estimated 500,000 seniors, marking the first net loss of enrollees in seven years....
LightForce Orthodontics Launches 3D Printed Metal Bracket
LightForce Orthodontics has launched LightBracket Metal, the first 3D‑printed metal bracket designed for individualized orthodontic care. The generative‑braces approach creates each appliance from a patient’s digital treatment plan, customizing six dimensions of the bracket. LightForce claims the system can cut...
Second-Career Nurses Could Be Healthcare’s Untapped Workforce
The nursing shortage is prompting health systems to tap a growing pool of second‑career nurses—adults who already hold a bachelor’s degree and bring professional experience. Direct‑entry master’s programs fast‑track these candidates through intensive, graduate‑level training, allowing them to become registered...
The US FDA Grants Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy Designation to GSK’s Bepirovirsen for Chronic Hepatitis B
The U.S. FDA has accepted GSK’s new drug application for bepirovirsen, granting both priority review and breakthrough therapy designation for chronic hepatitis B. The decision is based on Phase III B‑Well 1 and B‑Well 2 trials across 29 countries, which showed higher functional‑cure...