MedCity News

BMS, bluebird get sped-up review for multiple myeloma CAR-T cell therapy

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 19:49:00 GMT

The companies said Tuesday that the FDA had accepted their application for idecabtagene vicleucel, which they resubmitted in July after the agency initially refused to file it in May. The action date is in March of next year.

Illumina to acquire early cancer detection startup Grail for $8B

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:57:34 GMT

Illumina originally spun off Grail in early 2017. Grail plans to launch its test for early detection of cancers, Galleri, next year. Illumina already owns 14.5% of the company, which it started in 2016.

Today at INVEST Digital Health virtual Day 2: Tackling behavioral health challenges and the ...

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:42:39 GMT

Tackling the loneliness epidemic, workplace stress, and other behavioral health challenges and the innovative tools developed to address these needs will be the focus of a panel discussion. Also, startups focused on improving payer provider efficiency will present to investor judges as part of the Pitch Perfect contest.

MedCity Pivot Podcast: A conversation with AstraZeneca’s U.S. ...

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:30:43 GMT

In this episode of MedCity Pivot podcast, we talk with Camille Hertzka, AstraZeneca’s U.S. Head of Medical Affairs Oncology, about the clinical study findings on lung cancer presented at ESMO and the rapidly changing landscape for lung cancer treatment.

Bright Health raises $500M, plans expansion into employer-based insurance

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 10:00:12 GMT

After raising $635 million last year, insurance startup Bright Health brought in another $500 million led by three private equity firms. Starting next year, the company said it will offer small-group plans and services for self-insured companies.

How Covid-19 is driving regional innovation in digital health

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 23:11:13 GMT

In line with the persistent shift to remote medicine, we are seeing innovation happening in more distributed medical technology regions.

Mayo’s Chief Digital Officer: The hospital of the future isn’t just about technology

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 22:26:49 GMT

Mayo Clinic’s new chief digital officer sees an opportunity to improve the patient experience and more broadly change how healthcare is delivered. Coming regulatory changes around price transparency and telehealth coverage are also expected to change patient care.

La FDA, c’est moi: In memo, HHS’ Azar asserts power to sign new rules, traditionally ...

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 15:42:24 GMT

The New York Times reported that in a memo, Alex Azar stated that the power to sign new rules is “reserved” for him, a move that one expert called a “power grab.” It is unclear how it will affect authorizations of vaccines against the coronavirus.

Amgen publishes, presents data on therapy with ‘undruggable’ target

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:43:47 GMT

Sotorasib, a KRAS G12C inhibitor, showed an overall response rate and duration of response that analysts called approvable, but they noted the results have waned over time, and combinations may be the way forward.

On the agenda for INVEST Digital Health virtual Day 1: Hospital innovation and startups for ...

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 11:57:10 GMT

The day will include a panel discussion, How Hospital Innovation is Changing Amidst a Pandemic, and the first day of our startup contest Pitch Perfect.

Roche drug that previously failed in Covid-19 pneumonia shows efficacy in Phase III study

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 16:00:40 GMT

Actemra reduced the percentage of patients with Covid-19 pneumonia who progressed to requiring mechanical ventilation, but did not show an improvement in mortality, time to discharge or improvement on an ordinal scale of clinical status. Results of the Phase III COVACTA study, announced in July, were negative.

Mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on Medicare Advantage risk scores and payment

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 14:00:56 GMT

The impact of delayed care among MA members goes beyond lower-than-forecasted risk scores and decreased plan payments.

2020 may be the year from hell, but health tech IPO boom continues

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 14:00:47 GMT

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, rising unemployment, and 2020’s other woes, healthcare technology firms continue to go public. So far, six health tech firms have already gone public in 2020.

5 startups seeking to improve payer/provider efficiency will be in the spotlight at INVEST ...

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 11:57:19 GMT

Startups in the category include removing financial barriers for their patients to automating workflows and reducing inefficiency and waste associated with the Prior Authorization process

StartUPDATES: New developments from healthcare startups

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:56:13 GMT

Check out news from healthcare and life science startups including Carrum Health, Totient, Spine Align, and more.

Dental and health insurance are converging. Here’s what it means for patients and payers

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 21:09:22 GMT

With the momentum for bundling with health plans growing and competition from ancillary insurers heating up, only those dental health insurance providers who take proactive steps to stake out a place for themselves in this competitive landscape will thrive as convergence accelerates.

Mental health care is suffering during the pandemic; new data shows how much

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 20:51:21 GMT

An analysis of health care claims during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in the New York City metro area suggests concerning trends in behavioral health care utilization among Americans who need that care most.

Olive raises $106M to automate administrative tasks

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 18:42:47 GMT

General Catalyst, which invested in Olive earlier this spring, led the funding round. Existing investor Drive Capital also co-led the round.

Pfizer follows Moderna’s suit in releasing Covid-19 vaccine study protocol

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 15:26:44 GMT

Protocols – essentially the blueprints for clinical trials – are typically kept under wraps until studies are complete, but Pfizer and Moderna have made the ones for their SARS-CoV-2 trials public in a transparency push.

Amwell raises $742M in upsized IPO

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 01:05:26 GMT

Telehealth company Amwell went public on Thursday in an upsized IPO. Its stock debuted at $18 per share, above its previous target price of $14 to $16.