Pharma

AstraZeneca, Slush, patient outcomes, cross-sector partnerships, innovation
By  Tammy Lovell 02:16 pm September 28, 2021
Pharma giant AstraZeneca is providing a new platform for innovators to discuss health innovation insights through interactive founder roundtables. The first of two virtual events last week, in collaboration with startup event organisers Slush, explored how innovation can help rebuild healthcare. It also highlighted how collaboration improve patient outcomes and address unmet needs. New startups...
Researcher using data
By  Laura Lovett 11:50 am September 13, 2021
With an eye on the oncology space, Israeli startup Medial EarlySign has inked a deal with pharma giant Roche Diagnostics International to commercialize an artificial intelligence tool that helps detect cancer early. As part of the collaboration agreement, the pair will develop, clinically validate and then commercialize the product.  Initially the companies will focus on the gastric cancer space...
Doctor takes patient's blood pressure
By  Laura Lovett 03:23 pm September 10, 2021
For decades, the medical and life science communities have discussed boosting diversity in clinical trials. However, research today is still coming up short. According to a 2019 JAMA study, out of 230 trials leading to FDA oncology drug approvals over the past decade, race was only reported by 63%.  “We would want representation of trial participants to reflect the population of the disease that'...
SesameRx pill bottle
By  Mallory Hackett 12:15 pm August 31, 2021
Sesame, a direct-payment healthcare marketplace, has added an online pharmacy to its platform with prescriptions starting at $5 with free delivery. The new service is called SesameRx and features nearly 200 FDA-approved generic medications for conditions such as allergies, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, ADHD, insomnia and more. To create the new platform, Sesame partnered with digital...
Doctor and patient
By  Laura Lovett 01:13 pm August 26, 2021
Alphabet’s life science subsidiary Verily is teaming up with the Mayo Clinic on a new effort to develop a digital point-of-care clinical decision support tool. The partnership will start by zeroing in on cardiometabolic conditions, and is directed at contextualizing information and giving care guidelines to clinicians.  In the partnership, the Mayo Clinic will be responsible for the clinical...
Podcast guest Peter Hames
By  MobiHealthNews 02:06 pm August 20, 2021
For a long time, the standard of care in mental and behavioral health has been some combination of pharmaceuticals and talk therapy. But with FDA-cleared, rigorously vetted digital health apps, there's a new piece of the puzzle, and it has the potential to combine the advantages of therapy with the scalability of drugs. In this episode of HIMSSCast, Big Health CEO Peter Hames joins host Jonah...
scientist in a lab
By  Laura Lovett 04:27 pm August 13, 2021
The pharma world is now looking to digital tools to help facilitate everything from patient adherence to decentralized clinical trials. AstraZeneca has been in the digital game for some time. The life science giant recently teamed up with health system Mass General Brigham to help create and clinically validate patient-centric digital health solutions.  The collaboration used the pharma company’s...
Ensemble
By  Laura Lovett 02:50 pm July 22, 2021
Happify Health is launching its first prescription digital therapeutic (PDTx), called Ensemble, which will focus on treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  Unlike Happify’s other products, Ensemble has to be prescribed by a clinician. Patients are able to use the smartphone or computer in order to tap into the therapeutic. The PDTx is focused on helping...
Doctor with hologram
By  Dr. Liz Kwo 04:29 pm July 1, 2021
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping healthcare, and its use is becoming a reality in many medical fields and specialties. AI, machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning (DL) enable healthcare stakeholders and medical professionals to identify healthcare needs and solutions faster with more accuracy, using data patterns to make informed medical or business...
The law
By  Laura Lovett 12:52 pm June 16, 2021
The FDA has rejected Verily's Parkinson's disease-focused clinical trial tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of certain interventions, on the premise that it has limited ability to capture the full picture of a patient's capacities. The tool, dubbed the Virtual Motor Exam for Parkinson's disease, runs on the FDA-cleared Verily Study Watch and was designed to digitally assess a patient's...