Top Story
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Brainstorm’s ALS Data Fail to Persuade FDA Advisors, Who Vote Down the Stem Cell Therapy
NurOwn, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics’ experimental stem cell therapy for ALS, did not win the backing of an independent panel of FDA advisors. Many advisory committee members said they want to see more data from another clinical trial, the same guidance the FDA has given the biotech for nearly three years.
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Virgin Pulse, HealthComp To Merge Through $3B Deal
As a combined entity, Virgin Pulse and HealthComp will serve more than 1,000 self-insured employers and more than 20 million members. New Mountain Capital will be the majority owner.
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The Vibe at Vive: Homethrive
Dave Jacobs, co-founder of Homethrive, shared details of how his company supports caregivers.
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Evvy Secures $14M for Vaginal Healthcare Platform
Evvy’s $14 million funding round was led by Left Lane Capital and included participation from General Catalyst, LabCorp Venture Fund, RH Capital, Ingeborg Investments, G9 Ventures, Virtue and Amboy Street Ventures. In total, Evvy has raised $19 million.
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Cartwheel Snags $20M For School-based Mental Health Services
Cartwheel, a startup that partners with school districts to provide virtual mental health services, raised $20 million in Series A funds. The company is working with about 50 school districts and charter school networks across Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
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CMS: MA Premiums To Remain the Same for Most Beneficiaries in 2024
The average monthly plan premium for Medicare Advantage is expected to increase only slightly in 2024 from 2023, CMS said. About 73% of beneficiaries will see no increase at all.
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Consumer / Employer, Health Tech
Costco Takes On Healthcare, Though Differently From Other Retailers, Experts Say
Costco is partnering with Sesame to offer Costco Members discounted pricing on virtual health services, including primary care and mental health. But the move is a little different from other retailers like CVS Health and Walgreens.
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After NASH Hopes Are Dashed, Intercept Pharma Agrees to $794M Buyout
Intercept Pharmaceuticals’ acquisition by Alfasigma comes three months after the FDA again rejected the biotech’s drug as a treatment for the fatty liver disease NASH. But Intercept still has rare liver disease assets, and Italy-based Alfasigma says acquiring the company will help it expand in gastroenterology and hepatology.
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Intermountain CEO: You Don’t Have To Be a Payvider to Reach Scale in VBC
The advancement of value-based care cannot and should not exist solely in a payvider model, Intermountain Health CEO Rob Allen argued in an interview last week. Having its own health plan made things “a little easier” when Intermountain began getting serious about at-risk contracts, but achieving success in value-based care “is more about your commitment to the approach” and forging strong relationships with payers of all types.
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MedCity Pivot Podcast: Tackling Rare Disease With Someone Who Was Touched By It
Rich Horgan believes that there’s an alternative path to drug development that can lower costs and the time it takes to bring drugs to market. He is trying to apply it to the field of rare and ultra-rare diseases.
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Digital Therapeutics: A Panacea for Care or Overvalued Health Tech?
Digital therapeutics will be one of the topics discussed at INVEST Digital Health scheduled for October 26 at Health Wildcatters headquarters in Pegasus Park in Dallas. Register today!
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Study: MA Beneficiaries Have Lower Utilization Than Traditional Medicare
A new study found that MA beneficiaries have more than 50% fewer inpatient stays and 22% fewer emergency department visits than traditional Medicare enrollees.
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Pharma, Artificial Intelligence, BioPharma
Novo Nordisk Turns to Flagship’s Valo Health for AI-Driven Cardio Drug R&D
Novo Nordisk is paying Valo Health $60 million up front to gain three preclinical cardiovascular disease programs. Milestone payments for those programs and others covered under the artificial intelligence drug discovery pact could reach up to $2.7 billion.
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Nursing Homes, Beware! Supreme Court Greenlights Civil Lawsuits to Enforce FNHRA
The Supreme Court’s recent summer decision in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, et al. v. Talevski has raised the stakes for nursing homes by ruling that private litigants may bring civil claims against facilities to recover damages for violations of certain provisions of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (FNHRA). This decision provides powerful incentives for nursing homes and other facilities subject to the FNHRA to enhance their monitoring and compliance processes.