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Measles causes amnesia of the immune system

Posted in AI in healthcare, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, combination immunotherapies., Diagnostic Immunology, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Health Care System by Country, HealthCare IT, Healthcare Reform, Human Immune System in Health and in Disease, Immunodiagnostics, Immunology, Immunotherapy, Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Innovation in Immunology Diagnostics, Monoclonal Immunotherapy, Population Health Management, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Population Health Management, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, tagged immune amnesia, immune system, infection, Mortality rate, vaccines on November 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

One of the most contagious diseases known to humankind, measles killed an average of 2.6 million people each year before a vaccine was developed, according to the World Health Organization. Widespread vaccination has slashed the death toll. However, lack of access to vaccination and refusal to get vaccinated means measles still infects more than 7 million people and kills more than 100,000 each year worldwide as reported by WHO. The cases are on the rise, tripling in early 2019 and some experience well-known long-term consequences, including brain damage and vision and hearing loss. Previous epidemiological research into immune amnesia suggests that death rates attributed to measles could be even higher, accounting for as much as 50 percent of all childhood mortality.

Over the last decade, evidence has mounted that the measles vaccine protects in two ways. It prevents the well-known acute illness with spots and fever and also appears to protect from other infections over the long term by giving general boost to the immune system. The measles virus can impair the body’s immune memory, causing so-called immune amnesia. By protecting against measles infection, the vaccine prevents the body from losing or “forgetting” its immune memory and preserves its resistance to other infections. Researchers showed that the measles virus wipes out 11% to 73% of the different antibodies that protect against viral and bacterial strains a person was previously immune to like from influenza to herpes virus to bacteria that cause pneumonia and skin infections.

This study at Harvard Medical School and their collaborators is the first to measure the immune damage caused by the virus and underscores the value of preventing measles infection through vaccination. The discovery that measles depletes people’s antibody repertoires, partially obliterating immune memory to most previously encountered pathogens, supports the immune amnesia hypothesis. It was found that those who survive measles gradually regain their previous immunity to other viruses and bacteria as they get re-exposed to them. But because this process may take months to years, people remain vulnerable in the meantime to serious complications of those infections and thus booster shots of routine vaccines may be required.

VirScan detects antiviral and antibacterial antibodies in the blood that result from current or past encounters with viruses and bacteria, giving an overall snapshot of the immune system. Researchers gathered blood samples from unvaccinated children during a 2013 measles outbreak in the Netherlands and used VirScan to measure antibodies before and two months after infection in 77 children who’d contracted the disease. The researchers also compared the measurements to those of 115 uninfected children and adults. Researchers found a striking drop in antibodies from other pathogens in the measles-infected children that clearly suggested a direct effect on the immune system resembling measles-induced immune amnesia.

Further tests revealed that severe measles infection reduced people’s overall immunity more than mild infection. This could be particularly problematic for certain categories of children and adults, the researchers said. The present study observed the effects in previously healthy children only. But, measles is known to hit malnourished children much harder, the degree of immune amnesia and its effects could be even more severe in less healthy populations. Inoculation with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine did not impair children’s overall immunity. The results align with decades of research. Ensuring widespread vaccination against measles would not only help prevent the expected 120,000 deaths that will be directly attributed to measles this year alone, but could also avert potentially hundreds of thousands of additional deaths attributable to the lasting damage to the immune system.

References:

https://hms.harvard.edu/news/inside-immune-amnesia?utm_source=Silverpop

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6465/599

www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/measles-data-2019/en/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20636817

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27157064

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30797735

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Artificial Intelligence and Cardiovascular Disease

Posted in Acute Myocardial Infarction, AI in healthcare, Artificial Intelligence - Breakthroughs in Theories and Technologies, Artificial Intelligence - General, Artificial intelligence applications for cardiology, Artificial Intelligence Applications in Health Care, Artificial Intelligence in Health Care - Tools & Innovations, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Application for Diagnosis, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Applications in Therapeutics, Cardiovascular and Vascular Systems, Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics, Cardiovascular Research, Cardiovascular Tissue, congestive heart failure, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Electronic Health Record, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, HealthCare IT, Heart Failure (HF), Medical Imaging Technology, Medical Imaging Technology, Image Processing/Computing, MRI, CT, Nuclear Medicine, Ultra Sound, MRI, Population Health Management, Rare heart rhythm disorders and Long QT syndrome (LQTS), tagged Artificial intelligence, Cardiovascular disease, CT scans, Electrocardiography, MRI imaging, PET Scan on July 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Artificial Intelligence and Cardiovascular Disease

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

Cardiology is a vast field that focuses on a large number of diseases specifically dealing with the heart, the circulatory system, and its functions. As such, similar symptomatologies and diagnostic features may be present in an individual, making it difficult for a doctor to easily isolate the actual heart-related problem. Consequently, the use of artificial intelligence aims to relieve doctors from this hurdle and extend better quality to patients. Results of screening tests such as echocardiograms, MRIs, or CT scans have long been proposed to be analyzed using more advanced techniques in the field of technology. As such, while artificial intelligence is not yet widely-used in clinical practice, it is seen as the future of healthcare.

The continuous development of the technological sector has enabled the industry to merge with medicine in order to create new integrated, reliable, and efficient methods of providing quality health care. One of the ongoing trends in cardiology at present is the proposed utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in augmenting and extending the effectiveness of the cardiologist. This is because AI or machine-learning would allow for an accurate measure of patient functioning and diagnosis from the beginning up to the end of the therapeutic process. In particular, the use of artificial intelligence in cardiology aims to focus on research and development, clinical practice, and population health. Created to be an all-in-one mechanism in cardiac healthcare, AI technologies incorporate complex algorithms in determining relevant steps needed for a successful diagnosis and treatment. The role of artificial intelligence specifically extends to the identification of novel drug therapies, disease stratification or statistics, continuous remote monitoring and diagnostics, integration of multi-omic data, and extension of physician effectivity and efficiency.

Artificial intelligence – specifically a branch of it called machine learning – is being used in medicine to help with diagnosis. Computers might, for example, be better at interpreting heart scans. Computers can be ‘trained’ to make these predictions. This is done by feeding the computer information from hundreds or thousands of patients, plus instructions (an algorithm) on how to use that information. This information is heart scans, genetic and other test results, and how long each patient survived. These scans are in exquisite detail and the computer may be able to spot differences that are beyond human perception. It can also combine information from many different tests to give as accurate a picture as possible. The computer starts to work out which factors affected the patients’ outlook, so it can make predictions about other patients.

In current medical practice, doctors will use risk scores to make treatment decisions for their cardiac patients. These are based on a series of variables like weight, age and lifestyle. However, they do not always have the desired levels of accuracy. A particular example of the use of artificial examination in cardiology is the experimental study on heart disease patients, published in 2017. The researchers utilized cardiac MRI-based algorithms coupled with a 3D systolic cardiac motion pattern to accurately predict the health outcomes of patients with pulmonary hypertension. The experiment proved to be successful, with the technology being able to pick-up 30,000 points within the heart activity of 250 patients. With the success of the aforementioned study, as well as the promise of other researches on artificial intelligence, cardiology is seemingly moving towards a more technological practice.

One study was conducted in Finland where researchers enrolled 950 patients complaining of chest pain, who underwent the centre’s usual scanning protocol to check for coronary artery disease. Their outcomes were tracked for six years following their initial scans, over the course of which 24 of the patients had heart attacks and 49 died from all causes. The patients first underwent a coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) scan, which yielded 58 pieces of data on the presence of coronary plaque, vessel narrowing and calcification. Patients whose scans were suggestive of disease underwent a positron emission tomography (PET) scan which produced 17 variables on blood flow. Ten clinical variables were also obtained from medical records including sex, age, smoking status and diabetes. These 85 variables were then entered into an artificial intelligence (AI) programme called LogitBoost. The AI repeatedly analysed the imaging variables, and was able to learn how the imaging data interacted and identify the patterns which preceded death and heart attack with over 90% accuracy. The predictive performance using the ten clinical variables alone was modest, with an accuracy of 90%. When PET scan data was added, accuracy increased to 92.5%. The predictive performance increased significantly when CCTA scan data was added to clinical and PET data, with accuracy of 95.4%.

Another study findings showed that applying artificial intelligence (AI) to the electrocardiogram (ECG) enables early detection of left ventricular dysfunction and can identify individuals at increased risk for its development in the future. Asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD) is characterised by the presence of a weak heart pump with a risk of overt heart failure. It is present in three to six percent of the general population and is associated with reduced quality of life and longevity. However, it is treatable when found. Currently, there is no inexpensive, noninvasive, painless screening tool for ALVD available for diagnostic use. When tested on an independent set of 52,870 patients, the network model yielded values for the area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.93, 86.3 percent, 85.7 percent, and 85.7 percent, respectively. Furthermore, in patients without ventricular dysfunction, those with a positive AI screen were at four times the risk of developing future ventricular dysfunction compared with those with a negative screen.

In recent years, the analysis of big data database combined with computer deep learning has gradually played an important role in biomedical technology. For a large number of medical record data analysis, image analysis, single nucleotide polymorphism difference analysis, etc., all relevant research on the development and application of artificial intelligence can be observed extensively. For clinical indication, patients may receive a variety of cardiovascular routine examination and treatments, such as: cardiac ultrasound, multi-path ECG, cardiovascular and peripheral angiography, intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography, electrical physiology, etc. By using artificial intelligence deep learning system, the investigators hope to not only improve the diagnostic rate and also gain more accurately predict the patient’s recovery, improve medical quality in the near future.

The primary issue about using artificial intelligence in cardiology, or in any field of medicine for that matter, is the ethical issues that it brings about. Physicians and healthcare professionals prior to their practice swear to the Hippocratic Oath—a promise to do their best for the welfare and betterment of their patients. Many physicians have argued that the use of artificial intelligence in medicine breaks the Hippocratic Oath since patients are technically left under the care of machines than of doctors. Furthermore, as machines may also malfunction, the safety of patients is also on the line at all times. As such, while medical practitioners see the promise of artificial technology, they are also heavily constricted about its use, safety, and appropriateness in medical practice.

Issues and challenges faced by technological innovations in cardiology are overpowered by current researches aiming to make artificial intelligence easily accessible and available for all. With that in mind, various projects are currently under study. For example, the use of wearable AI technology aims to develop a mechanism by which patients and doctors could easily access and monitor cardiac activity remotely. An ideal instrument for monitoring, wearable AI technology ensures real-time updates, monitoring, and evaluation. Another direction of cardiology in AI technology is the use of technology to record and validate empirical data to further analyze symptomatology, biomarkers, and treatment effectiveness. With AI technology, researchers in cardiology are aiming to simplify and expand the scope of knowledge on the field for better patient care and treatment outcomes.

References:

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Cardiology.aspx

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/research/artificial-intelligence

https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/news/heart-attack-artificial-intelligence/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41569-019-0158-5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711980/

www.j-pcs.org/article.asp

http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/71/23/2668

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ijcs/v30n3/2359-4802-ijcs-30-03-0187.pdf

https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/How-artificial-intelligence-is-tackling-heart-disease-Find-out-at-ICNC-2019

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03877614

https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/82870/artificial-intelligence-ai-heart-disease/

https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/10067/current-and-future-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-cardiac-imaging

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Cardiology.aspx

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190513104505.htm

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Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: After Trump’s Drug Pricing Blueprint: What Happens Next? A View from Washington; June 3 2019 1:00 PM Philadelphia PA

Posted in Accountable Care Organizations, Affordable Care Act, and Bioethics, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Ethics and Leadership, FDA Regulatory Affairs, Federal Budget Appropriations, Health Care System by Country, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Health Law & Patient Safety, Health Law Policy, Healthcare costs and reimbursement, Healthcare Reform, Medicare and Medicaid, Patient Experience, Prescription Drugs Costs, tagged affordable care, Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, health care costs, health care policy, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Modernization Act, patient costs on June 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: After Trump’s Drug Pricing Blueprint: What Happens Next? A View from Washington; June 3 2019 1:00 PM Philadelphia PA

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD @StephenJWillia2

Speaker: Dan Todd, JD

Dan Todd is the Principal of Todd Strategy, LLC, a consulting firm founded in 2014 and based in Washington, DC. He provides legislative and regulatory strategic guidance and advocacy for healthcare stakeholders impacted by federal healthcare programs.

Prior to Todd Strategy, Mr. Todd was a Senior Healthcare Counsel for the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee, the Committee of jurisdiction for the Medicare and Medicaid programs. His areas of responsibility for the committee included the Medicare Part B and Part D programs, which includes physician, medical device, diagnostic and biopharmaceutical issues.

Before joining the Finance Committee, Mr. Todd spent several years in the biotechnology industry, where he led policy development and government affairs strategy. He also represented his companies’ interests with major trade associations such as PhRMA and BIO before federal and state representatives, as well as with key stakeholders such as physician and patient advocacy organizations.

Dan also served as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency charged with the operation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. While at CMS, Dan worked on Medicare Part B and Part D issues during the implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act from 2003 to 2005.

Cost efficiencies were never measured.

Removing drug rebates would cost 180 billion over 10 years. CBO came up with similar estimate. Not sure what Congress will do. It appears they will keep the rebates in.

House Dems are really going after PBMs; anytime the Administration makes a proposal goes right into CBO baseline estimates; negotiations appear to be in very early stages and estimates are up in the air
WH close to meet a budget cap but then broke down in next day; total confusion in DC on budget; healthcare is now held up, especially the REBATE rule; : is a shame as panel agrees cost savings would be huge
they had initiated a study to tie the costs of PartB to international drug prices; meant to get at disparity on international drug prices; they currently are only mulling the international price index; other option is to reform Part B; the proposed models were brought out near 2016 elections so not much done; unified agenda;
most of the response of Congress relatively publicly muted; a flat fee program on biologics will have big effect on how physicians and health systems paid; very cat and mouse game in DC around drug pricing
administration is thinking of a PartB “inflation cap”; committees are looking at it seriously; not a rebate; discussion of tiering of physician payments
Ways and Means Cmmtte: proposing in budget to alleve some stresses on PartB deductable amounts;
PartD: looking at ways to shore it up; insurers 80% taxpayers 20% responsible; insurers think it will increase premiums but others think will reduce catastrophic costs; big part of shift in spending in Part D has been this increase in catastrophic costs
this week they may actually move through committees on this issue; Administration trying to use the budgetary process to drive this bargain; however there will have to be offsets so there may be delays in process

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The Arnold Relman Challenge: US HealthCare Costs vs US HealthCare Outcomes

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the federal healthcare program will cover the costs of cancer gene tests that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration

Trends in HealthCare Economics: Average Out-of-Pocket Costs, non-Generics and Value-Based Pricing, Amgen’s Repatha and AstraZeneca’s Access to Healthcare Policies

Can Blockchain Technology and Artificial Intelligence Cure What Ails Biomedical Research and Healthcare

Live Conference Coverage @Medcity Converge 2018 Philadelphia: Oncology Value Based Care and Patient Management

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The Empowered Patient

Posted in Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Health Care System by Country, Healthcare Reform, Voices of Patients and Healthcare Providers, tagged health, health outcomes research, healthcare costs, Life Technologies, Patients on April 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Reporter: Gail S. Thornton

This report is entitled, “REDEFINING YOUR VALUE TO WIN THE EMPOWERED PATIENT. Six Steps for Life Sciences Firms to Stay Relevant in the New Healthcare Ecosystem,” which was published by Strativity Group, LLC in 2019. Please find an excerpt below.

Patients have taken charge of their lives, and they are empowered by increasingly more sophisticated and accessible tools. They still require physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, and life sciences companies to support them, but the dialogue, expectations, and engagement are changing radically as patients approach their healthcare with confidence and knowledge rather than fear and submission.

Today’s Patient Is the New Industry Authority Changing consumer expectations and behaviors have brought just about every industry to a tipping point, where consumers – not traditional experts, companies, or brands – have appointed themselves as the new authority. While the trend may have started in less expert-dependent industries like travel and banking, it’s now also penetrating areas where consumers have historically had much less power and influence, including healthcare. The healthcare industry itself also emboldened patients to redefine their roles in response to rising healthcare costs, shrinking provider availability, and increased skepticism of the medical insurance and life sciences industries. Macro- and micro-trends have come together to create a perfect storm in healthcare, and that means life sciences firms need to seriously rethink their roles and value in the new patient centered landscape. To get a deeper understanding of the new environment, consider the following trends that are putting patients in the driver’s seat: • Knowledge abundance The wealth of knowledge available online has made health information both broadly accessible and much more understandable. Hospitals, nonprofit associations, and bloggers transformed professional jargon and made it accessible to billions of consumers who are now turning to the web before they turn to traditional experts, such as physicians. In fact, a dotHealth Consumer Health Online 2017 Research Report that found 57% of consumers consult the internet for information before visiting a doctor and only 32% consult with their doctor first. iv • Evolution of peer groups Patients are establishing local and global support groups of peers in similar situations. They find this authentic support system trumps traditional knowledge sources such as physicians and pharmaceutical companies. Patients find more strength and support in those groups and amplify their roles in the overall ecosystem.

About Strativity Strativity is a strategy activation firm that partners with organizations that want to differentiate through consistently exceptional customer and employee experiences during a time of ever-evolving expectations and digital disruption. With a deep understanding of human motivation and a proven methodology, we engage the hearts, heads, and hands of executives, employees, and customers to deliver rapid and lasting change. Our philosophy, approach, and results have inspired industry leaders like BMW, FedEx, GSK, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, The New York Times, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Teleflex, and Walmart to rely on Strativity to transform their organizations and enhance their performance.

Source:

https://pages.questexweb.com/rs/294-MQF-056/images/Strativity%20-%20Redefining%20Your%20Value%20to%20Win%20the%20Empowered%20Patient_revised_to%20Fierce_041519.pdf?aliId=eyJpIjoiWU1NdHFMbzJONkd1VldLMCIsInQiOiJaM2NUdUY3eVJKalhxdERtWElBMUlRPT0ifQ%253D%253D

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Digital Therapeutics: A Threat or Opportunity to Pharmaceuticals

Posted in Artificial Heart, Artificial Intelligence - Breakthroughs in Theories and Technologies, Artificial Intelligence - General, Artificial intelligence applications for cardiology, Artificial Intelligence Applications in Health Care, Artificial Intelligence in Health Care - Tools & Innovations, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Application for Diagnosis, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine - Applications in Therapeutics, Artificial Pancreas for Type1 Diabetes, Artificial Vascular Structures, Biological Engineering, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Disease Biology, Drug Carrier Design, Drug Delivery Platform Technology, Drug Development/Formulation using 3D Printing, Electronic Health Record, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Health Law & Patient Safety, HealthCare IT, Healthcare Reform, Intelligent Information Systems, Mechanical Assist Devices: LVAD, RVAD, BiVAD, Artificial Heart, Medical Imaging Technology, Image Processing/Computing, MRI, CT, Nuclear Medicine, Ultra Sound, Mobile Healthcare, Organ-on-a-Chip, Personal Health Applications: Tech Innovations serves HealhCare, Population Health Management, Population Health Management, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Population Health Management, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Voices of Patients and Healthcare Providers, Wearable Tech + Digital Health, tagged digital solution, digital therapeutics, Pharmaceuticals, Therapy, treatment on March 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Digital Therapeutics: A Threat or Opportunity to Pharmaceuticals

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

Digital Therapeutics (DTx) have been defined by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) as “delivering evidence based therapeutic interventions to patients, that are driven by software to prevent, manage or treat a medical disorder or disease”. They might come in the form of a smart phone or computer tablet app, or some form of a cloud-based service connected to a wearable device. DTx tend to fall into three groups. Firstly, developers and mental health researchers have built digital solutions which typically provide a form of software delivered Cognitive-Behaviour Therapies (CBT) that help patients change behaviours and develop coping strategies around their condition. Secondly there are the group of Digital Therapeutics which target lifestyle issues, such as diet, exercise and stress, that are associated with chronic conditions, and work by offering personalized support for goal setting and target achievement. Lastly, DTx can be designed to work in combination with existing medication or treatments, helping patients manage their therapies and focus on ensuring the therapy delivers the best outcomes possible.

Pharmaceutical companies are clearly trying to understand what DTx will mean for them. They want to analyze whether it will be a threat or opportunity to their business. For a long time, they have been providing additional support services to patients who take relatively expensive drugs for chronic conditions. A nurse-led service might provide visits and telephone support to diabetics for example who self-inject insulin therapies. But DTx will help broaden the scope of support services because they can be delivered cost-effectively, and importantly have the ability to capture real-world evidence on patient outcomes. They will no-longer be reserved for the most expensive drugs or therapies but could apply to a whole range of common treatments to boost their efficacy. Faced with the arrival of Digital Therapeutics either replacing drugs, or playing an important role alongside therapies, pharmaceutical firms have three options. They can either ignore DTx and focus on developing drug therapies as they have done; they can partner with a growing number of DTx companies to develop software and services complimenting their drugs; or they can start to build their own Digital Therapeutics to work with their products.

Digital Therapeutics will have knock-on effects in health industries, which may be as great as the introduction of therapeutic apps and services themselves. Together with connected health monitoring devices, DTx will offer a near constant stream of data about an individuals’ behavior, real world context around factors affecting their treatment in their everyday lives and emotional and physiological data such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Analysis of the resulting data will help create support services tailored to each patient. But who stores and analyses this data is an important question. Strong data governance will be paramount to maintaining trust, and the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry may not be best-placed to handle individual patient data. Meanwhile, the health sector (payers and healthcare providers) is becoming more focused on patient outcomes, and payment for value not volume. The future will say whether pharmaceutical firms enhance the effectiveness of drugs with DTx, or in some cases replace drugs with DTx.

Digital Therapeutics have the potential to change what the pharmaceutical industry sells: rather than a drug it will sell a package of drugs and digital services. But they will also alter who the industry sells to. Pharmaceutical firms have traditionally marketed drugs to doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals, based on the efficacy of a specific product. Soon it could be paid on the outcome of a bundle of digital therapies, medicines and services with a closer connection to both providers and patients. Apart from a notable few, most pharmaceutical firms have taken a cautious approach towards Digital Therapeutics. Now, it is to be observed that how the pharmaceutical companies use DTx to their benefit as well as for the benefit of the general population.

References:

https://eloqua.eyeforpharma.com/LP=23674?utm_campaign=EFP%2007MAR19%20EFP%20Database&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=73e21ae550de49ccabbf65fce72faea0&elq=818d76a54d894491b031fa8d1cc8d05c&elqaid=43259&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=24564

https://www.s3connectedhealth.com/resources/white-papers/digital-therapeutics-pharmas-threat-or-opportunity/

http://www.pharmatimes.com/web_exclusives/digital_therapeutics_will_transform_pharma_and_healthcare_industries_in_2019._heres_how._1273671

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/exploring-the-potential-of-digital-therapeutics

https://player.fm/series/digital-health-today-2404448/s9-081-scaling-digital-therapeutics-the-opportunities-and-challenges

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#JPM19 Conference: Dublin HealthBeacon Raises Funding

Posted in Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Investment in Technological Breakthrough, Medical Devices R&D Investment, Medication Remote Compliance Monitoring, Uncategorized, Voices of Patients and Healthcare Providers, Wearable Tech + Digital Health, tagged Boston, Entrepreneur, Funding, health, Life Sciences, Medical Devices R&D Investment, Medical technology on January 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

News announced during the 37th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (#JPM19): Dublin medtech HealthBeacon raises $12m in a Series A round

Reporter: Gail S. Thornton

HealthBeacon’s Smart Sharps system helps patients adhere to their medication schedule. The company was founded by Jim Joyce and Kieran Daly in 2013, and opened offices in Boston in 2017. The digital platform, which last year received vital FDA clearance for the US market, not only ensures that patients keep up with their injectable treatments, but also allows them to dispose of medication in a safe way, and keeps carers up to date with the patients’ progress.

Published January 8, 2019 by John Kennedy, Silicon Republic.

From left: Co-founders Kieran Daly and Jim Joyce. Image: HealthBeacon

With funding and FDA approval under its belt, this Dublin tech start-up has plans to help patients stick to their medication schedule.

Dublin and Boston digital health company HealthBeacon has raised $12m in a Series A investment round that brings total investment in the company to almost $15m.

The round was organised by HealthBeacon and Cantor Fitzgerald, led by Oyster Capital and Elkstone Partners, and the investment syndicate included Quorndon Capital and Cantor Fitzgerald’s private client group. Earlier investors in HealthBeacon include Enterprise Ireland, BVP and a range of angel investors.

‘I know with confidence as to whether my patients are adhering to their treatment strategy’
^{– DOUG VEALE}

“Cantor has a major focus on life sciences and on digital health, and we have every confidence that CEO and co-founder Jim Joyce has created a true sector leader in HealthBeacon,” said Liam Kiely, director of Cantor Fitzgerald.

The announcement was made in San Francisco at the JPMorgan Chase Biotech Showcase. The funding comes on the back of rapid global expansion of the FDA-cleared HealthBeacon Smart Sharps technology.

The right stuff

Dublin-based HealthBeacon’s Smart Sharps system helps patients adhere to their medication schedule. The company was founded by Jim Joyce and Kieran Daly in 2013, and opened offices in Boston in 2017.

The digital platform, which last year received vital FDA clearance for the US market, not only ensures that patients keep up with their injectable treatments, but also allows them to dispose of medication in a safe way, and keeps carers up to date with the patients’ progress.

The funding from this Series A will be used to launch its Smart Sharps system in the US and to develop its portfolio of medical adherence tools for high-value medications.

In 2017, HealthBeacon revealed plans to create 20 new jobs in Dublinin roles spanning IT, software development, project management and customer service. As of today, HealthBeacon operates in 10 markets and has tracked more than 200,000 home-based injections, making it one of the largest global deployments of a medical adherence device. Today, HealthBeacon employs more than 30 people and plans to double the team over the next 18 months.

The addressable market for injectable medications has reached nearly $50bn, according to the company. The Smart Sharps bin system by HealthBeacon has made it easier for patients using injectable medications to stay on track with their treatment. This has resulted in improved patient medication adherence, driving patient care.

In December, HealthBeacon was named eHealth Innovation of the Year by the Irish Medtech Association.

“I’ve been using the HealthBeacon for over two years, and their Smart Sharps bin has had a profound impact on how patients manage their treatment,” said Doug Veale, professor of rheumatology at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

“I know with confidence as to whether my patients are adhering to their treatment strategy.”

Editor John Kennedy is an award-winning technology journalist.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com

SOURCE

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/healthbeacon-series-a-investment

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019: Deals and Announcements

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37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019; Opening Videos, Novartis expands Cell Therapies, January 7 – 10, 2019, Westin St. Francis Hotel | San Francisco, California

Posted in BioIT: BioInformatics, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Pharmaceutical R&D Investment, Uncategorized, Venture Capital, tagged #JPM2019, Business News JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Adaptive Biotechnologies Counsyl Danaher Human Longevity JP Morgan Qiagen Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cell therapy, healthcare, healthcare innovation, Mergers and acquisitions, novartis on January 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry, bringing together industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community.

Joe Biden on the Fight Against Cancer

Former Vice President of the United States joined the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to discuss cancer initiatives.

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Bill Gates on the Current State of Global Health

In his keynote address at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Bill Gates spoke about the state of healthcare around the world.

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Anne Wojcicki on Disrupting the Healthcare Industry

The CEO of 23andMe discusses at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference how her genomics company is activating the power of the consumer.

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Novartis Talks Move to Cell and Gene Therapies at JPM

Published: Jan 08, 2019 By Alex Keown from Biospace.com

^Denis^Linine^{/ Shutterstock}

Following a strong post-hoc analysis of mid-stage data in the fall of 2018, Novartis announced this morning the company’s experimental humanized anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody was crizanlizumab granted Breakthrough Therapy Status by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Crizanlizumab received the designation as a treatment for the prevention of vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) in patients of all genotypes with sickle cell disease (SCD). VOCs, which can be extremely painful for patients, happen when multiple blood cells stick to each other and to blood vessels, causing blockages.

The designation was awarded following results from the Phase II SUSTAIN trial, which showed that crizanlizumab reduced the median annual rate of VOCs leading to health care visits by 45.3 percent compared to placebo. The SUSTAIN study also showed that crizanlizumab significantly increased the percentage of patients who did not experience any VOCs vs placebo, 35.8 percent vs. 16.9 percent.

The FDA designation came one day after the Swiss pharma giant laid out its map for a future of success, sustainability and, if things work out, respect from consumers. In an interview with CNBC Monday, Novartis Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan noted that the company is looking to become an entity that doesn’t draw its profits from treating disease, but will make money by providing cures. He pointed to the moves Novartis has made toward gene and cellular therapies that have the potential to cure patients of various diseases in what many researchers hope could be a “one-and-done” treatment. Narasimhan told CNBC that cures are what society wants and that is something they will value. The challenge will be determining the payment system.

As an example, the company is eying potential approval of a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a fatal genetic disease marked by progressive, debilitating muscle weakness in infants and toddlers. Novartis’ gene therapy Zolgensma is expected to be approved by the FDA this year and could have a price tag of between $4 and $5 million. While significantly high, non-profit SMA groups have already suggested that the gene therapy treatment could be more cost-effective than Spinraza, the only approved SMA treatment on the market.

During its presentation at J.P. Morgan, Novartis pointed to the moves it has made as the company pivots to this future of gene and cell therapies. The presentation noted that over the course of 2018, the company made several deals to sell off non-essential businesses, such as the $13 billion sale of its share of a consumer health business to partner GlaxoSmithKline. Not only that, but Novartis also made significant acquisitions to reshape its portfolio, including the $8.7 billion acquisition of AveXis for the SMA gene therapy. The deal for AveXis wasn’t the only gene therapy deal the company struck. Novartis began 2018 with a deal for Spark Therapeutics’ gene therapy Luxturna, a one-time gene therapy to restore functional vision in children and adult patients with biallelic mutations of the RPE65 (retinal pigment epithelial 65 kDa protein) gene.

In his interview with CNBC, Narasimhan said the company is about “platforms,” which also includes radio-ligand therapy. The company forged ahead in that area with two acquisitions, Advanced Accelerator Applications and Endocyte. Radiopharmaceuticals like Endocyte’s Lu-PSMA-617 are innovative medicinal formulations containing radioisotopes used clinically for both diagnosis and therapy. When the Endocyte deal was announced, Novartis noted the field is expected to become an increasingly important treatment option for patients, as well as a key growth driver for the company’s oncology business.

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