Emotional support and tangible aid for caregivers benefited all families during the COVID-19 pandemic, not just those facing higher stress levels, according to a study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families experienced social isolation, economic hardship, and disruptions in daily routines. Communities of color suffered higher infection rates and greater financial hardship and disruption. ECHO researchers wanted to learn how these stressors on caregivers affected their children. Researchers looked separately at a subset of Black participants, who likely experienced unique discrimination during the pandemic. They found caregiver experiences of discrimination strengthened the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic stress and child behavior problems, specifically those related to anxiety and depression. The study found that higher levels of support for caregivers were associated with fewer behavior problems overall. On the other hand, higher amounts of stress ...
Dive Brief Virtual Incision, the startup that is getting ready to send a tiny surgical robot into space, said it has raised $30 million in an extension of its previous $46 million series C financing. The funding round will support the company’s operations “well into 2025” as it prepares to commercialize the compact robotic system designed for abdominal surgery, Virtual Incision said. The Lincoln, Nebraska-based company in May submitted a de novo request to the Food and Drug Administration to market the robot for use in bowel resection procedures, after completing an investigational device exemption study. Dive Insight A modified version of Virtual Incision’s MIRA system is headed to the International Space Station in 2024 on a test mission to perform simulated surgical tasks, in a collaboration between NASA and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The goal is to pave the way for performing telesurgery in space, according to the company. ...
Gastroenterologist Dr. Austin Chiang has about a decade of experience as a physician influencer on social media. During a conference in Chicago, he encouraged more providers to share their expertise on social media. By having a presence on these platforms, healthcare professionals demonstrate their commitment to meeting patients where they are, he said. By KATIE ADAMS As a gastroenterologist, Dr. Austin Chiang has witnessed plenty of patients get admitted to the hospital after taking unvetted medical advice they found on the Internet, he said Wednesday during an interview at Oliver Wyman’s Health Innovation Summit in Chicago. About 10 years ago, Dr. Chiang took to social media to address this issue by being a credible source for health information. At the time, many of his colleagues thought this was a waste of time — but he has since proved them wrong. He now has nearly 750,000 followers across his TikTok, YouTube, ...
New research led by Queen’s University Belfast has made a breakthrough in the field of microbiology, which could lead to the development of new treatments for people with compromised immune systems, such as those with cystic fibrosis. To conduct their study the researchers looked at the bacterium Achromobacter which can cause chronic lung infection and tissue damage in the airways. The study reveals how this bacterium overcomes the body’s immune defenses to multiply and continue to grow. The findings have been published in Cell Reports. Professor Miguel A. Valvano, Chair in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM) at Queen’s University Belfast and lead researcher on the study, explains: “Achromobacter bacteria can cause chronic and potentially severe infections. However, until now, how this opportunistic bacterium interacts with the human immune system has been poorly understood. “These bacteria resist the action of multiple antibiotics; therefore, infection ...
by John Pinching The treatment targets extensive stage small cell lung cancer and aims to boost therapeutic impact Ariceum Therapeutics, a company developing products for the treatment of specific cancers, has announced that the first patient has been dosed with its satoreotide therapy. The treatment targets extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), while the research is taking place at the Murdoch University Health Center in Australia. Ariceum’s broader open label phase 1b trial will analyse the tolerability and safety of the ‘theranostic pair’ of somatostatin receptor antagonists, ga-satoreotide trizoxetan and lu-satoreotide tetraxetan, among patients with ES-SCLC. The central aim of the research is to establish a recommended phase 2 dose and schedule in due course. ‘Theranostics’ is the system of incorporating two paired drugs: the first, a diagnostic agent to identify cells that exhibit a particular biomarker, and the second, a therapeutic drug which subsequently acts on those cells. ...
GLP-1s — which lower blood sugar to help people lose weight — are taking the healthcare industry by storm and have several implications for digital health companies. This includes headwinds for established nutrition programs and the potential for the launch of new virtual weight loss startups, according to a PitchBook report published Friday. The PitchBook authors believe that because of the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., the impact of GLP-1s “will extend far beyond the drugmakers themselves.” So far, four GLP-1 agonists have FDA approval: Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy and Mounjaro. Wegovy, however, is the only one indicated for weight loss, while the others are indicated for Type 2 diabetes. PitchBook listed the potential effect of weight loss drugs on several specific VC-backed digital health companies. For example, Ro and Noom may see new customers through their weight loss telehealth offerings. Form Health could see a rising adoption of their ...
Dive Brief The private equity firm Carlyle Group is leading the race to buy Medtronic’s connected patient monitoring and respiratory care operations, according to Reuters. Medtronic outlined plans to spin off the units almost one year ago. At the time, the company proposed creating a new connected care company, but the move reportedly led to interest from potential buyers including Siemens Healthineers and GE HealthCare. Now, with Medtronic nearing the end of its targeted window for completing a transaction, Reuters has reported that Carlyle has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy a majority stake in the two businesses at a valuation of more than $7 billion. Dive Insight Patient monitoring and respiratory interventions, part of Medtronic’s Medical Surgical portfolio, are among the slower-growing parts of the company. While neither business has the type of growth profile that Medtronic is targeting, they could be attractive to another company. According to Reuters, ...
By Jennifer Markarian Pictured: Illustration of students sitting at a table/iStock, undrey Although the biopharma industry tends to focus on high-skill workers with advanced science and engineering degrees, just over half of entry-level jobs in the U.S. life sciences require skills considered middle and lower level that could be filled by people with less than a four-year degree, according to a recent report on life sciences workforce trends by the Coalition of State Biosciences Institutes (CSBI), which promotes bioscience education and workforce development, and research group TEConomy Partners. “The share of middle-skills workers needed for entry-level positions in life sciences has held steady over the past decade,” Liisa Bozinovic, chair of CSBI, told BioSpace. Individuals with degrees from the U.S. network of two-year Advanced Technical Education biotechnology programs, which provide hands-on, industry-relevant training, have been successfully filling these positions, she added. Organizations Collaborate to Promote Biotech Education InnovATEBIO, a National ...
Seven months after Travere Therapeutics’ flagship drug received accelerated FDA approval in a rare kidney disease, the molecule has fallen short of the key goal of its confirmatory test. It’s the small molecule’s second Phase 3 failure this year. By FRANK VINLUAN A Travere Therapeutics drug that won speedy approval early this year for a rare autoimmune kidney disorder has failed to meet the key goal of its confirmatory study. Still, the biotech points to data trends favoring patients treated with its drug, Filspari, and it aims to seek full approval. But even if the FDA permits the drug to remain on the market, the disappointing trial results reported Thursday call into question the commercial prospects of a product once projected to become a blockbuster seller. Filspari was developed to treat immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), in which the buildup of antibodies in the kidneys damages these organs. The FDA awarded ...
Novo Nordisk has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Valo Health, worth up to $60m, to discover and develop new treatments for cardiometabolic diseases. The collaboration aims to utilise Valo’s Opal Computational Platform and real-world patient dataset, as well as its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled small molecule discovery and its human tissue modelling platform, Biowire, to accelerate discovery and development. The Opal Computational Platform is an integrated, end-to-end drug discovery and development platform that is designed to enable a fully integrated and efficient approach for targeting and advancing candidates to regulatory approval. As part of the agreement, Valo will receive an upfront payment and a potential near-term milestone payment of $60m, as well as milestone payments for up to 11 programmes totalling up to $2.7 billion, plus research and development funding and potential royalty payments, said Novo Nordisk. Valo will enable the identification and validation of novel druggable ...
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