Tag: technology
Where to Spend Your Healthcare Investment Dollars
In a blog entry written over the summer, I expressed the view that the next 5-10 years will present tremendous transactional opportunities in the life sciences/health care industry. Nothing has happened to dampen that view. In fact, President Obama’s reelection, which means that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is here to stay and will be fully implemented over the next few years, and our ongoing deficit reduction concerns, mandate that efficiency, cost control and strategic ways to provide better quality healthcare will be at center stage. So let’s focus in on some investment opportunities that may be interesting.
For those willing to tackle regulatory and reimbursement hurdles, there should be many opportunities in the provider world. This could take the form of hospital mergers and consolidations, spin-off of various medical and lab services that have been provided at hospitals and … Read More »
New post from Capitol Health Record on call for more new medicines from Presdient’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology
Published by Capitol Health Record on October 3, 2012
Written by: Amy Walker
Last week, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released their “Report to the President on Propelling Innovation in Drug Discovery, Development, and Evaluation.” The report recommends that the United States set a goal of doubling the number of new medicines “that meet critical public health needs” over the next ten to 15 years.
PCAST, which was formed in April 2009 by President Barack Obama, is an advisory group consisting of leading scientists and engineers which makes science and technology policy recommendations to the President and the Executive Office of the President.
For the report, PCAST analyzed trends and challenges in biomedical research and development over recent years, finding that scientists need better methodologies and tools for translating discoveries and pharmaceutical developers and regulators need to incorporate efficiencies … Read More »
Tremendous Transactional Opportunities
For deal junkies, the next 5-10 years should be quite interesting in the life sciences/health care industry. We have already seen large pharmaceutical company consolidations, financial buyers investing in health care institutions and partnerships between payors and providers. And much of this before the Supreme Court decided that health care reform is here to stay.
What is driving this? Need, opportunity, cash and innovation. Pharmaceutical company brand drugs are losing their patent protection, the cost/risk of developing new drugs is enormous, heath care costs need to be controlled, people are living longer, health care reform is triggering new behaviors and strategies and, despite the difficult financial times, there is much cash available for investment. Also, much of the broader life sciences/health care industry has been slow in technology adoption, while technology and social media continues advancing, being available to a broader … Read More »
Medical Device Security: How Safe is Wireless Technology?
The health care industry has seen a jump in the number of medical devices that use wireless technology. With this rapid technologic development comes concern about the safety, security and privacy of patients. There is specific concern in this regard with respect to the following commonly used devices: Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs), External Medical Devices, and Portable Devices.[i]
Last year a security researcher successfully demonstrated how an outside breach of a wireless insulin pump allows for the hacker to shut off or alter the settings of the device. This poses a serious risk for those with portable and implantable medical devices that are controlled via wireless technology. In addition to a breach of control of these devices, the risk of malware on such FDA-approved medical devices is also a concern. In the event that an FDA-approved medical device is infected with … Read More »
First-Ever Electronic Medical Records and Advanced Imaging Technology Being Brought to 2012 London Olympics
For the first time in Olympic history, advanced imaging technology will be used to help detect athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs. GE Healthcare Life Sciences’ biomolecular imager will lend a big hand in helping to test athletes for recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), a performance-enhancing drug used to boost the number of red blood cells, which enables improved oxygen flow and allows athletes to raise their workout intensity and endurance. The GE provided equipment, the ImageQuant LAS4000, uses technology that offers extremely detailed information to accurately identify EPO doping. We first saw the popularity of this drug grow among Tour de France cyclists.
Many other tests will be performed, in addition to the EPO test, in an attempt to create the most advanced drug testing laboratory in the history of the Olympics. GlaxoSmithKline will be the official lab services provider for the 2012 Olympic and … Read More »