// Biotech and Pharma Therapeutics
Who benefits from over-the-counter CGMs?
July 1, 2025 / Glucose monitoring / OTC CGM / Prediabetes tools / Blood sugar tracking / Diabetes technology
Over-the-counter CGMs offer broader access to glucose monitoring, potentially benefiting people with Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or limited healthcare access. However, concerns remain over data interpretation, accuracy in non-diabetic ranges, and psychological impacts on users without medical guidance.
Caltech researchers develop safer and smarter breast imaging technique
June 30, 2025 / PACT imaging / Breast cancer detection / Noninvasive diagnostics / AI medical imaging / Photoacoustic tomography
Caltech researchers have developed PACT, a painless, radiation-free breast imaging technique using light, sound, and AI to accurately detect tumors. Clinical trials show it matches or exceeds conventional methods, offering a safer alternative for breast cancer screening.
NUHS app adds wait times, non-urgent care helpline features
June 23, 2025 / NUHS app / Emergency wait times / Digital health Singapore / NurseFirst helpline / AI in healthcare apps
NUHS has enhanced its app with real-time emergency wait times, a non-urgent care triage helpline, and nearby clinic locators to improve care navigation, streamline patient flow, and enhance healthcare access amid increasing demand and an aging population.
Health info managers launch clinical coding AI adoption guide
June 23, 2025 / Clinical coding AI / Health information management / AI in healthcare / Medical coding automation / HIMAA guideline
Australia’s HIMAA has released a principle-based guideline for safely adopting clinical coding AI, emphasizing human oversight, governance, and workforce readiness to enhance coding quality, manage risk, and address workforce shortages in the evolving digital health ecosystem.
To build or to buy? With healthcare AI, both may be the answer
June 20, 2025 / Healthcare AI / Build vs buy / Clinical workflow integration / AI in hospitals / Health IT strategy
Keck Medicine of USC uses a blended AI strategy—combining in-house development with vendor tools—to balance innovation, integration, and sustainability. This approach improves scalability, customizes workflows, and minimizes long-term technical debt in clinical and operational healthcare settings.
// 4th Industrial Revolution
AI assistant helps Hattiesburg Clinic achieve some big goals
July 1, 2025 / AI assistant / Rural healthcare / Clinical documentation / Physician burnout / EHR integration
Hattiesburg Clinic implemented an AI assistant to reduce clinician documentation burdens, enhance care quality, and improve work-life balance. Integration with EHR systems like Epic allowed rural providers to reclaim time, combat burnout, and maintain high standards in patient safety.
Pfizer expands AI-powered small-molecule discovery collab with XtalPi
June 30, 2025 / Pfizer / AI drug discovery / Small molecule modeling / XtalPi partnership / Computational pharmacology
Pfizer is expanding its collaboration with XtalPi to enhance AI-powered small-molecule drug discovery using XtalPi’s XFEP platform, aiming to accelerate accurate molecular modeling within Pfizer’s proprietary chemical space across diverse drug development applications.
Using AI to defend against cyberattacks is now a SOC imperative, experts say
June 27, 2025 / AI cybersecurity / Healthcare SOC / Malware detection / Deepfake defense / Generative AI threats
Healthcare security experts emphasize integrating AI into Security Operations Centers (SOCs) to combat sophisticated cyber threats, including AI-generated malware and deepfakes, enabling faster threat detection, adaptive response, and sustained protection of critical health systems and patient care delivery.
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne pilots AI-driven system to ensure IV dosing accuracy
June 25, 2025 / AI medication safety / Chemotherapy compounding / IV dosing accuracy / Laser spectrometry verification / Hospital pharmacy innovation
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne is piloting Veriphi’s AI-driven laser spectrometry system to verify IV drug identity and concentration in real time, enhancing safety in chemotherapy compounding by reducing reliance on manual checks and minimizing high-risk medication errors.
A new practical way to implement predictive analytics in healthcare
June 22, 2025 / Predictive analytics / Healthcare AI implementation / Data integration / Hybrid machine learning / Clinical decision support
A new hybrid AI framework using open-source tools offers a practical, cost-effective approach to implementing predictive analytics in healthcare. It supports data integration, boosts operational efficiency, and is adaptable for low-resource settings without increasing clinician workload.
// Business & Markets
How Novo Nordisk misread the US market for its weight loss sensation
July 1, 2025 / Wegovy launch / Novo Nordisk strategy / Obesity drug market / Weight-loss treatment demand / Eli Lilly Zepbound
Novo Nordisk underestimated U.S. demand for Wegovy, launching without securing sufficient supply or insurance coverage. This strategic misstep weakened its market position as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound surged ahead in obesity drug prescriptions.
AstraZeneca CEO considers moving company listing to US, the Times reports
July 1, 2025 / AstraZeneca listing / Pascal Soriot strategy / U.S. stock market / Pharma market shift / Biopharma investment
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot is reportedly considering moving the company’s listing to the U.S., potentially impacting its global strategy and market dynamics amid growing interest in U.S.-based biopharma capital markets.
Sobi agrees to pay up to $300M to reduce royalty payments to Apellis on Empaveli
July 1, 2025 / Empaveli royalties / Apellis Sobi deal / C3G treatment / Rare kidney disease / PNH therapy
Sobi will pay up to $300M to significantly reduce royalty payments to Apellis for Empaveli (Aspaveli), a PNH treatment with promising phase 3 results in rare kidney diseases C3G and IC-MPGN, ahead of key regulatory decisions.
Adagene and Sanofi extend relationship
July 1, 2025 / Sanofi investment / Adagene partnership / ADG126 trial / MSS colorectal cancer / CTLA-4 SAFEbody
Sanofi is investing up to $25 million in Adagene to support the Phase II trial of muzastotug (ADG126), an anti-CTLA-4 SAFEbody, targeting microsatellite stable colorectal cancer under their expanded strategic partnership.
Calico inks $596m deal for drugs targeting longevity-linked cytokine
June 30, 2025 / IL-11 antibody / aging therapeutics / fibrosis treatment / Calico Mabwell deal / longevity drug development
Calico Life Sciences licensed Mabwell’s anti-IL-11 antibody, 9MW3811, in a $596M deal to develop therapies targeting fibrosis and age-related diseases, leveraging IL-11’s emerging role in systemic inflammation and aging pathology to extend healthspan and longevity.
// Legal & Regulatory
U.S. judge says HHS layoffs were likely unlawful and must be halted
July 1, 2025 / HHS layoffs ruling / healthcare workforce cuts / federal injunction HHS / public health infrastructure / unlawful HHS reorganization
A federal judge ruled that planned mass layoffs at HHS were likely unlawful, issuing an injunction to halt the reorganization, citing potential irreparable harm to public health infrastructure and a likely violation of administrative law.
Judge approves 23andMe sale amid privacy dispute
July 1, 2025 / genetic privacy / 23andMe sale / TTAM acquisition / data breach lawsuit
A judge approved 23andMe’s $305M sale to TTAM, preserving customer genetic data privacy amid opposition from several states concerned about compliance with genetic data consent laws following a major data breach and bankruptcy proceedings.
Carmat files for insolvency amid cash crunch
July 1, 2025 / artificial heart / Carmat insolvency / Aeson device / medical device funding
Carmat, maker of the Aeson total artificial heart, has filed for insolvency amid severe financial strain. Despite regulatory milestones and clinical progress, the company failed to secure sufficient funding, jeopardizing its operations and continued patient support.
FDA to revise ADHD stimulants labels to warn of weight loss risk in children under 6
June 30, 2025 / ADHD stimulants / FDA warning / pediatric side effects / weight loss risk
The FDA will revise labels for extended-release ADHD stimulants to warn of increased risks, including weight loss, in children under 6. These drugs show higher adverse effects and blood levels in this age group, prompting caution in off-label use.
FDA approves Takeda’s Gammagard liquid ERC
July 1, 2025 / Gammagard Liquid ERC / Takeda FDA approval / primary immunodeficiency treatment / low IgA immunoglobulin / ready-to-use IVIG
The FDA approved Takeda’s Gammagard Liquid ERC, a low-IgA, ready-to-use immunoglobulin therapy for primary immunodeficiency patients aged two and older. It offers IV or subcutaneous administration without reconstitution, simplifying treatment and reducing immunogenicity risks in IgA-sensitive individuals.
// Research & Development
3 osteoporosis medications linked to heart attack risk: 5 notes
July 1, 2025 / osteoporosis medications / heart attack risk / atrial fibrillation study / denosumab teriparatide cardiovascular / Epic Research data
A large Epic Research study linked teriparatide and denosumab—commonly used osteoporosis treatments—to increased risks of atrial fibrillation and heart attack, while bisphosphonates showed a slightly lower stroke risk. Romosozumab and abaloparatide showed no significant cardiovascular associations.
Biogen begins Phase III trial for primary membranous nephropathy
July 1, 2025 / Biogen / felzartamab trial / primary membranous nephropathy / kidney disease treatment / proteinuria remission study
Biogen has launched the Phase III PROMINENT trial to evaluate felzartamab in patients with primary membranous nephropathy, aiming to reduce proteinuria and anti-PLA2R antibody levels. The 104-week study compares felzartamab to tacrolimus in moderate-to-high-risk individuals.
atai up a third on positive results with fast-acting psychedelic
July 1, 2025 / atai Life Sciences / BPL-003 trial / treatment-resistant depression / psychedelic therapy / 5-MeO-DMT
atai Life Sciences and Beckley Psytech reported that a single intranasal dose of BPL-003 (5-MeO-DMT benzoate) significantly reduced depressive symptoms in treatment-resistant depression during a Phase IIb trial, meeting all primary and secondary endpoints.
Amgen Announces Positive Topline Phase 3 Results for Bemarituzumab in Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2b (FGFR2b) Positive First-line Gastric Cancer
June 30, 2025 / Amgen / bemarituzumab trial / FGFR2b gastric cancer / FORTITUDE-101 results / targeted gastric therapy
Amgen’s Phase 3 FORTITUDE-101 trial showed that bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival in FGFR2b-positive, HER2-negative advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer patients, meeting its primary endpoint at interim analysis.
Breast Cancer Risk in Younger Women May Be Influenced by Hormone Therapy
June 30, 2025 / breast cancer / hormone therapy / estrogen plus progestin / menopause treatment / NIH study
NIH researchers found that unopposed estrogen therapy (E-HT) lowers breast cancer risk in women under 55, while estrogen plus progestin therapy (EP-HT) raises it—especially in women with intact reproductive organs—highlighting the need for personalized hormone therapy decisions.
// Politics
Senate passes Trump’s tax-cut bill that would slash Medicaid spending
July 1, 2025 / Medicaid cuts / healthcare access / uninsured Americans / Senate legislation / federal funding
The U.S. Senate passed a $4.5 trillion tax-cut bill that includes significant Medicaid funding cuts, raising concerns among healthcare providers about increased uninsured rates and reduced access to care, particularly for low-income and vulnerable populations.
HDHS warns critical sectors about pro-Iranian cyberattacks
June 23, 2025 / healthcare cybersecurity / Iranian cyberattacks / medical IoT threats / DHS advisory / hospital ransomware
The Department of Homeland Security warns that pro-Iranian cyber actors may target U.S. healthcare systems amid rising geopolitical tensions. These actors exploit vulnerable networks and medical IoT devices, threatening data security, operations, and patient safety.
US open to ‘creative solutions’ on pharma trade with EU, Irish minister says
July 2, 2025 / pharmaceutical trade / EU US tariffs / drug supply chain / pharma negotiations / transatlantic healthcare
The U.S. signaled openness to “creative solutions” in pharmaceutical trade talks with the EU, suggesting potential tariff relief. Ireland emphasizes pharma sector interdependence, aiming for reduced barriers and free trade to support global drug supply chains.
RFK Jr. brings in team to ‘revolutionize’ US vaccine injury compensation program
July 1, 2025 / vaccine injury compensation / RFK Jr. vaccine reform / VAERS overhaul / COVID vaccine claims / childhood vaccine safety
RFK Jr. is leading a push to overhaul the U.S. Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, aiming to include COVID-19 vaccine injuries, extend filing deadlines, and reform VAERS. His team is also reshaping CDC vaccine policy and review processes.
Proposed cuts could have ‘catastrophic effect,’ 110 biomedical, health sciences industry leaders tell Congress
June 27, 2025 / NIH funding cuts / biomedical research impact / health science innovation / federal research budget / U.S. biotech competitiveness
Over 100 biomedical and health science leaders warn Congress that proposed FY2026 federal research funding cuts, including to NIH and NSF, could severely damage innovation, economic growth, and U.S. leadership in biomedical and life sciences.