23andMe Co-Founder’s Nonprofit Wins Bidding War To Buy Most Of Its Assets
TTAM Research Institute, the nonprofit led by 23andMe's former CEO Anne Wojcicki, has won back 23andMe’s core assets: its Personal Genome Service, Research Services, and telehealth subsidiary Lemonaid Health. Other industry news includes gene therapy, layoffs, nurse shortages, and more.
Stat:
23andMe Is Won Back By Anne Wojcicki And Will Become A Nonprofit
A nonprofit led by Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder and long-time CEO of genetic data firm 23andMe, won a last-minute bidding war to buy most of the company’s assets for a price of $305 million, the company said in a press release. (Herper, 6/13)
Stat:
Second Patient Dies After Getting Sarepta's Duchenne Gene Therapy
Sarepta Therapeutics said Sunday that it was halting shipments of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy for patients who can no longer walk, following the death of a second person who received the treatment. (Joseph, 6/15)
KFF Health News:
A Revolutionary Drug For Extreme Hunger Offers Clues To Obesity’s Complexity
Ali Foley Shenk still remembers the panic when her 10-year-old son, Dean, finished a 20-ounce box of raisins in the seconds the cupboard was left unlocked. They rushed to the emergency room, fearing a dangerous bowel impaction. The irony stung: When Dean was born, he was so weak and floppy he survived only with feeding tubes because he couldn’t suck or swallow. He was diagnosed as a baby with Prader-Willi syndrome — a rare disorder sparked by a genetic abnormality. He continued to be disinterested in food for years. (Sibonney, 6/16)
In health care industry updates —
Modern Healthcare:
Providence Layoffs To Hit 600 Positions
Providence is cutting 600 full-time positions this week as the health system reorganizes operations. Most of the affected roles are administrative ones, but some patient care jobs were affected as well, according to a Thursday news release. Providence employs 125,000 people across seven states. Renton, Washington-based Providence cited financial pressures as the reason for the layoffs, including payer denials, high costs for supplies and pharmaceuticals, high labor costs and potential cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. (Hudson, 6/13)
Military.com:
Nursing Staff Shortages Disrupt Infusion Clinic Operations At Walter Reed
Staffing shortages continue to plague the U.S. military's flagship hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, leading to the disruption of services this month in the nephrology infusion clinic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A Walter Reed spokeswoman said Thursday that two nurses at the clinic, which provides infusion services for kidney, some gastroenterology and other department patients, went on emergency leave, forcing hospital leaders to shift staff from other areas of the hospital to support clinic operations. (Kime, 6/13)
Modern Healthcare:
Amazon Restructures Leadership At One Medical, Health Services
Amazon is restructuring its healthcare division and another high-profile executive is departing the company. As part of the restructuring, Amazon’s Vice President of Health Partnerships and Marketing Aaron Martin is planning to leave the company later this summer after assisting with the transition, according to a person familiar with the situation. (Turner, 6/13)
Charlotte Ledger:
Ambulance Companies Seize Wages, State Tax Refunds To Cover Bills
When Christy Owca’s 17-year-old son flipped his Jeep in a crash in 2019, she was grateful that an ambulance got him to the hospital quickly and that his injuries turned out to be minor. So when the first bill from Gaston County’s ambulance agency came, she didn’t think twice about paying the $61 fee. But more bills kept coming. Then came statements from her health insurance company, each showing a different amount she owed just for the ambulance ride. (Crouch, 6/16)
KFF Health News:
‘Not Accountable To Anyone’: As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out Of Options
By the time Eric Tennant was diagnosed in 2023 with a rare cancer of the bile ducts, the disease had spread to his bones. He weighed 97 pounds and wasn’t expected to survive a year with stage 4 cancer. Two years later, grueling rounds of chemotherapy have slowed the cancer’s progress, even as it has continued to spread. But chemotherapy has also ravaged Tennant’s body and his quality of life. (Sausser, 6/16)
