Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Half Of Those With HIV In The US Live In Climate Change-Vulnerable Areas
The 19th: Climate Change Is Disrupting Access To HIV Treatment
Half of people with HIV in the United States are living in places that are vulnerable to extreme weather and climate disasters, according to a new analysis from the left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP). The report from CAP released Wednesday finds that the areas of the country where HIV is being diagnosed at disproportionately high rates are also places most at risk of disasters. (Kutz, 11/20)
CIDRAP: Climate Change May Drive Migratory Birds Farther North, Introducing Exotic Tick-Borne Diseases
Rising temperatures fueled by climate change may allow pathogen-infected ticks attached to birds migrating from tropical to cooler locations to survive at their destinations, researchers reported this week in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. (Van Beusekom, 11/20)
In other pharma and tech developments —
CIDRAP: Novel Genomic Test Shows Promise To Streamline Diagnosis Of Multiple Infectious Diseases
After a decade in development, a new genomic test developed at the University of California–San Francisco (UCSF) promises to rapidly and accurately diagnosis infections caused by almost any pathogen—whether a virus, bacterium, fungus, or parasite. The tool uses a genomic sequencing technique, called metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), to quickly decipher if a bacterium, fungus, virus, or parasite is causing an infection. Instead of ruling out each pathogen in a process of elimination, mNGS analyzes all the nucleic acids, RNA and DNA, present in a sample simultaneously. (Soucheray, 11/20)
MedPage Today: 'A Watershed Moment': GLP-1 Drug Succeeds In Late-Stage MASH Trial
Semaglutide (Wegovy) improved liver fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and led to greater rates of MASH resolution, an interim analysis of a phase III trial showed. (Bassett, 11/20)
Stat: A Needle Shot Alternative? Researchers Turn To Squids, Cuttlefish
Doctors have been using needles as a way to inject people with drugs since the 1600s. Today they’re often used for biologic drugs, which are too large to deliver via pills because they would be dissolved by stomach acid. Now a group of bioengineers is hoping to give drug delivery an update with a device that draws inspiration from cuttlefish and other sea creatures. (Oza, 11/20)
Stat: New Details On A Risky Medical Device Show Need For More FDA Transparency, Researchers Say
Tonya Brand was horrified to find a piece of metal poking out of her inner thigh while relaxing at her house in Georgia in 2011. She had no idea what it could be. It was only after extensive imaging that her doctors realized what had happened: A medical device that had been implanted in her two years earlier to catch blood clots had broken and was now migrating to different parts of her body. (Lawrence, 11/20)
On health data and privacy —
Modern Healthcare: Dexcom Invests $75M Into Oura Smart Rings
Smart ring company Oura announced it received $75 million in funding from glucose monitoring and diagnostics company Dexcom. The strategic investment brings Oura’s valuation to more than $5 billion and allows the companies to begin integrating data between Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitoring products and Oura’s smart ring and application. (Turner, 11/19)
Los Angeles Times: Tracking Your Health With A Device? Here's Where The Data Could Go
Wearable technology — smartwatches, smart rings, fitness trackers and the like — monitors body-centric data such as your heart rate, steps taken and calories burned, and may record where you go along the way. ... But the lack of oversight into how body-centric data are used and shared with third parties has prompted concerns from privacy experts, who warn that the data could be sold or lost through data breaches, then used to raise insurance premiums, discriminate surreptitiously against applicants for jobs or housing, and even perform surveillance. (Fry, 11/20)
