Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mark Cuban Starts Generic-Drug Firm; Therapy App Talkspace Going Public
Stat: Mark Cuban Wades Into Medicine With A New Generic Drug Company
Mark Cuban turns down new business opportunities on Shark Tank by declaring “I’m out!” But when it comes to generic drugs, Cuban is now all in. In an unexpected move, the high-profile billionaire has launched the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which its website says is “dedicated to producing low-cost versions of high-cost generic drugs” and claims that everyone will get the same low price for every drug it makes. (Silverman, 1/13)
Stat: Esperion Buys Rights To A Pill That Might Lower Cholesterol Like Injectables
The most powerful cholesterol drugs ever invented have become a pharmaceutical cautionary tale, failing to reach their commercial potential because of high sticker prices and an inconvenient need for needles. Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR), a small Michigan company with a pair of approved cholesterol treatments, believes it can replicate their effects in pill form, creating a cheaper, easier-to-take medicine that can succeed where its predecessors faltered. (Garde, 1/13)
In technology news —
FierceHealthcare: Online Therapy App Talkspace To Go Public In $1.4B Deal With Blank Check Firm
Online therapy app Talkspace plans to go public through a merger with SPAC Hudson Executive Investment Corp. The combined company will operate as Talkspace and intends to be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol "TALK." The deal values Talkspace—which connects users with licensed therapists via video chat or text—at $1.4 billion, including debt. The deal will provide the company with $250 million in cash to be used as growth capital, the companies announced Wednesday. (Landi, 1/13)
FierceHealthcare: Walgreens Announces Creation Of New Tech Startup Aimed At Developing Comprehensive Patient Platform
Walgreens is establishing a tech-enabled healthcare startup with the goal of creating a new patient platform that blends physical and digital tools, company leadership said. Executives with the retail pharmacy chain detailed the tech startup, which is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of the company’s fiscal year, during a talk Wednesday during the annual J.P. Morgan healthcare conference. The decision is part of a larger trend in the pharmacy space of retail chains aiming to expand their digital offerings. (King, 1/13)
Modern Healthcare: FDA Outlines Approach To AI Oversight In Medical Devices
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday released a five-pronged plan to underpin its approach to regulating medical software with artificial intelligence or machine learning components, including plans to issue new guidance for how developers modify such software. The document represents the first so-called "action plan" the FDA has released on the topic. Agency officials plan to update its approach as technology and research advance. "To stay current and address patient safety and improve access to these promising technologies, we anticipate that this action plan will continue to evolve over time," said Bakul Patel, director of the Digital Health Center of Excellence in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, in a statement. (Kim Cohen, 1/13)
Stat: Sana Biotechnology, Filing For IPO, Aims For Astronomical Valuation
After years of rumors, Sana Biotechnology is positioning itself to file for an initial public offering that could give it the largest-ever valuation for a preclinical company in biotech. The company is looking to raise just $150 million in an initial public offering, according to a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. (Sheridan, 1/13)
In related news —
Stat: What Comes After The Telehealth Boom? Hybrid Care Models Draw Interest
Buoyed by the pandemic, 2020 was undoubtedly the year that telehealth turned the corner to mainstream. But for savvy investors, the big question isn’t what’s hot now — it’s what’s the future holds. (Aguilar, 1/14)
Stat: Using Technology To Help Heal Health Care Disparities
For the first time in its 54-year history, CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show) is all digital this week. Technology, some of which was highlighted in previous shows, has helped save us during the coronavirus pandemic, letting us work, learn, and connect remotely. (Shapiro, 1/13)
Stat: 'This Is The Foundation': Health Tech Leaders Discuss Access, Inequity, And Community At CES
For all the focus on digital health at the Consumer Electronics Show for the past decade, there has been little substantive coverage of how the sector can tackle health inequity — or how certain technologies have exacerbated long-standing health disparities. That changed notably at this year’s virtual CES, with a number of sessions dedicated to exploring thorny ethical issues that, if unaddressed, could deepen existing forms of historic inequality. (Brodwin, 1/14)
Stat: 4 Steps For AI Developers To Build Trust In Their Clinical Tools
As health systems deploy new tools that predict patients’ risk of serious medical outcomes, many appear to be sidestepping the more delicate task of ensuring that health workers trust those systems. The conversation is changing, however, as real-world examples of the tools’ unintended consequences emerge and as health workers increasingly express a desire for more information about the tools they’re tasked with using. (Brodwin, 1/13)
