Michigan Insurer Will Curtail Coverage Of Weight Loss Drugs
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will drop coverage of GLP-1 obesity drugs like Wegovy from many of its plans, affecting some 10,000 people. The reason: cost. In other news, a research project at the University of California, Berkeley, into the visual effects of psilocybin will include human subjects.
Bloomberg:
Michigan’s Largest Insurer To Drop Coverage For Obesity Drugs Like Wegovy
Weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. will lose coverage under many plans run by Michigan’s largest health insurer as companies grapple with whether the drugs are worth the cost. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will drop coverage of GLP-1 obesity drugs in fully insured large group commercial plans starting in January, a spokesperson said, a move that will affect nearly 10,000 people on the medications. (Swetlitz, Muller, and Smith, 6/12)
CBS News:
UC Berkeley Researchers To Have Human Subjects In Psilocybin Study
A UC Berkeley research center seeks to understand why psilocybin alters the visual experience in a study with human subjects. The study marks UC Berkeley's first experiments on humans with a Schedule I substance — those which the federal government considers to have no currently accepted medical use. The drug appears in select mushrooms, often dubbed "shrooms" or "magic mushrooms," according to the National Institutes of Health. (6/12)
Stat:
Pfizer's Gene Therapy For Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Fails Trial
Pfizer said Wednesday afternoon that a closely watched gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy failed to slow the disease’s progression in a Phase 3 trial. (Mast, 6/12)
Stat:
Europe Shakes Up The Way It Values Drugs. Gene Therapy Makers Are Worried
A major shakeup in how the benefits of medicines are assessed in Europe is looming, and developers of treatments like gene therapies are already arguing that what they see as flaws in the new system could entrench the issues they’ve had getting their products to patients. (Joseph, 6/13)
In tech and science news —
ABC News:
Oklahoma Girl Becomes 1st Pediatric Patient To Undergo Robotic Deep Brain Stimulation
An Oklahoma girl has become the first pediatric patient in the world to have robotic deep brain stimulation performed on her, two hospitals have announced. The patient, 8-year-old Karliegh Fry, suffers from rapid-onset primary dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions. (Kekatos, 6/12)
NPR:
This New Brain-Mapping Device Could Make Neurosurgery Safer
A flexible film bristling with tiny sensors could make surgery safer for patients with a brain tumor or severe epilepsy. The experimental film, which looks like Saran wrap, rests on the brain’s surface and detects the electrical activity of nerve cells below. It’s designed to help surgeons remove diseased tissue while preserving important functions like language and memory. (Hamilton, 6/13)
Stat:
AI For Biopsies Can Analyze Microscopy Images, Help With Diagnosis
To non-pathologists, the histology slide looked, as all histology slides do, like a sea of mottled lilac and burgundy. Oblong pink spots, like sprinkles on a cookie at a Barbie-themed birthday party, spotted the left side of the image. To LLaVA 1.5, an open-source artificial intelligence mode, the cells looked like they were from the cheek. LLaVA-Med, a version of LLaVA trained on medical information, told researchers the cells were from breast tissue. (Trang, 6/12)
Fox News:
Artificial Intelligence, Used By NASA And Neurosurgeons, Could Remake Education
Artificial intelligence delivered advances to the U.S. space program and to medicine decades before it made headlines. Now, AI is poised to bring major improvements to American education, tech entrepreneur Alex Galvagni said in an exclusive interview in New York City with Fox News Digital. Galvagni is CEO of Age of Learning, the California-based company behind popular school-room products such as ABCmouse Early Learning Academy. (Byrne and Borchers, 6/13)
CBS News:
Michigan Researches Say Honey Bees Can Detect Lung Cancer
Researchers at Michigan State University have found that honey bees could detect lung cancer. Bees have long provided humans with honey, wax, and the pollination of around 80% of our flowering plants, but they could also sniff out cancer in the future. (Vaughen, 6/13)
CBS News:
Research Shows Link Between Certain Social Factors And Prediabetes In Children
New research shows a link between certain social factors and prediabetes in children, regardless of race and ethnicity. The senior author of the study shared how these findings could make a difference in helping reverse prediabetes in kids and diabetes prevention. A group of University of Pittsburgh and UPMC researchers have found that food insecurity, low household income and not having private health insurance are linked to higher risk of prediabetes in children, regardless of race and ethnicity. (Guay, 6/12)
