- Stanford researchers genetically engineer yeast to produce opioids (news.stanford.edu)Modified yeast produce opiates from sugar (sciencemag.org)
... researchers at Stanford have genetically engineered yeast to make painkilling medicines, a breakthrough that heralds a faster and potentially less expensive way to produce many different types of plant-based medicines…they reprogrammed the genetic machinery of baker's yeast so that these fast-growing cells could convert sugar into hydrocodone...
- New Frost & Sullivan report redefines role of wearables (drugstorenews.com)
Wearable devices will soon play a meaningful role in the monitoring of healthcare that goes well beyond the niche activity trackers that are on the market today, … Future functionality will include real-time, remote patient monitoring and post-surgery rehabilitation… will eventually offer support to healthcare institutions by sharing real-time data collected by the consumer..
- Next-gen APIs will exploit “bugs” human gut (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
Irish researchers say the young field of gut microbiota is a pharmaceutical and regulatory "dream" with clear targets… Gut microbial communities consist of hundreds of abundant bacteria species and perhaps thousands of molecules at physiologically relevant concentrations,…we want to harvest them to improve human health...
- World Courier Introduces Climate-Controlled Packaging Laboratory (pharmtech.com)
World Courier (AmerisourceBergen) launched its Climate Optimisation Research & Engineering Labs to help pharmaceutical manufacturer clients evaluate, validate, and select the right climate-controlled packaging solutions for their specific needs,…The new solution center aims to…provide recommended combinations of the right packaging for the right transport route; and develop new packaging solutions with industry partners in situations where customer needs require novel solutions.
- Kim Kardashian, Dr. Oz And TV Drug Ads (forbes.com)
Data show that these ads certainly increase the sales of an advertised drug… these ads also tend to trigger a negative response from the public, This use of drug promotion via social media is far more dangerous than TV drug ads. Getting celebrities with millions of followers to tout your product,…can have a big impact… FDA needs to crack down on this as vigorously as it does other forms of drug promotion....
- How Bioinformatics Could Find The Next Breakthrough Cancer Drug (forbes.com)Automated profiling of individual cell–cell interactions from high-throughput time-lapse imaging microscopy in nanowell grids (TIMING) (bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org)
Immunotherapy is being hailed as the future of cancer treatment. Harnessing the body’s own immune system to attack and kill cancer cells,..surging in the biotech and pharmaceutical space…identifying more high-performing immune cells… Engineers..with physicians… have invented new software that can pinpoint tens of thousands – and even hundreds of thousands – of these cells…
- Google plans to grow healthcare efforts under Alphabet (healthcareitnews.com)
Google's life sciences team,…partnered with DexCom to develop small low-cost sensors to improve diabetes management….to build continuous glucose monitoring devices, incorporating Google's miniaturized electronics platform…enable them to use data…to improve outcomes and reduce the costs associated with diabetes care,..
- TruTag, WuXi PharmaTech successfully test edible, on-dose authentication
Testing on an edible on-dose authentication technology developed by TruTag Technologies is showing promising results for its use in combating counterfeit drugs…TruTech partnered with WuXi PharmaTech,…technology that can store a drug’s provenance information on individual tablets. The silica, dust particle-sized TruTags act like bar codes that can provide information about where a drug was manufactured and its dosage, as well as supply chain details like lot or batch number...
- EHRs can increase docs’ medical malpractice liability (fierceemr.com)
Electronic health records can increase a provider's malpractice exposure,… EHRs initially were envisioned to reduce medical errors, but surmises that hasn't yet occurred…EHRs are causing or contributing to malpractice problems… found to create new, unanticipated legal problems…are changing the nature of medical malpractice lawsuits.
- Computer glitches and design flaws, such as a restrictive drop down menu, which can cause medical errors
- The "transparency" of EHRs themselves, which makes it harder to hide mistakes or sloppy work habits
- The increased documentation requirements and resulting desire to use templates and other shortcuts, which can lead to discrepancies in the EHR
- The inability of EHRs to catch some errors, such as dosage mistakes
- Large Employers Look To Tighten Control Of Costs For Expensive Drugs (khn.org)
More than half of large employers in 2016 will aim to more tightly manage employees’ use of high-priced specialty drugs, one of the fastest-growing expenses in their health plans…companies still expect the cost of specialty drugs…continue rising at a double-digit annual rate — well ahead of the pace for traditional pharmacy drugs or companies’ overall spending on health benefits…