On a recent press tour of New Jersey I was introduced to PTC Therapeutics, a fascinating company that is developing ribosomal readthrough drugs for several indications.
What I find so interesting about this company and their technology is that it is a sort of magic bullet. Drugs that can modulate ribosomal activity can potentially treat hundreds of diseases (indeed, PTC told me that they are looking at thousands of diseases).
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Commonwealth Fund have concluded that electronic health record systems and other digital tools are likely to curb the demand for physicians in the future.
Based on their analysis of recent trends in digital health care and a review of the scientific literature, the authors conclude that patients’ future use of physician services will change dramatically as electronic health records and consumer e-health “apps” proliferate. The findings appear in the issue of the journal Health Affairs.
Primary care physicians’ adoption of electronic health records increased significantly between 2009 and 2012, but there continues to be a “digital divide” between large and small physician practices, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund, FierceHealthIT reports.
Study Findings
The study found that EHR adoption by primary care physicians increased from 46% in 2009 to 69% in 2012 (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 1/26).
Using tiny biodegradable particles to disrupt the body’s normal immune response after a heart attack could help save patients from tissue damage and certain long-term health problems that often follow. Researchers have shown that injecting such particles into mice within 24 hours of a heart attack not only significantly reduces tissue damage, but also results in those mice having stronger cardiac function 30 days later. The inventors of the new technology now plan to pursue human trials.
Much of the tissue damage that results from a heart attack is the result of inflammation, the body’s natural response to harmful stimuli such as damaged muscle. But in the case of a heart attack, these immune cells do more harm than good, explains Daniel Getts, inventor of the new therapy and chief scientific officer of Cour Pharmaceutical Development. The system’s weaponry is “fairly generic,” he says. While the toxic compounds that the immune cells secrete can be beneficial in defending the body against an infection, they also cause tissue damage. This phenomenon occurs not only after heart attacks, but also in a range of other diseases, including West Nile Virus, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis.
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Investing in activities that support the creation and expansion of high-growth companies and jobs is at the forefront of technology-based economic development (TBED). TBED fosters a climate where new and existing companies that develop technology and continuously innovate will thrive. Understanding the trends that are affecting and influencing TBED can help guide investment priorities for practitioners and policymakers across the nation.
A slow yet stable national economic recovery gave rise to many new initiatives across states and regions with a shift toward targeted and refined investments in the high-tech economy for quicker returns – a continued trend from 2012.
Millennial Media Inc. founder Paul Palmieri has stepped down as chairman and CEO of the publicly traded Baltimore mobile advertising firm, effective immediately.
He will join venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates as a venture adviser focused on technology out of its Chevy Chase office.
Threat and opportunities are two sides of the same coin here. While cancer is one of the biggest threats the healthcare sector is witnessing today, it has also thrown open a number of investment opportunities.
Cancer detection and treatment focused companies attracted almost $17 million from VC ( venture capital) investors during 2013. Norwest led the charge, which deployed $11 million in the cancer-focused medical devices maker Perfint Healthcare and $4 million in cancer-focused diagnostics chain Nueclear Healthcare. Cancer-focused drug development firm Invictus Oncology attracted $1.9 million from Aarin Capital and Navam Capital.
Earlier this month, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a trade association representing the U.S. venture capital industry, released the results of its MoneyTree Report on venture funding for 2013. The report, which is prepared by NVCA and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP using data from Thomson Reuters, indicates that venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, which constituted a 7% increase in dollars and a 4% increase in deals over the prior year (see chart below, which shows total venture funding from 2004 to 2013; data from MoneyTree Reports).
A Baltimore company’s medical device that aims to reduce dialysis treatment complications was among two winners of an inaugural bioscience challenge.
Baltimore-based Hemova Medical and Arizona-based MyFuelUp were the winning companies Jan. 24 in the BioAccel Solutions Challenge in Phoenix, a contest that first identified four unmet medical needs before seeking out startups that could help solve the problem. MyFuelUp is an app that provides healthy meal plans.
Srinagar: Jammu Kashmir Innovators Forum (JKIF) is making a device that would measure glucose from the skin without taking any blood sample.
Jammu & Kashmir Innovators Forum, sole Forum from the state, which works for inventions, researches and innovations Saturday announced that it is testing a prototype of a device that would help the people with diabetes to manage this disease.
