News Archive

Last week, the nation’s leading heart organizations released a sweeping new set of guidelines for lowering cholesterol, along with an online calculator meant to help doctors assess risks and treatment options. But, in a major embarrassment to the health groups, the calculator appears to greatly overestimate risk, so much so that it could mistakenly suggest that millions more people are candidates for statin drugs.

The apparent problem prompted one leading cardiologist, a past president of the American College of Cardiology, to call on Sunday for a halt to the implementation of the new guidelines.

A patient with abdominal pain dies from a ruptured appendix after a doctor fails to do a complete physical exam. A biopsy comes back positive for prostate cancer, but no one follows up when the lab result gets misplaced. A child’s fever and rash are diagnosed as a viral illness, but they turn out to be a much more serious case of bacterial meningitis.

Such devastating errors lead to permanent damage or death for as many as 160,000 patients each year, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Not only are diagnostic problems more common than other medical mistakes—and more likely to harm patients—but they’re also the leading cause of malpractice claims, accounting for 35% of nearly $39 billion in payouts in the U.S. from 1986 to 2010, measured in 2011 dollars, according to Johns Hopkins.

IBM has made its Watson cognitive computing technology available as a cloud-based app development platform, and healthcare vendors are already getting in on the act.

Company officials they hope to encourage new uses of the fast-evolving technology and spur a slew of innovative apps. In this new marketplace, they say, developers of all sizes and industries can access resources – developer toolkits, educational materials and access to Watson’s application programming interface – for developing Watson-powered technology of their own.

Physician’s Choice Laboratory Services (PCLS) announced today that it has recently partnered with Genesys Biolabs, a division of 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. (Rockville, MD) to offer PAULA’s Test (Protein Assay Using Lung Cancer Analytes), a simple blood test that aids physicians in the early detection of lung cancer.

“As an enthusiastic proponent of personalized medicine, PCLS is pleased to partner with 20/20 GeneSystems to promote their newest assay for early stage detection of lung cancer, PAULA’s Test. This test will be of great value to the physicians and patients affected in communities PCLS serves. Lung cancer is a curable disease when caught early and risk-directed screening will save lives as well as reduce the total cost of treatment. The test is a beneficial leap forward for high-risk individuals, providers, and the healthcare system,” said Joe Wiegel, President of PCLS.

Mark Cuban’s comments about personalized health may have turned a few heads but as one source soberly reminded us, he is not the first or the only billionaire investor in healthcare. Not by a long shot. Several people who have nine zeroes in their net worth have invested in the space. They’re motivated by emerging mobile health technology to help reduce healthcare costs and see it as playing a critical role in the future of healthcare technology. There are also philanthropic considerations to increase access to healthcare in underserved populations.

MhealthInsight reckons there are about 19 billionaire investors in mobile health, including Cuban. Here are some highlights from that list.

A new interdisciplinary center at the University of Maryland is at the forefront of a digital revolution in health care.

Gaithersburg-based biotech MedImmune has appointed Yong-Jun Liu, chief scientific officer of the Baylor Research Institute, as its new head of research.

The appointment puts Liu in a pivotal role, not just for MedImmune but also for its parent company, AstraZeneca, which is depending on its U.S.-based biologics arm to supply a pipeline of early-stage drug candidates.

Johns Hopkins undergraduate students have invented a system to shock a dangerously irregular heart back into normal rhythm more safely and effectively.

The two-component system is designed both to expand a doctor’s options in routing electric current through the heart and to improve the application of pressure to the patient’s body to help treatment succeed.

The past month has seen a flurry of social engagement around the Pitch Across Maryland and the 160+ videos we amassed during the month-long tour around our great state of Maryland.

Our entrepreneurs and their supporters got the Vote Out for their ventures and the Three Fan Favorites were announced last week.

This week we have received the “envelope” with the distilled list of Eight (8) Finalists (a.k.a The Great 8) who have been selected to present again at TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo (www.innovate.md) on Monday, November 18.

Monday, November 18, 2013, BWI Airport Marriott

The 2013 Entrepreneur Expo  hosted by The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) brings together all of Maryland’s entrepreneurial resources from across the state into one place, at one time. This 3rd Annual Event is expected to draw 400+ of the region’s top entrepreneurs, small business executives, angel and venture capital investors, federal and state economic development officials, university leaders and legislators.

The theme for this year’s event is E2E: Entrepreneurs Inspiring Entrepreneurs and illustrates the focus on creating an environment where leading entrepreneurs can inspire the next generation of innovators, and where up-and-comers can make valuable connections to ideas, mentors and capital.