A periodic roundup of news of note in health and pharma digital by Matthew Arnold, Principal Analyst
- Google’s Brain Team is partnering with Stanford University to explore the use of speech recognition software for transcribing medical conversations, with a view toward alleviating the EHR-input drudgery that has become the bane of many physicians’ working days. In an initial study, Google scientists were able to build Automatic Speech Recognition models with word error rates of 20.1% and 18.3%.
- Apple and Amazon are also looking at the EHR/PHR market. Apple has filed patents for plugging sensor data into health records, and Amazon’s 1492 project is reputedly looking at EHR and telemedicine applications for its virtual assistant, Alexa, and Echo platform.
- Relatedly, Amazon is said to be wrapping up talks with Cerner about putting the EHR giant’s population health service, HealtheIntent, on Amazon Web Service’s cloud.
- It seems like every development in the healthcare industries of late is being interpreted through the lens of the “Amazon effect,” but it’s probably a factor in a slew of odd bedfellows business moves of late, including the proposed merger of Aetna and CVS and Cleveland Clinic’s partnership with Oscar Health. Meanwhile, a buzzy analyst note suggested that an initial Amazon entry might involve distribution of medical devices and supplies rather than drugs, and Takeda’s CEO said he thinks it would be great if Amazon did go after the PBMs and drug distribution incumbents.
- The Proteus/Otsuka Abilify-plus-smart-pill collaboration finally won FDA approval. Now, the pill-plus combo, dubbed Abilify MyCite, must demonstrate that it can boost adherence in a tricky disease state to compete against generics.
- A number of companies in the asthma/COPD space have partnered with Propeller Health on smart inhalers. Now Express Scripts is following suit, partnering with Propeller Health on a program meant to help keep patients from overusing rescue inhalers, thereby realizing lower costs and better outcomes.
- Teva is launching an individualized digital support program for MS patients in the UK. Based on a World Health Organization framework, Teva’s MS Care Programme combines tailored digital support with nurse support and a call line. The company is also bracing for big layoffs and a restructuring amid sagging generics revenue and competition for its MS franchise.
- Reckitt Benckiser and WebMD are partnering on a Mucinex-branded chatbot that will serve up answers to questions about cold and flu or Reckitt Benckiser’s cold treatment to consumers searching on the website.
- Stanford researchers developed a neural network that diagnosed pneumonia better than radiologists in a teensy trial. Similar results have been demonstrated in heart arrhythmias and skin cancer.
- Even at 280 characters, you still can’t cram a full fair balance statement into a Tweet, but Twitter’s character limit expansion, coupled with more latitude to add video and images to Tweets, might make the medium more pharma-friendly, some say.
- Facebook is taking its algorithmic suicide prevention effort on the road, expanding to countries outside the U.S. after a successful pilot here. Last month, the company said first responders checked on people more than 100 ties after Facebook’s algorithm flagged possible suicidal intent.
- A flurry of top execs leaving Alphabet health ventures for biopharma firms – most recently, the departure of Calico R&D chief Hal Barron for GSK -- is raising eyebrows. Perhaps it means these “moonshot” initiatives aren’t all they were hoped to be – or it’s just another sign that pharma is looking to lure away tech expertise.
- The big search and social media platforms – Facebook, Google, Bing and Twitter – are collaborating with some heavyweight news outlets on an effort to fight “fake news” by validating trusted sources of journalism. The Trust Project will place icons (Trust Indicators) next to news feed items giving readers info about the publisher and journalists.
- Sleepy year at OPDP, with FDA enforcement letters against pharmas for marketing and advertising no-nos at an historic low going into December (3 and counting).
- President Trump nominated longtime Lilly exec (and former George W. Bush Administration appointee) Alex Azar to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. With industry figure Scott Gottlieb leading FDA and Azar at HHS, it’s probably safe to say that pharmas can expect a somewhat less hostile regulatory environment in Washington – and that Big Pharma will be the featured villain in a slew of political attack ads come 2018.
- Even as Washington deliberates several measures that could destabilize the Affordable Care Act exchanges (including killing the coverage mandate and financial supports for lower-income buyers, etc.), robust 2018 enrollment numbers are pouring in, despite a YUUUUGE-ly diminished promotional budget and a cut-in-half enrollment window (which could still mean a net shortfall in signups, particularly among the younger, healthier enrollees that help hold premiums down).
