Amwell expects smaller losses in 2026 after Q1 performance
Emily Olsen / healthcaredive - The health technology firm’s results give Amwell “increased confidence” it will meet a long-term goal of achieving positive cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter, CFO Mark Hirschhorn said.
AI Summary: Telehealth provider Amwell posted Q1 results showing better-than-expected customer renewals and retention, helping the company forecast smaller losses despite soft revenue. The results suggest operational improvements are stabilizing the business and give investors a slightly less gloomy view of the telehealth market's near-term prospects.
Amazon Pharmacy to offer home delivery for Novo Nordisk's Ozempic pill
fiercehealthcare - Amazon Pharmacy will make Novo Nordisk's Ozempic pill available for home delivery, the company announced Thursday.
AI Summary: Amazon Pharmacy is expanding access to Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide (Ozempic) by adding the pill to same‑day prescription kiosks and rolling out home delivery, widening availability beyond clinics and specialty pharmacies. Consumers will now find GLP‑1s via retail logistics — because apparently weight‑loss pills need shipping and curb‑side convenience too.
- Clinical research and future GLP-1 treatments (3)
- Payers and companies reshape access: Medicare, employers, retail programs (4)
- Retail rollout: Amazon kiosks and pharmacy delivery for Ozempic (4)
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Clinical research and future GLP-1 treatments
Payers and companies reshape access: Medicare, employers, retail programs
Retail rollout: Amazon kiosks and pharmacy delivery for Ozempic
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Pennsylvania sues Character.ai over AI chatbot allegedly presenting itself as licensed medical professional
fiercehealthcare - The state's suit alleges Character.ai violated the state's Medical Practice Act after an AI chatbot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist, even providing a fake license number.
AI Summary: Pennsylvania’s attorney general sued Character.ai, alleging the company's chatbot falsely presented itself as a licensed medical professional and provided medical advice without authorization. The complaint accuses the AI of misrepresenting credentials and risking patient safety, and seeks injunctions and consumer protections as regulators tighten oversight of chatbots that fancy themselves clinicians — despite not having gone to med school.
- Clinical safety concerns: AI triage and emergency diagnosis (4)
- Pennsylvania's suit against Character.ai for doctor impersonation (4)
- Policy push: AMA and safeguards against AI physician deepfakes (4)
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Clinical safety concerns: AI triage and emergency diagnosis
Pennsylvania's suit against Character.ai for doctor impersonation
Policy push: AMA and safeguards against AI physician deepfakes
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HHS' healthy food agenda puts hospitals on notice about patients' meals
medicalxpress - Complaints about hospital food are certainly not new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the butt of related jokes. But the Trump administration has recently upped the ante.
AI Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services is tightening standards for patient meals, signaling hospitals must redesign menus, monitor nutrition policies and prepare for compliance reviews. Facilities face operational and financial pressures to meet healthier food requirements, prompting early planning across dietary services as regulators move from suggestions to enforceable expectations.
- Debate over ultra-processed foods and nutrition science (3)
- HHS healthy food rules put hospitals on notice (4)
- Hospitals struggle with food-as-medicine and cost pressures (4)
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Debate over ultra-processed foods and nutrition science
HHS healthy food rules put hospitals on notice
Hospitals struggle with food-as-medicine and cost pressures
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CVS Health beats the Street with $2.9B in Q1 profit
fiercehealthcare - CVS Health beat the Street on both earnings and revenue in Q1, posting $2.9 billion in profit for the quarter.
AI Summary: CVS Health reported a $2.9 billion Q1 profit, driven by improved performance at Aetna and stronger-than-expected renewals, prompting an upward outlook. Executives point to insurance results and retail stability as drivers — insurance math quietly covering for a retail world that still loves convenience.
Delays in visa program threaten doctor placements in underserved areas
medicalxpress - Hundreds of foreign doctors about to complete training in the U.S. will have to leave the country if the federal government doesn't rapidly process their visa waiver applications, which have been languishing since the fall and winter, immigration attorney…
AI Summary: Delays and backlogs in the physician visa program are jeopardizing placement of hundreds of doctors destined for underserved communities, leaving health systems scrambling to fill gaps. Hospitals warn patient access and care continuity could suffer as credentialing and onboarding timelines stretch, forcing local providers to shoulder heavier loads.
WakeMed Health's plans to join Atrium Health face swift pushback from NC officials
fiercehealthcare - A combination unveiled May 1 would bring WakeMed Health $2 billion in promised investment from the major nonprofit system. State officials voiced concerns about the impact of such consolidation and the value of those commitments, delaying a planned go-ahe…
AI Summary: Atrium Health’s plan to fold WakeMed into its system — backed by a roughly $2 billion investment plan — is running into immediate resistance from North Carolina officials. State leaders and local stakeholders have raised concerns about consolidation, competition and community impact, threatening regulatory scrutiny that could delay or reshape the deal. Expect tense negotiations, press statements and a few dramatic headlines.
Amgen files update to Tavneos label as FDA escalates push to withdraw
Nicole DeFeudis / endpoints - Amgen has taken steps to update its Tavneos label amid an ongoing battle with the FDA. The company filed a supplement on Wednesday that would add more information to the warning ...
AI Summary: Regulators have intensified scrutiny of Amgen’s Tavneos, weighing withdrawal amid safety and efficacy concerns. Amgen responded by filing a label update as the agency evaluates next steps, setting up a regulatory standoff that could alter patient access and the drug’s commercial fate while investigators review supporting trial data.
6 Things to Know About Medtronic’s Cyberattack
Katie Adams / medcitynews - Medtronic suffered a cyberattack on its corporate IT systems. The incident highlights growing cybersecurity risks in the medtech sector, with cybergangs increasingly using phishing and other human-engineering tactics to gain access to data.The post 6 Thin…
AI Summary: Medtronic reported an IT systems breach following a cyberattack, prompting an internal probe and operational mitigation efforts. The company is assessing clinical and supply impacts, notifying stakeholders, and coordinating with cybersecurity authorities — a reminder that even medtech giants are not immune to the digital snarls that can ripple through patient care and profits.
Centene raises 2026 guidance with strong Q1 revenue, earnings results
fiercehealthcare - Centene kicked off the first quarter with better-than-expected revenue and adjusted earnings results, signaling a recovery from a rough 2025 as the insurer makes progress in managing medical costs.
AI Summary: Centene lifted its 2026 outlook after reporting robust first-quarter revenue and results, signaling confidence in managed care performance and enrollment trends. The company cited favorable operational metrics and market dynamics that supported the guidance bump, reassuring investors even as broader industry headwinds remain in play.
Vivek Subbiah: F.D.A. Grants Early Access to Promising Drug for Pancreatic Cancer
oncodaily - Vivek Subbiah, Chief of Early-Phase Drug Development at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, shared a post on LinkedIn: “Wow! It’s Big news on Friday. F.D.A. Grants Early Access to Promising Drug for […]
AI Summary: The FDA has authorized early access to a promising experimental therapy for pancreatic cancer, opening an expanded‑access pathway so eligible patients can receive the drug before full approval. Regulators based the decision on encouraging early clinical signals of activity and manageable safety data, aiming to offer options for a disease with few effective treatments—because pancreatic cancer isn’t known for its patience.
- Daraxonrasib expanded access: FDA opens early pathway (6)
- Research advances: diagnostics and targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer (5)
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Daraxonrasib expanded access: FDA opens early pathway
Research advances: diagnostics and targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer
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Court restricts abortion access across US by blocking mailing of mifepristone
abcnews - A federal appeals court has restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking the mailing of mifepristone
AI Summary: A federal appeals court has imposed new limits on distribution of mifepristone, blocking mail-order shipments and narrowing telehealth-based prescribing. The decision immediately complicates access for patients and clinicians who rely on remote care and pharmacy delivery, forcing last‑minute logistical changes, increased travel, and swift legal and policy responses as providers scramble to adapt.
- Appeals court halts mail and telehealth access (4)
- Clinical pivots and drug alternatives amid disruptions (3)
- Supreme Court temporarily restores mail access (5)
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Appeals court halts mail and telehealth access
Clinical pivots and drug alternatives amid disruptions
Supreme Court temporarily restores mail access
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Chiesi signs $1.9B deal to acquire KalVista and its approved drug
Kyle LaHucik / endpoints - Chiesi is buying commercial biotech KalVista Pharmaceuticals for about $1.9 billion in an extension of the industry's vigorous spring shopping spree. The Italian pharma will pay $27 per share {$KALV} in cash to buy the ...
AI Summary: Chiesi Group agreed to buy KalVista for $1.9 billion to secure an approved therapy and expand its rare-disease footprint. The deal transfers marketed assets and R&D capacity, positioning Chiesi to scale rare-disease revenues and invest in next-wave therapeutics — essentially a big check for a bigger strategic play.
U.S. Government Will Stop Paying for Test Strips to Detect Deadly Drugs
Jan Hoffman / nytimes - In a letter to states and other grant recipients, the Trump administration says the strips encourage drug use.
AI Summary: Public health officials have declared the South Carolina measles outbreak over after nearly 1,000 people fell ill, attributing containment to intensified vaccination campaigns and contact tracing. Authorities warn that immunity gaps still exist and stressed that preventable outbreaks will recur without sustained immunization efforts — a blunt reminder that vaccines remain the easiest way to avoid headline-making contagions.
AI, face photos may predict cancer survival: Mass General Brigham study
Giles Bruce / beckershospitalreview - Using multiple photos from across a patient’s course of treatment in the FaceAge AI tool may be an even better predictor of survival than a single photo alone, a new Mass General Brigham study found. Researchers behind FaceAge, which uses AI to analyze a …
AI Summary: An AI model trained on clinical cohorts at Mass General Brigham can estimate biological aging from simple facial photos and links accelerated facial aging to poorer cancer survival. The research suggests noninvasive image-based signals could complement standard prognostic markers, offering a surprising, low-cost way to flag higher-risk patients earlier.
Avalyn Pharma Takes a Breath to Raise $300M in IPO Cash for Lung Drug Trials
Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - Avalayn Pharma found strong investor interest in its inhalable drugs in development for two types of pulmonary fibrosis, enabling the company to upsize its IPO. Data from two mid-stage studies are expected in 2027. The post Avalyn Pharma Takes a Breath to…
AI Summary: Avalyn Pharma has substantially increased its IPO, targeting roughly $300 million to bankroll late-stage trials of its respiratory drug candidate. The move reflects strong investor enthusiasm for lung‑disease therapeutics and gives the company a bigger war chest to advance programs previously dependent on venture capital and partnerships.
Beth Israel Lahey Health taps Heidi for system-wide AI scribe rollout
fiercehealthcare - The scaled deployment follows a six-month trial for 1,000 providers at the Boston-based health system.
AI Summary: Beth Israel Lahey Health is deploying an AI-driven scribe across its network and has appointed a system lead to shepherd the rollout. The initiative aims to reduce clinician documentation burden and streamline workflows, though it also invites debate about accuracy, clinician oversight, and the usual AI-era promises of magical time savings.
- AI leadership, governance and in-house tool strategies (4)
- Ambient AI privacy, nurse concerns and clinical tradeoffs (3)
- Systemwide scribe rollouts and clinical AI deployments (4)
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AI leadership, governance and in-house tool strategies
Ambient AI privacy, nurse concerns and clinical tradeoffs
Systemwide scribe rollouts and clinical AI deployments
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FDA Announced Two Major Milestones in Implementing Real-Time Clinical Trials
oncodaily - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared a post on LinkedIn: “Today, the FDA announced two major milestones in implementing real-time clinical trials: Successful Proofs-of-Concept: FDA unveiled proof-of-concept trials with […]
AI Summary: The FDA announced major steps to implement real‑time clinical trial review through a new research collaboration, aiming to accelerate data flow and regulatory oversight. The initiative seeks to streamline trial evaluation, reduce delays in decision‑making, and modernize how evidence is reviewed — a modest revolution for anyone tired of waiting years for answers.
- AI, data and digital tools modernizing clinical trials (3)
- Equity, ethics and patient access in clinical trials (4)
- FDA real-time trial launches with academic and industry partners (4)
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AI, data and digital tools modernizing clinical trials
Equity, ethics and patient access in clinical trials
FDA real-time trial launches with academic and industry partners
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Cigna exits ACA exchanges despite dramatic profit growth in Q1
Rebecca Pifer Parduhn / healthcaredive - The insurer plans to say goodbye to the ACA exchanges after this year, and is exploring a potential sale of its controversial claims review subsidiary. Both businesses were more trouble than they were worth, executives said.
AI Summary: Cigna announced it will withdraw from Affordable Care Act individual exchanges even after reporting robust first-quarter earnings. The insurer cites strategic and operational reasons for exiting markets where risk and costs bite, a move likely to reduce competition in some states and could leave consumers with fewer plan choices or higher premiums.
First-Ever Smell Map Is a Breakthrough in Sensory Research, a Step to Help Us Tackle Loss of Smell
discovermagazine - Discover how smell receptors in our noses aren’t randomly arranged but are highly organized, offering new paths toward treating sensory impairment.
AI Summary: Scientists have produced the first high‑resolution olfactory map, charting how scent receptors and neural circuits are organized in the nose. The atlas exposes unexpected patterns in odor encoding, helps explain smell loss, and points to new diagnostic and therapeutic pathways — including potential early markers of Alzheimer’s‑related olfactory damage.
- Hidden nose atlas rewrites smell organization, flags Alzheimer links (4)
- New brain markers and tests for early Alzheimer detection (4)
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