Dispensed: CVS Health's plan to become a go-to spot for healthcare, uBiome's 75-person advisory boards, and an inside look at a massive generic drug lawsuit
Hello,
Hope everyone is recovered from the long week of conferences!
I wanted to start this week's newsletter with a BIG welcome to Clarrie Feinstein, who joins the BI healthcare team as a fellow. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, and in the coming weeks I'll be highlighting the work she'll be doing.
She'll be a big help as we pull together the under 40 in healthcare list I mentioned last week.
Here's the form for nominations. The deadline for submissions is June 19, but be sure to get them in as soon as possible! We're looking for rising stars within the healthcare industry bringing interesting ideas to their roles - regardless of whether it's in the C-Suite or earlier in their careers.
This week was filled with big updates on CVS Health's strategy, walk-in clinic scoops, details on uBiome's scientific advisers, and more.
A lot of people in the industry announced new roles this week. Merck's Adam Schechter is slated to be the next LabCorp CEO, while former Juno Therapeutics CEO Hans Bishop is stepping in as CEO of preventive cancer diagnostic company Grail. Today, Sanofi announced that Novartis Pharmaceuticals' unit CEO Paul Hudson will be its next CEO, replacing Olivier Brandicourt. (Funny enough, I chatted with both Sanofi and Hudson earlier this year about the potential of digital therapeutics!)
Are you new to our newsletter? You can sign up for Dispensed here.
To start, thought, a quick final word on how health insurers fared in Q1: Bright Health at the end of May posted a final filing, showing that theMinnesota-based venture-backed insurer made a profit of $15.3 million over the period.
You can read about Bright Health's plans for expansion in the coming years - as well as Oscar's and Devoted's - and a wrap-up of all of the health insurance startup's first-quarter financial results here. The results show how the companies, which combined have raised $3 billion from investors, are deploying their cash as they expand across the US.
On Tuesday, CVS Health hosted an investor day, in which it committed to rolling out 1,500 of its health-centered stores, dubbed "HealthHubs" by the end of 2021. I watched all the presentations and read through the slides so you don't have to.
CVS Health just gave a 174-slide presentation on the future of the company. Here are 8 crucial slides that show how it plans to transform the way Americans get healthcare.
- CVS Health on Tuesday held an investor day to detail the company's strategy now that the retail pharmacy giant has combined with the health insurer Aetna.
- CVS laid out how it plans to make its pharmacies your go-to place to get healthcare through its HealthHubs, pharmacies that have been fitted with additional medical services.
- Here are some of the key slides the company presented, outlining why CVS is making a big bet that it can be the place you go when you get sick.
Shortly after the FBI raid on microbiome-testing startup uBiome, we took stock of all of the scientists and doctors the company listed out over the years as advisers. Then, Emma Court set out to find out what role the advisers actually played.
Some fascinating tidbits: uBiome added nearly 40 experts to its board - each appointment warranting its own press release - in 2018. And the company had a dedicated employee to manage the relationships.
A renowned Harvard geneticist and MacArthur 'genius' were among the 75 scientist advisers for embattled $600 million poop-testing startup uBiome. But 'they were pretty much there for show.'
- uBiome is a San Francisco startup that specializes in tests for the microbiome, a set of bacteria in your body tied to human health.
- The FBI raided uBiome's offices in late April, reportedly over its billing practices. Insiders say problems at the company extended beyond that, including shortcuts taken on the science.
- A list of 75 prominent scientists, doctors, and other experts were affiliated with the company through its advisory boards, lending intellectual heft to uBiome's scientific efforts.
- uBiome valued and prioritized building those prestigious relationships, especially last year, when the company added nearly 40 advisory board members.
- The relationships lacked substance, sources told Business Insider.
- uBiome said in a statement that its advisory boards "serve as a valuable resource to our team of researchers as we advance the science of the microbiome" and that the company looked forward "to continuing to leverage the talents and insights of this diverse and highly talented group moving forward."
Emma also had the scoop today on the unredacted complaint brought by attorneys general for 44 states against generic drugmakers. Definitely worth a read.
Trading intel with rivals and searching for 'dirt': Inside the secret communications that allegedly show how big drug companies plotted for years to increase the price of your medicines
- Attorneys general for 44 states recently brought a new lawsuit against the world's largest generic drugmaker, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and 19 other generic drugmakers, alleging that they coordinated to hike the prices of more than 100 different generic drugs.
- The lawsuit is the second to be brought as part of an investigation by the states into generic drugs, which are typically thought of as low-cost treatment options. The complaints have brought new scrutiny to the medications' prices and to the business practices of generic drug companies.
- Business Insider obtained an unredacted copy of the complaint, which recounts alleged communications between employees of rival companies by way of email, Facebook message, and spreadsheets. The goal was to coordinate on drug pricing and deals with customers, the complaint alleges.
- Teva has denied any criminal or civil liability and said it will defend itself vigorously. Mylan also said the complaint contains "unproven allegations" and that it plans to defend itself.
Erin Brodwin had a scoop this week on West Coast-based Carbon Health's expansion plans beyond the Bay Area.
Medical clinic startup Carbon Health just raised $30 million to take on One Medical and reinvent how you visit your doctor
- Carbon Health, the Silicon Valley startup behind a handful of walk-in health clinics, is expanding, the company exclusively told Business Insider.
- As part of a $30 million fundraising round led by the venture arm of the global investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, Carbon will be opening its first locations outside the Bay Area - starting in malls and office parks in Los Angeles and beyond.
- Like other primary-care startups, including One Medical and Forward, Carbon offers same-day appointments, easy-to-read lab results, travel vaccines, and even some in-house medications.
Tips? "Under 40" candidates who are just too good to send via a form? You can find our now-team of five (!) at healthcare@businessinsider.com. And please be sure to send any thoughts on what the future of primary care will look like (At the drugstore? With a tech-enabled walk-in clinic? Via a large insurer?) or thoughts on the latest Jonas Brothers album to me at lramsey@businessinsider.com.
Have a great weekend!
- Lydia