What healthcare investors worry about

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and this week in healthcare news:

• We quizzed leaders about the future of healthcare and biotech at last week's HLTH conference;
• Institutional healthcare investors are wary about the rise of tech investors in the biotech space;
• A COVID-19 vaccine for kids could be authorized by the FDA any day now.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lrosenbaum@insider.com or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it...

Leaders share what's in store for the industry

Though the 2021 HLTH conference ended last week, our reporters are still bringing you news and interviews from those days in Boston.

This week, reporters Mohana Ravindranath and Shelby Livingston wrote about a new partnership between Highmark Health, an $18 billion healthcare system, and Verily. The two giant companies are partnering in an effort to increase value-based care.

Meanwhile reporter Andrew Dunn wrote about his interviews with biotech entrepreneur Alexis Borisy, and why EQRx is Borisy's biggest venture yet.

Andrew also spoke to chief Regeneron scientist George Yancopoulos, who had some advice for all the CRISPR-based gene editing companies out there.

See all the coverage>>

The CEO of an $18 billion health system shared how it's partnering with Verily to transform the way doctors provide care

What healthcare investors worry about

Also at HLTH, reporter Megan Hernbroth spoke to institutional healthcare investors who said they were worried about the sudden increase of cash in the space from tech investors like Tiger Global Management.

They say that these massive influxes of cash are partially responsible for pushing company valuations to astronomically high levels.

Our reporters noted other new investment news this week. Mohana wrote about why investors seem to be interested in Cityblock, even though it's a startup in the traditionally underfunded Medicaid sector.

And Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer and Blake Dodge reported on a startup geared towards improving healthcare for older adults.

Check it out now>>

Here's why longtime healthcare investors urge caution against the influx of funding from tech firms like Tiger Global Management

A COVID-19 vaccine for kids could be authorized any day now

This week, Andrew reported that an FDA advisory panel voted to recommend that the agency authorize a lower-dose version of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 years old. While the FDA doesn't have to agree with its expert panel, the agency usually does.

That means vaccines for young kids could be coming any day, accompanied by a more kid-friendly needle, according to science editor Erin Schumaker.

In more encouraging COVID-19 news, a large study just found that a cheap and common antidepressant called fluvoxamine lowers the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 in high-risk patients, Erin Snodgrass wrote.

Read more>>

The FDA's expert panel just gave a thumbs-up for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in younger children, clearing the path for authorization in a matter of days

More stories that kept us busy this week:

• Shelby found out that a coalition of huge companies, including Boeing and Walmart, are pushing back against drug-industry middlemen.
• Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce wrote that Amazon is putting Alexa devices next to hospital beds in the US in an effort to boost productivity.
• Catherine also found out that sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, and COVID-19 is making things even worse.
• Anna Medaris Miller covered a first-of-its kind vaccine for breast cancer that's headed to human trials.
• Hilary Brueck wrote about the potential for nasal COVID-19 vaccines, which are still quite a long ways off.

-Leah