Hello,
Happy Friday! We here on the
Let's dive in.
But first - want more updates from the healthcare team? Subscribe to this newsletter here — and tell your friends!
What it'll take to get a coronavirus vaccine approved
Because there are so many updates on any given week, here's a quick rundown on where we stand on the
Moderna finished recruiting for its 30,000-person trial. Andrew Dunn has a good post on the shift to prioritize diversity in the final weeks of the trial.- AstraZeneca's US trial is still paused, though the drugmaker was set to restart it as soon as this week, Reuters reported.
- The FDA on Thursday approved the first ever treatment for COVID-19, Gilead's antiviral remdesivir (though I guess now we have to call it Veklury). It's set to be a blockbuster drug, but the data from late-stage trials of the drug pose lots of questions about how effective it really is.
- Plus, for those trying to follow along with when officials think you'll get a vaccine: HHS Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that all Americans who want a vaccine could have one by spring 2021. (Me? Still hoping I'll get a shot sometime next summer.)
One of the most closely-watched updates in the vaccine race was an advisory committee meeting held by the FDA. The intent of the meeting was to debate key questions and considerations ahead of upcoming vaccine results.
Andrew tuned into the day-long affair, catching up on all the plans, including vaccine cards that track who's ready for their second shots (I'm not confident I will keep track of mine). Another challenge: vaccine hesitancy could limit how many people get a shot, if/when we get effective
Read the full story here>>
The top 5 takeaways from the first meeting of the FDA's expert vaccine group, including plans for vetting, distributing, and tracking COVID-19 vaccines
A blow to Amazon's health ambitions
Blake Dodge has been keeping her eye on how tech giants' healthcare ambitions are shaping up.
As part of our 30 under 40 project, Blake spoke with Dr. Lily Peng, the 37-year-old doctor who's tasked with advancing Google's healthcare ambitions by giving physicians 'super powers.'
The two had a good conversation about the promises and the realities of technologies like artificial intelligence, and the chat gives a good glimpse of where the secretive Google Health team might be headed.
Meanwhile at
Blake had the scoop Thursday on the departure of Missy Krasner, who left Amazon's Alexa health and wellness team for a role at New York-based venture firm Redesign Health.
Read more about her move here>>
A key member of Amazon's health team just left to join a venture firm that's launching a mental-health-focused startup
It's been a record year for digital health funding
In the third quarter of 2020 alone, digital health startups racked up $8.4 billion in funding, according to a report out Monday from CB Insights.
Megan Hernbroth broke down who the five biggest VC investors were in the quarter. The top VCs invested in companies like Kindbody, Ro, and Thrive Early Detection.
Direct-to-consumer healthcare startup Thirty Madison also raised tens of millions in the third quarter, bringing in $47 million from investors including pharma giant Johnson & Johnson.
Blake got a look at the presentation the company used to win investors over on a company that prescribes and ships medications for conditions like migraines, acid reflux, and hair loss.
See the full presentation here>>
How 2 former Googlers convinced Johnson & Johnson to bet on the hottest part of healthcare and raised $47 million in the process
How Oscar and Clover have performed financially over the years
We're gearing up for the public debut of health insurer Clover Health in 2021 via SPAC.
So we thought it might be a good time to take a trip down memory lane, wading through years of insurance filings, to get a look at how Clover and rival Oscar Health have performed over the years in two key ways: enrollment and profits or losses.
- Oscar had a shaky first few years enrolling members on the individual exchanges. It's posted a net loss every year since its founding.
- Clover, which sells plans to seniors, has steadily enrolled new members since 2015. It's also posted a net loss every year since it started offering health plans.
Both companies posted profits in the first half of this year, but it'll be interesting to see how they fare through the rest of 2020. Insurers have made a windfall as members postponed medical care in the early days of the pandemic.
With that, I'll leave you with a great piece from Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick. You may know her as a top advisor to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Fitzpatrick's also taking part in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine trial. Read on to see what her experience has been like.
I hope you all have good weekends! I'm looking forward to more fall weather and maybe watching a Halloween movie or two.
Thoughts? Tips? Find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com or you can reach our entire healthcare team at healthcare@businessinsider.com.
- Lydia