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<ul><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ears-stock">Auris Medical</a> soared as high as 480% on Tuesday on news that its nasal spray AM-301 could protect against the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>.</strong></li><li><strong>The clinical-stage company tested its spray on human nasal cells in a lab and found that cells treated with AM-301 right before inoculation of the coronavirus had effective protection.</strong></li><li><strong>In cells treated with the spray, the amount of the coronavirus was 90% lower than in control groups 48 hours after infection. </strong></li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ears-stock"><strong>Watch Auris Medical trade live here</strong></a><strong style="color: #222222;">.</strong></li></ul><p><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ears-stock">Auris Medical</a> soared as high as 480% on Tuesday after it announced lab-test results that showed its nasal spray could protect against the coronavirus. Shares of the Bermuda-based clinical-stage company were trading at over $5 per share after closing at just $1.1 on Monday.</p><p>Auris tested its nasal spray AM-301 on human nasal cells reconstituted in a lab. Auris found that cultures treated with AM-301 right before inoculation with the coronavirus had effective protection against the virus.</p><p>The amount of virus was 90% lower 48 hours after infection than that observed in controls. And 72 hours after infection, the virus was 99.2% lower. In saline-treated control cultures, the coronavirus replicated efficiently.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-31-set-to-become-growth-engines-hsbc-2020-12">HSBC says buy these 31 global stocks that are exposed to the pandemic's biggest tech disruptions and set to become growth engines of the future</a></em></p><p>"With our newly developed spray formulation, we have direct evidence that AM-301 has the potential to significantly mitigate the risk of infection of nasal mucosal cells," <a href="https://ir.aurismedical.com/news-releases/news-release-details/auris-medical-reports-positive-vitro-efficacy-data-am-301">Auris Medical CEO Thomas Meyer</a> said.</p><p>Meyer said Auris would take AM-301 through additional tests and look to submit to regulatory applications in 2021.</p><p>AM-301 is a drug-free nasal spray being developed by Auris' affiliate, Altamira Medica.</p>

Auris Medical skyrockets 480% after announcing lab-test results that show its nasal spray could protect against COVID-19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A drug-resistant <keyword id="121368" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="fungus">fungus</keyword> has killed three people in Dallas and Washington, DC.</li><li>The especially dangerous strain of C. auris is resistant to all three major antifungals.</li><li>Some of the people who caught it had not received antifungals, and the strain is spreading.</li></ul><p>An untreatable fungus is spreading in two Dallas-area hospitals and a nursing home in Washington, DC, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p><p>The fungus, a yeast called <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/candida-auris-508.pdf">Candida auris</a>, was already resistant to most antifungal treatments. In 2019, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6901a2.htm">three cases in New York</a> broke through the last line of defense, a class of drugs called echinocandins.</p><p>This is the first time <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> officials have seen a <a href="https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/outbreak-of-superbug-fungus-reported-in-d-c-and-dallas-area-health-officials-say/">"clustering of resistance"</a> in people who had not previously received antifungal treatment, meaning the dangerous strain is spreading person-to-person within facilities.</p><p>C. auris is especially dangerous to seriously ill patients living in hospitals or long-term care facilities. In those settings, a fungus can spread via contaminated surfaces and equipment. One hospital even had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/health/drug-resistant-candida-auris.html">rip out the floor and ceiling tiles</a> in a room where an infected patient died.</p><p>In Texas, the two patients who had so-called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deadly-drug-resistant-fungi-are-next-big-public-health-threat-2021-5">"pan-resistant" infections</a> died. One of the three infected nursing home residents in DC also died.</p><p>Not all of the infections in the outbreaks were completely drug-resistant. The Dallas cluster included 22 cases total across two hospitals, and the DC outbreak saw 101 cases of C. auris, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-f2c6f1712e7d6907e543bb9e3dc53d2d">Associated Press</a>.</p><p>Most C. auris strains are resistant to some antifungals, but can be treated with echinocandins. If that treatment doesn't work, healthcare workers are essentially out of options, CDC medical officer Meghan Lyman told <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/22/first-cases-candida-auris-resistant-to-all-drugs-untreated-people/">STAT</a>.</p><p>"These cases are ones where the options are really limited," Lyman said. "And the fact that now it can spread … means that a greater proportion of patients may have pan-resistance and [may] develop clinical infections that are potentially untreatable."</p>

Untreatable 'superbug' fungus that resists all drugs detected in Texas and DC

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The World Health Organization released a list of the most health-threatening fungi.</li><li>The ranking is based on fungal resistance to drugs, deadliness, and available treatments.</li></ul><p>For the first time, the World Health Organization has published a <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060241">list of fungus species</a> that are considered threats to human health, citing a recent rise in drug-resistant fungal infections and a lack of research into new treatments.</p><p>Millions of fungi exist in the environment, and not all of them make people sick. Several kinds of mushrooms are edible and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/functional-mushroom-supplement-promises-focus-with-lions-mane-2022-2">even beneficial for humans,</a> but there are a few hundred fungi species known to cause dangerous infections.</p><p>Fungal infections are becoming more common around the world, in part due to climate change and global travel, according to the WHO report. During the COVID-19 pandemic, invasive fungi <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41564-022-01172-2">increased the risk of hospital-acquired infections</a> for already sick patients.</p><p>People with compromised immune systems and respiratory infections are especially vulnerable to harmful fungi, and the medications used to treat them are limited. There are only four classes of antifungal medicines available at the most well-stocked medical locations, and many healthcare settings are limited to fewer options.</p><p>Here's what you need to know about the four species considered the most critical threats.</p><h2><strong>Aspergillus fumigatus</strong></h2><p>Many people have encountered potentially dangerous fungi without realizing it. Aspergillus is a common mold species found in and around flower beds, decaying plant matter, and damp spots inside homes.</p><p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 75,000 people in the US are hospitalized with fungal infections every year, and that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/cdc-and-fungal/burden.html">at least 20% of those infections</a> are caused by aspergillus. </p><p>Because the species is so widespread, it's hard to avoid inhaling aspergillus mold spores. Most people who inhale the mold don't get sick, but <a href="https://www.insider.com/man-nearly-died-from-fungal-infection-that-colonized-his-brain-2022-10">aspergillosis</a> is an especially dangerous infection for immune-compromised people.</p><h2><strong>Candida albicans</strong></h2><p>If you've ever had a yeast infection, you've experienced candidiasis — a common fungal infection caused by various species of yeast.</p><p>Candida albicans is the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/index.html">most common culprit of yeast infections</a>, according to the CDC. The species normally lives on the skin and inside the mouth, throat, and vagina, but it can cause problems if it grows out of control.</p><p>For instance, changes to the vaginal environment — <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/sex-relationships/why-do-i-keep-getting-yeast-infections">due to hormones, medicines, or poor hygiene</a> — can result in itchiness, pain during sex, and abnormal discharge. People with weakened immune systems also may be more likely to experience recurring yeast infections, and they might need stronger medication to treat them.</p><p>However, some fungi have already begun to develop resistance to top-line antifungal drugs.</p><h2><strong>Candida auris</strong></h2><p>Hospitals have reported a rise in severe yeast infections due to <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-is-candida-auris-deadly-fungal-infection-2019-4">Candida auris</a>, an aggressive and drug-resistant type of yeast, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/candida-auris-qanda.html">CDC</a>.</p><p>Invasive yeast has a tendency to grow where it doesn't belong, such as in the bloodstream and internal organs. C. auris has been known to spread throughout healthcare settings, causing outbreaks of severe infections.</p><p>To make matters worse, the fungus is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Many hospitals and laboratories lack the specific technology needed to identify C. auris, so it may be mistaken for a less threatening yeast.</p><p>The fungus is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat yeast infections, making it much more difficult to treat compared to C. albicans, and all the more important to diagnose correctly.</p><h2><strong>Cryptococcus neoformans</strong></h2><p>Like aspergillus, cryptococcus is mainly a threat to people with weakened immune systems. Cryptococcus neoformans can be found in environments all over the world. It's ranked a higher threat compared to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/cryptococcosis-gattii/index.html">C. gattii</a>, a similar species that is mostly limited to tropical and sub-tropical climates.</p><p>Infection with C. neoformans usually affects the lungs — because it is inhaled — or it can make its way into the brain and spinal cord. Brain infections due to the fungus are called cryptococcal meningitis, which must be treated with a combination of strong antifungals.</p>

4 of the most dangerous fungi that can make you sick, according to the WHO — from toxic mold to yeast infections

<div type="image" title="people walk past a billboard for hbo show the last of us" height="1500" width="2000" msid="97424048" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-last-of-us-hbo-change-mask-pedro-pascal-face-2023-1">"The Last of Us"</a> on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic.</li><li>Experts say mind-controlling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mushrooms-getting-destroyed-pennsylvania-farms-labor-farms-2021-11">mushrooms</a> aren't an imminent threat, but <a href="https://www.insider.com/people-getting-sick-from-drug-resistant-mold-in-homes-gardens-2022-4">anti-fungal drug resistance</a> is.</li></ul><p>The first season of <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-last-of-us-season-one-recap-details-you-missed">HBO's "The Last of Us"</a> ends on Sunday, but there's still much to learn from the science that inspired it.</p><p>In most ways, the show depicts a classic zombie apocalypse.</p><p>One morning, everybody is going about their normal life. There's a mention on the radio of chaos in Jakarta. And by nightfall, twitchy, possessed once-humans are sprinting after the <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-last-of-us-bella-ramsey-failed-driving-test-billboards-2023-1">main character</a>.</p><p>This time, though, it's a <em>fungus</em> turning people into zombies.</p><p>The new scenario, first realized in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-last-of-us-game-compares-to-hbo-series-photos-2023-1">video game that the show is based on</a>, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life.</p><p>"A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email.</p><p>No species of fungus currently known to science poses an immediate pandemic threat for humans — especially not the way the show portrays it. Still, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/25-10-2022-who-releases-first-ever-list-of-health-threatening-fungi#:~:text=Emerging%20evidence%20indicates%20that%20the,of%20international%20travel%20and%20trade.">fungal infections are on the rise worldwide</a>, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.</p><p>Some even worry that new super-pathogens could arise from the <a href="https://asm.org/Reports/The-Fungal-Kingdom-Diverse-and-Essential-Roles-in">fungus kingdom</a>.</p><p>"The potential is huge for what can emerge and become a pathogen," Tom Chiller, chief of the fungal disease branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Insider. "I am not going to be surprised that more fungi emerge as human pathogens, that become more challenging to treat and more infectious."</p><p>Here's the science fact and science fiction behind "<a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=biauto-61868-20&amp;h=7331d825c6ec98930e849fa6e4ca32eb63e3a624ee54874d7b9a2ed50180f02b&amp;postID=63d40970186a0b689460207a&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Furn%3Ahbo%3Aseries%3AGYyofRQHeuJ6fiQEAAAEy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">The Last of Us</a>," and the threats that fungi pose.</p><h2>FACT: There is a zombie fungus — in ants</h2><p>Zombies in "The Last of Us" bloom with tendrils of a fungus called Cordyceps, which sprout from their heads and mouths, reaching out for fresh victims.</p><p>Cordyceps is real, but it only overtakes the brains and bodies of insects — <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8">most famously, ants</a>.</p><div type="image" title="zombie ants fungus cordyceps" height="1920" width="2560" msid="97424049" hostid="261"></div><p>The fungus grows inside an ant's body, causes the ant to climb upwards, and then sprouts from its head and releases spores, attempting to spread itself far and wide.</p><p>Cordyceps can't survive at human body temperature, so it can't infect us. But other species of fungus produce substances with mind-altering qualities that can affect human behavior.</p><h2>FACT: Some fungus can affect human brains and behavior</h2><p>Perhaps the most obvious example is <a href="https://www.insider.com/depression-magic-mushrooms-ingredient-psilocybin-hallucinate-symptoms-improve-risks-2022-11">psilocybin</a>, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms. The fungus ergot also has a reputation for altering the human mind.</p><div type="image" title="four people wearing eye masks lean back in chairs" height="1500" width="1999" msid="97424050" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/caused-salem-witch-trials/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Some historians attribute the Salem Witch Trials to ergot poisoning</a>, saying that women began behaving strangely and accusing each other of witchcraft after eating infected rye. The psychoactive substance LSD is derived from ergot.</p><p>"Every time you have a beer, your behavior is affected by the byproduct of a fungus, which is ethanol," David Hughes, who has studied Cordyceps and consulted on the video game "The Last of Us," told Insider.</p><p>The fungus <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/cryptococcosis-neoformans/symptoms.html">Cryptococcus</a> can also spread from the lungs to the brain and cause meningitis — inflammation — that can alter behavior.</p><p>Unlike on TV, though, mind-altering fungus "doesn't jump into our body and affect a behavior that enables future transmission," Hughes said.</p><h2>FICTION: Mind-controlling zombie fungus can make the jump into humans</h2><div type="image" title="model of human body sprouting with mushrooms and fungus built against a wall" height="2250" width="1500" msid="97424052" hostid="261"></div><p>Fungal diseases can jump from animals to humans. But the idea that a fungus like Cordyceps could mutate enough to make the giant leap from insects to humans, and still keep its ability to effectively manipulate behavior, is far-fetched.</p><p>In the infectious-disease world, "never say never," Chiller said.</p><p>"But I will say that there's a lot, a <em>lot</em> of hurdles that need to be overcome," he continued. "An ant and a human are dramatically different. We have immune systems, we live at different temperatures, you know, our body temperature is much higher. So there are just some fundamental things that are going to be exceedingly hard for that particular fungus to overcome."</p><h2>FACT: There is no vaccine for killer fungus</h2><div type="image" title="blond woman in white lab coat looks through microscope at a petri dish with specimens lined up along the counter beside her" height="1498" width="1998" msid="97424054" hostid="261"></div><p>In "<a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=biauto-61868-20&amp;h=7331d825c6ec98930e849fa6e4ca32eb63e3a624ee54874d7b9a2ed50180f02b&amp;postID=63d40970186a0b689460207a&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Furn%3Ahbo%3Aseries%3AGYyofRQHeuJ6fiQEAAAEy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">The Last of Us</a>," the first cases of fictional human Cordyceps appear in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the government asks a leading mycologist to identify the fungus under a microscope and wriggling in the mouth of a dead civilian. Horrified, she learns that 14 people who worked with the victim have disappeared.</p><p>"There is no medicine. There is no vaccine," she grimly informs a government official. She recommends that the government bomb the entire city to contain the fungus.</p><div type="image" title="pedro pascal frowns in thick dark rimmed glasses and dark suit" height="1498" width="1998" msid="98585894" hostid="261" sizebytes="112320"></div><p>In real life, it's true that there is no vaccine for deadly fungal infections (though experts don't recommend bombing as a substitute). There are only a few classes of drugs to treat them, and they aren't always reliable cures.</p><p>In fact, because fungi are so similar to humans at the cellular level, many of the drugs that fight them are also toxic to human bodies.</p><div type="image" title="human hands hold a large mushroom and small knife in forest" height="1500" width="2000" msid="97424055" hostid="261"></div><p>According to <a href="https://gaffi.org/why/fungi-fungal-infections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Action for Fungal Infections</a>, fungi kill more people than malaria.</p><p>"The problem with fungi is we don't have a lot of things in our toolkit to control them," Hughes said.</p><p>Some deadly fungi, like Candida auris, which emerged in 2009, have even developed a powerful resistance to the anti-fungal drugs we do have. In hospital outbreaks, Candida auris has killed anywhere from 29% to 53% of its victims, according to the <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060241">World Health Organization</a>.</p><div type="image" title="petri dish full of white beady fungus candida auris" height="1759" width="1759" msid="97424057" hostid="261"></div><p>Most fungal pathogens are opportunists, Chiller said, and they only cause severe illness in people who are immunocompromised.</p><p>"But there are now fungi that aren't opportunists and can infect any of us. And if those become more infectious, if those become more resistant, that's really what I'm worried about," Chiller said.</p><h2>FICTION: Human bites and 'tendrils' spread killer fungus</h2><p>In the HBO series, zombies have to bite their victims or inject tendrils of fungus into them in order to spread the disease.</p><p>That's not at all how fungal transmission works in real life. Fungal infections largely spread through touch or surfaces — think of <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/conditions-symptoms/athletes-foot">athlete's foot</a> or <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/conditions-symptoms/how-do-you-get-ringworm">ringworm</a>.</p><p>That's why Hughes doesn't think fungi pose a pandemic threat.</p><p>"The extent to which we will see a pandemic, meaning the whole world is affected by a single species ... that doesn't seem probable for fungi, just by nature of their transmission pathways," he said.</p><p>Most fungal pathogens come from the environment, rather than contact with other humans. You're <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-last-of-us-hbo-change-mask-pedro-pascal-face-2023-1">inhaling fungal spores</a> all the time. Usually, the human immune system takes care of that. But if your immune system is weak — due to illness or drugs — that fungus can grow inside you.</p><p>That's why hospitals and prisons are particularly prone to outbreaks. Most human-infecting fungi spread best when immunocompromised people cluster together, or when many people are in close contact and sharing common surfaces.</p><div type="image" title="doctor in scrubs and hairnet looks at large screen with red circular image on it" height="1500" width="1999" msid="97424059" hostid="261"></div><p>Some more dangerous fungal diseases, like <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/index.html">Valley Fever</a>, come from spores in the air and can even sicken healthy people.</p><p>"The real-life nightmare scenario is that fungi like this cause more damage and turn from relatively mild infections to life threatening infection," Van Rhijn said.</p><h2>FACT: Rising temperatures could increase the threat of fungal pathogens</h2><p>Mysteriously, Candida auris outbreaks emerged independently on three different continents at the same time in the 2010s. There was no clear link or contact between the outbreaks.</p><p>Some scientists <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/rise-deadly-superfungus-may-be-tied-global-warming#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20strangest%20things,those%20of%20the%20human%20body.">believe</a> the connecting thread is climate change. As global temperatures rise, fungi have to adapt just like everything else. As more fungi adapt to higher temperatures, more of them may be able to survive and proliferate at human body temperatures — even when human bodies try to kill them off with fever.</p><div type="image" title="A man drops water on his forehead from a plastic bottle." height="1332" width="1776" msid="97424061" hostid="261"></div><p>The opening scene of "<a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?amazonTrackingID=biauto-61868-20&amp;h=7331d825c6ec98930e849fa6e4ca32eb63e3a624ee54874d7b9a2ed50180f02b&amp;postID=63d40970186a0b689460207a&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Furn%3Ahbo%3Aseries%3AGYyofRQHeuJ6fiQEAAAEy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">The Last of Us</a>" hints at this, with a 1968 scientist telling a TV host that slight global warming could breed new fungal super-pathogens.</p><p>Alongside Cryptococcus, the World Health Organization ranked Candida auris as one of the top four priorities in <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240060241" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its first-ever ranking of fungal pathogens</a> last October.</p><p>Climate change is just one factor that could increase the toll fungi take on humanity.</p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic, like prior viral illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/covid-fungal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left more people susceptible to fungal infections</a>.</p><p>Another risk factor comes from improving medical technology, which allows more people to get life-saving surgery at the cost of taking medicines that suppress their immune systems and make them more vulnerable to other infections, like fungi.</p><p>"We're talking about a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-last-of-us-viewership-one-of-hbos-biggest-premieres-2023-1">show that is really wanting to grab the attention</a> of folks and extrapolate some really cool sci fi possibilities here. And that's great," Chiller said.</p><p>"We just need to think fungus," especially with immunocompromised or hospitalized people, he added. "Early diagnosis and early treatment is the best way to save lives."</p><p><strong>You can watch all available episodes of "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-watch-the-last-of-us">The Last of Us</a>" on HBO Max:</strong></p><p><em>This story has been updated. It was originally published on January 29, 2023.</em></p>

'The Last of Us' is based on real science: A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Auris Health</span></p><p class="caption">Auris makes a product called Monarch, a controller operated robotic camera that gives doctors a view inside the body to help with lung cancer diagnosis.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson is buying surgical robotics company Auris Health for $3.4 billion.</li><li><span>"In this new era of health care, we're aiming to simplify surgery, drive efficiency, reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients, ultimately making surgery safer," </span><span>Ashley McEvoy</span><span>, the executive vice president of medical devices at J&amp;J, said in a statement Wednesday. </span></li><li><span>Watch <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/jnj-stock">J&amp;J trade in real time.</a></span></li></ul><p>Johnson and Johnson is bulking up on its surgical robotics presence by acquiring Auris Surgical Robotics for $3.4 billion. </p><p>The surgical-robotics company was most recently valued as a private company at $2.1 billion, putting it among other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-and-biotech-unicorns-going-into-2019-venture-capital-i2018-12">health-tech unicorns.</a> The deal also includes up to $2.35 billion in payments based on development milestones the company hits. </p><p><span>"In this new era of health care, we're aiming to simplify surgery, drive efficiency, reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients, ultimately making surgery safer," </span><span>Ashley McEvoy</span><span>, the executive vice president of medical devices at J&amp;J said in a statement Wednesday. </span></p><p>In March 2018, Auris got FDA approval for its product called Monarch, which is a controller-operated robotic camera that helps doctors get visuals from within the body, including the lungs.</p><p>"We believe that Monarch will become the go-to approach for diagnosing lung cancer in the future," Auris chief scientific officer Josh DeFonzo<span> </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-startup-auris-health-raised-500-million-to-diagnose-cancer-with-controllers-2018-3">told Business Insider at the time</a>.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-stay-cold-temperatures-before-frostbite-stella-snowstorm-snow-2017-3">How long you can stay in extremely cold temperatures before getting frostbite</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Johnson & Johnson is buying a surgical robotics startup for $3.4 billion

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Since its debut six years ago, Redwood City-based startup Auris Health has quietly raised $500 million to develop a series of tools designed to innovate surgical robotics technology.</strong></li><li><strong>The company's latest product, Monarch, is a controller-operated robotic camera that allows physicians to visualize the inside of the human body.</strong></li><li><strong>The technology, which was approved by the FDA earlier this month, could become a key tool in helping physicians diagnose lung cancer early on.&#xa0;</strong></li></ul><p><br>If you've never heard of Auris Health, it's for good reason: Despite the vast amount of capital the company has accumulated over the past six years, Auris has deliberately operated in stealth mode, quietly developing a series of tools designed to innovate surgical robotics technology and raising $500 million from investors including Lux Capital, Mithril Capital Management, Highland Capital, and Coatue Management.</br></p><p>Earlier this month, the company received FDA approval for its latest product: a controller-operated robotic camera that has the potential to transform the way physicians diagnose lung cancer.&#xa0;&#xa0;</p><p>Endoscopy, the medical imaging procedure that allows physicians to look inside the body, has experienced few major advancements since it was developed in the 1960s, Auris's CSO&#xa0;<span>Josh</span><span>&#xa0;DeFonzo told Business Insider. Auris's newest platform, called Monarch, is designed with the intent of transforming endoscopy, particularly in the field of lung cancer diagnosis.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>"We believe that Monarch will become the go-to approach for diagnosing lung cancer in the future," DeFonzo said.</span></p><p><span> Monarch's advantage lies in the platform's technology, which is built on what DeFonzo describes as four key technological pillars. Through its software, data analytics, robotics, and visual imaging, Monarch allows physicians to delicately maneuver cameras within a patient's body, nimbly accessing areas within the lungs that are typically only reachable through more invasive procedures.</span></p><p><span>Monarch's goal is to diagnose lung cancer in its early stages, which the company describes as a crucial component in battling lung cancer. In a press release, Auris said that more than 90 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer do not survive because physicians are made aware of the disease only within its latter, inoperable stages.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Peter&#xa0;Hébert, co-founder at Lux Capital and a member of Auris Health's board, said that keeping the company's innovative technology under wraps for the past six years was an intentional measure.</span></p><p><span>"We<span style="font-weight: 400;">&#xa0;didn't want to make a big stink until we had a produced a technology that actually solved a problem," Hébert told Business Insider.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hébert says he believes that Auris Health will set the precedent for surgical robotics technology in the upcoming years. "It's a big sum of capital that's been raised, but ultimately we want this company to be worth tens of billions of dollars," said&#xa0;Hébert. "Not only does Auris have the potential to&#xa0;transform the lives of millions of people, but from an investor's perspective, this is an iconic company that will represent the next phase of surgical robotics intervention."</span></span></p><h2><strong>Check out how Monarch works in the video below:</strong></h2><p>&#xa0;</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-the-best-novels-will-be-written-by-ai-in-the-future-bjorn-schuller-2018-3">AI will soon write better novels than humans, according to a computer scientist</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

This Silicon Valley startup has quietly raised $500 million to help diagnose cancer using controllers

<p>There's a cultural stigma, especially in the US, that hearing voices in your head is inherently a sign of mental-health issues. There's a community of people on Reddit who have chosen to create voices in their heads, called tulpamancers. Their voices are called tulpas. Here's why this isn't a mental-health concern.</p><p>- [Narrator] In pop culture, hearing voices is generally not perceived as a good thing.</p><p>- [Male Voice] I am Jack's smirking revenge.</p><p>- [Narrator] But there are people who find the voices in their heads to be therapeutic. They intentionally create these voices. They're called Tulpamancers. A Tulpamancer creates a Tulpa, similar to an imaginary friend but with a twist. These imaginary friends possess their own thoughts and emotions. They can act independently of their creator. Meet Jacob, he's a Tulpamancer. We met on Reddit and I reached out to learn what it's really like to hear voices.</p><p>- [Jacob] About four and a half years ago decided to you could say, no longer be alone.</p><p>- [Narrator] Jacob is a 20 year old psychology student. He grew up in a military family and four and a half years ago he created a Tulpa, Aury. We interviewed Jacob, the Tulpamancer and his Tulpa, Aury. To keep track of who's talking look in the top right corner. If you see a purple pony, that's Aury.</p><p>- Jacob and Aury are two people that live in the body that you're looking at right now.</p><p>- I am Aury. And I am a Tulpa. I see myself as a bat pony, as a pony with bat wings and glowing golden eyes and a gray coat and a midnight plume.</p><p>- [Narrator] So Jacob sees Aury as a pony. This is Doctor Samuel Vessiere. He's the first person to ever conduct research on the Tulpa community. He has a theory about why Jacob sees Aury as a pony. Because there are more things that one can do with the imagination they also provide, I don't want to call it an escape but they provide an opportunity to engage in a richer fantasy world. This is why many Tulpas have non-human forms, such as elves or ponies or sort of made up beings.</p><p>- [Narrator] Why would someone choose to create a Tulpa and hear voices?</p><p>- [Jacob] I would move every other year, being raised in the military and so I desperately needed someone who could stick with me.</p><p>- I think the purpose of a Tulpa fits the completely normal human urge to connect with other people. And to not be lonely and to be social. We are through and through evolution we are social beings.</p><p>- [Narrator] Aury is able to possess the body and front, meaning she can control the body and speak for herself. Jacob and Ari have come up with two different methods for switching.</p><p>- There's a possession scene in the movie where someone who comes into the body grasps the hand of someone else and flips it and when they flip it, the identity, the entity that wants to possess the body flows into the body. And since seeing that, that's been a way that Aury and I have been able to quickly possess. So all I'm gonna do is relax my body and let go of tension. And just allow the presence that is Ari to flow in to my feet, and then my legs, then my midsection, then my arms, and then my neck. And when she begins to enter my head I hear my voice begin to travel into the back and I hear hers being to go into the front as she affirms that.</p><p>- [Aury] Then I'm in front. Hello. Everything that people see Jacob do, I can do. Some areas better than him, some areas not as well.</p><p>- [Narrator] So Ari lives in Jacob's mind. Typically, characters in pop culture with voices in their heads are associated with mental-health issues. Do Tulpamancers fall into that category?</p><p>- Even in the most conservative, medically-minded psychiatry, hearing voices is not in and of itself considered a problem. So hearing voices is only a problem if the person who hears them reports being distressed. And if other people around them also report being distressed.</p><p>- Once upon a time, my parents decided that my being LGBT was a mental illness that was symbolic of something going on in my head that shouldn't. They chose to blame Tulpas for changing me in some way or shape or form and they sent me to a clinical psychologist to check whether or not I had schizophrenia and the therapist told them straight up, "This isn't schizophrenia. "You can't give yourself schizophrenia. "Schizophrenia is something genetic. "It's not something you can give yourself with meditation."</p><p>- [Narrator] What's life like for a Tulpa and his host?</p><p>- Separate, I wouldn't say that. Most of what we do, we do together. We don't have separate lives as much as different strengths and niches in the same life. That's how we've found we can be happy.</p><p>- Nothing you do is truly private. But that's not a bad thing. It means you're being held accountable by someone who cares for you and looks out for you.</p><p>- [Narrator] So, living with a Tulpa is like sharing a body with your best friend. Do they ever fight?</p><p>- [Jacob] We'll argue and make each other upset but we always make up and we never have any lasting breakdowns between us.</p><p>- [Narrator] Unfortunately, the Internet isn't always the nicest place for Tulpamancers.</p><p>- Tulpamancers suffer quite a bit of bullying. I have read some very derogatory comments towards Tulpamancers because they're probably an easy target. They're very sincere, they're enthusiastic about their practice and they do something that is really radically different so it takes people the wrong way and as such, they become the target of bullying, which I find very unfortunate.</p><p>- [Narrator] But despite the bullying, Jacob has found comfort in Aury.</p><p>- [Aury] I like to think that I've made Jacob a better person. I think that with me around she not only takes better care of herself but better care of others.</p>

What it's actually like to hear voices in your head

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Scott Olson / Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>It's a kind of yeast that drifts through hospitals, taking root in open wounds and blood and the nooks and crannies of people's ears. It can weather all three major drugs doctors use to kill fungus. It's almost impossible to distinguish from its less deadly cousins. And now, according to a CDC report, it's arrived in the United States.</p><p>Doctors first discovered <em>Candida auris</em> in 2009, <a href="http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/06/cdc-issues-warning-multidrug-resistant-yeast-infection">in the ear of a Japanese patient who complained of an infection</a>. It belongs to a genus of fungi - <em>Candida -</em> that typically blossom deep in the guts of very ill people, having previously established a colony there and then emerging, like a sleeper cell, to take advantage of a compromised immune system.</p><p>But <em>auris</em> doesn't behave that way. It spreads through hospitals, jumping from patient to patient. Two outbreaks in "<a href="http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/06/cdc-issues-warning-multidrug-resistant-yeast-infection">unnamed countries</a>" infected more than 30 patients each, according to the CDC</p><p>As of June this year, the CDC reported that it had turned up in eight countries beyond Japan. A paper <a href="http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-015-1863-z">published</a> in 2015 argued that diagnosis and treatment methods are "not evolving" fast enough to keep up with <em>Candida</em> leading to "misdiagnosis and clinical failure." The authors write that rates of infection probably far outpace reports, especially in countries with less-developed medical systems.</p><p>And now, in an email to the press Friday, the CDC writes that <em>Candida auris </em>has arrived in the US.</p><p>Thirteen cases have been discovered so far. The seven which the CDC has fully investigated occurred between May 2013 and August 2016 in New York, Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey. Most (71%) showed some drug resistance.</p><p>"All of the patients had serious underlying medical conditions and had been hospitalized an average of 18 days when <em>C. auris</em> was identified," the CDC wrote. "Four of the patients died; it is unclear whether the deaths were associated with C. auris infection or underlying health conditions."</p><p>The agency is encouraging doctors to implement strict antifungal protocols in order to protect their very sick patients from the disease, using disinfectants active against fungi.</p><p>More broadly they write that the discovery highlights the need for major, coordinated public health efforts to address the emerging problem of drug-resistant diseases in hospitals.</p>

A deadly, drug-resistant fungus has arrived in the US

<p class="source"><span>Lux Capital</span></p><p class="caption">Lux Capital partners Zavain Dar and Adam Goulburn</p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.luxcapital.com/">Lux Capital</a> partners Adam Goulburn and Zavain Dar expect pharma companies to build out new ways to reach consumers, perhaps by acquiring a direct-to-consumer healthcare business. </li><li>As pharmaceutical companies look to revamp their businesses, getting direct access to costumers and better using artificial intelligence in drug development could be key pieces. </li><li>The goal for pharma companies, Dar said, is to figure out, "How do we make sure we don't get disrupted?"</li><li><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/health-insider">Subscribe to Dispensed, Business Insider's weekly healthcare newsletter</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul><p>2020 could be a big year for pharmaceutical companies looking to rethink their business models. </p><p>That could happen in a few ways, Lux Capital partners Zavain Dar and Adam Goulburn told Business Insider. Dar and Goulburn lead life sciences investments at Lux, a $2.4 billion venture capital firm that's invested in companies like Auris, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/johnson-and-johnson-acquires-auris-health-surgical-robots-for-34-billion-2019-2">robotic surgery company acquired by Johnson &amp; Johnson</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-mind-reading-tech-ctrl-labs-acquisition-backlash-2019-9">CTRL Labs, which was acquired by Facebook in September.</a></p><p>Dar and Goulburn said that in 2020, pharmaceutical companies could have some interest in buying a direct-to-consumer health company like Hims or Nurx. The companies have made a big business out of providing prescriptions to consumers and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/booming-direct-consumer-healthcare-business-2018-10">shipping their medications</a> straight to their doors. </p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maverick-ventures-ambar-bhattacharyya-healthcare-predictions-for-2020-2019-12">A top investor at a $400 million VC firm predicts 2020 will be the year that prescription weight-loss treatments get sold online, just like Viagra</a></em></p><p>"I think pharma starts to look at those" Goulburn said</p><p>He said the extra revenue from the small startups wouldn't make a big difference to giant pharma firms. Instead, what the companies would gain is "direct access to patients," he said.</p><p>Dar said it's not just pharma that might be looking at the direct-to-consumer health companies. Amazon, too, could use one of these companies as part of its pharmacy strategy, alongside its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-pillpack-amazon-pharmacy-service-2018-7">PillPack business</a>.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-investors-healthcare-predictions-2020-2019-12">10 top VCs share their best 2020 healthcare predictions, from a booming IPO market to pharma companies getting into the medical care business</a></em></p><p>Goulburn and Dar said they also expect 2020 to be the year when pharmaceutical companies have their DeepMind moment - that is, pharma companies will acquire companies developing AI capabilities in drug discovery and development, much like Google's acquisition of the UK AI company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/googles-400-million-acquisition-of-deepmind-is-looking-good-2016-7">DeepMind in 2014</a>.</p><p>The goal for pharma companies, Dar said, is to figure out, "How do we make sure we don't get disrupted?"</p><p>That won't come without its challenges, particularly from a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chief-digital-officer-strategies-at-pfizer-cvs-novartis-2019-11">cultural perspective</a>. Pharmaceutical companies don't move quite as fast as tech companies, and groups within companies aren't as open about sharing data in the way a veteran engineer coming from a big tech company would be used to.</p><p>"I think they're going to fail around integration," Dar said.</p><p>Dar joined Lux Capital in 2014, and also teaches as an adjunct at Stanford University. He has an undergraduate degree from Stanford in symbolic systems, and a master's in computer science, according to his LinkedIn profile.</p><p>Goulburn has worked at Lux since 2011. He graduated from Monash University with a Ph.D. in stem cell research in 2010. </p><h2>A big year for biotechs looking for funding</h2><p>2020 won't see the end of massive biotech funding rounds, Goulburn and Dar predict.</p><p>"The music doesn't seem to be stopping on large financings in biotech," Goulburn said. </p><p>More traditional tech investors from Silicon Valley are placing bets on biotech companies, particularly those that sit at the intersection of biotech and artificial intelligence, Dar said. </p><p>Simultaneously, as machine learning and AI speed up the way companies develop new treatments, Goulburn identified the rate-limiting step to faster drug development as the wet lab, where the experimentation on the biology side happens.</p><p>He predicts that in 2020 that will start to see major advancements that speed up the process, especially as more automation and robotics are added to labs. </p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bright-clover-devoted-oscar-alignment-health-insurance-results-q3-2019-11">We just got a look at the latest financials for health startups like Bright and Oscar. They reveal the challenges facing the insurers as they keep growing their footprints.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tmrw-raises-25-million-to-digitize-fertility-sample-storage-2019-12">VCs are pouring millions into companies that want to help you get pregnant. Meet the startup that just raised $25 million to create a better storage system for eggs, sperm, and embryos.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celmatix-lawsuit-against-23andme-for-breach-of-contract-2019-12">A startup that promised to use genetics to help people conceive shut down its lab and laid off employees after it failed to raise funding. In a new lawsuit, it blames 23andMe.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sanofi-strategy-under-ceo-paul-hudson-investor-slides-2019-12">Sanofi just gave a 112-slide presentation on the future of the company. Here are the 6 crucial slides that reveal where the $120 billion pharma giant is headed now.</a></li></ul> <p class="tagline"><a href="/intelligence/digital-health?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=health&amp;itm_campaign=digital-health"></a></p><p>Featured Digital Health Articles:<br />- <a href="/telehealth-industry-explained">Telehealth Industry: Benefits, Services &amp; Examples</a><br />- <a href="/value-based-care-pay-for-performance-healthcare-model">Value-Based Care Model: Pay-for-Performance Healthcare</a><br />- <a href="/senior-care-market-trends">Senior Care &amp; Assisted Living Market Trends</a><br />- <a href="/wearable-technology-healthcare-medical-devices">Smart Medical Devices: Wearable Tech in Healthcare</a><br />- <a href="/artificial-intelligence-healthcare">AI in Healthcare</a><br />- <a href="/remote-patient-monitoring-industry-explained">Remote Patient Monitoring Industry: Devices &amp; Market Trends</a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-knock-on-wood-origins-of-7-other-common-superstitions-psychology-magical-thinking-2018-2">Are you superstitious on days like Friday the 13th? These are the origins of 7 common superstitions, like why we knock on wood.</a></h3>

VCs at $2.4 billion Lux Capital think 2020 will be the year Big Pharma companies buy startups that ship Viagra and hair-loss pills to your door

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Images / CVS Health</span></p><p class="caption">"Given the circumstances surrounding uBiome, we'll be stopping shipments," CVS spokesperson TJ Crawford told Business Insider.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Happy Friday, Sept. 6th!</p><p>Bringing you this week's fresh batch of healthcare and biotech news is me, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/erin-brodwin">Erin Brodwin</a>, subbing for the fabulous <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/lydia-ramsey">Lydia Ramsey</a> while she wraps up her honeymoon festivities.</p><p>While my East Coast coworkers mourn the end of summer, the Bay Area is just starting to heat up. Hello, iced coffee - it's been too long.</p><p><strong><em>Are you new to our newsletter? <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/health-insider">Sign up here!</a></em></strong></p><p>Earlier this week, buzzy Silicon Valley microbiome startup uBiome <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-startup-ubiome-files-for-bankruptcy-2019-9">filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a>. The company had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5">previously convinced VCs</a> that testing poop was a business worth $600 million. Among them: Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC, who now own 11% and 20% of uBiome, according to the bankruptcy filing:</p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-startup-ubiome-files-for-bankruptcy-2019-9">Poop-testing startup uBiome was once valued at $600 million by Silicon Valley's top VCs. It just filed for bankruptcy.</a></h3><p>Chapter 11 bankruptcy isn't as extreme as other forms of insolvency: uBiome won't be liquidating as it would if it had declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, for example. Instead, the company is looking for a buyer and attempting to save what it can of the business. That could be tough if uBiome's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8">foundational science is flawed</a>, as insiders previously told me.</p><p>Which brings me to my next bit of news: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/zachary-tracer">Zachary Tracer</a> and I had the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-pharmacy-halts-plans-sell-ubiome-poop-tests-stores-2019-9">scoop</a> on an unfortunate turnout for uBiome's plans for salvation. The company was going to try selling its only product, a test called Explorer, at CVS stores. CVS, however, told us it's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-pharmacy-halts-plans-sell-ubiome-poop-tests-stores-2019-9">not feeling the deal</a>:</p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-pharmacy-halts-plans-sell-ubiome-poop-tests-stores-2019-9">uBiome was banking on CVS selling its tests - but the chain just turned it down</a></h3><p>Prospective uBiome buyers face other risks too, as my colleague <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emma-court">Emma Court</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-list-of-creditors-with-biggest-claims-2019-9">lays out</a> below. Among them: potentially millions of dollars in refunds from health insurers including Cigna, UnitedHealth, and Kaiser. Three of the claims exceed $1 million:</p><section><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-list-of-creditors-with-biggest-claims-2019-9">Some of uBiome's largest creditors are health insurers saying they're owed millions in refunds.</a></h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson / Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">uBiome first came under scrutiny after an FBI raid.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p></section><p>And in non-poop-related news, tooth-straightening darling SmileDirectClub is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investors-in-smiledirectclub-before-initial-public-offering-2019-8">eyeing an IPO</a>. The company's top investors stand to be smiling widely as each of them could <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investors-in-smiledirectclub-before-initial-public-offering-2019-8">make billions</a> from the deal, as Lydia and Emma reported on Tuesday:</p><section><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investors-in-smiledirectclub-before-initial-public-offering-2019-8">SmileDirectClub is set to go public at a $7.9 billion valuation. That could make the startup's top investors into billionaires.</a></h3></section><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Does SmileDirect's bright news have you wondering what other lucrative startups are trying to transform the way we get care? You're in luck. Check out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-and-biotech-unicorns-going-into-2019-venture-capital-i2018-12">this round up of leading healthcare unicorns</a> courtesy of Emma and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/clarrie-feinstein">Clarrie Feinstein</a>:</p><section><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-and-biotech-unicorns-going-into-2019-venture-capital-i2018-12">The 19 billion-dollar startups to watch that are revolutionizing healthcare in 2019</a></h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy One Medical</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p></section><ul><li>19 healthcare startups have reached unicorn status, the $1 billion-and-over valuation mark.</li><li>Johnson &amp; Johnson bought robotics surgical company, Auris Health, and health insurance startup Oscar Health announced expansion in 12 new markets for next year.</li><li>Some of the billion-dollar healthcare companies like 23andMe, Tempus, and One Medical are worth watching.</li></ul><p>Speaking of bold plans to revolutionize healthcare, I learned this week that Jeffrey Epstein - yes, that Jeffrey Epstein - once had a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-dna-genetics-research-drug-companies-2019-8">plan to sequence people's genes</a> and sell the data to drug companies.</p><p>That's according to a document obtained as part of a public records request. After outlining his DNA-sequencing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-dna-genetics-research-drug-companies-2019-8">plan</a>, the late financier added, "I am not a mad man."</p><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-dna-genetics-research-drug-companies-2019-8">Jeffrey Epstein had a 'Frankenstein'-like plan to analyze human DNA in the US Virgin Islands</a></h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/billionaire-jeffrey-epstein-in-cambridge-ma-on-9-8-04-news-photo/589141200?adppopup=true">Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge in 2004.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>I don't want you leaving our newsletter with only thoughts of bad news to fill your weekend, so I'll let you in on some more personal news. My dog, Dax (bonus points if you can guess who he's named after), just got off the waitlist at our SF bureau's WeWork. He'll be starting at his new post on Monday.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Erin Brodwin / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>- Erin</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/digital-health?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_subscription&amp;itm_content=health&amp;itm_campaign=digital-health-3"></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-one-mega-earthquake-what-will-happen-california-san-andreas-2019-8">What will happen if a mega earthquake hits California</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

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