Page 102 - Aet News Today

Medtech funding reached its low point in the first quarter but will slowly pick back up over the rest of 2023, according to a new Pitchbook report. It noted that this year’s medtech funding total will not come close to the $19.7 billion the sector raised in 2021, and it might even come in below last year’s funding total of $13.5 billion.

A recent survey on nurses’ mental health offers some reasons for cautious optimism. The survey showed that nurses’ mental health has continued to improve since its bleakest days during the peak of the pandemic. However, most nurses said they remain unhappy with their employer’s efforts to prioritize their mental wellbeing.

New York City-based Hey Jane, a virtual abortion provider, announced last week that it is now offering vaginal infections treatment. This includes treatment for urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis and herpes. It is also offering birth control and emergency contraception.

Femtech is the theme for the INVEST Digital Health Pitch Perfect competition in Dallas October 26. Seven startups will share the spotlight and present their approaches to improving women's healthcare. Register today!

As retail disruptors like CVS, Walgreens and Amazon buy more and more primary care assets, the healthcare industry is seeing an increased demand for physicians and advanced practitioners. In the case of nurse practitioners, this rise in demand is also boosting their salaries. Physicians' starting salaries have remained relatively flat, but their average signing bonus grew.

Visana Health's seed funding was led by Flare Capital Partners and Frist Cressey Ventures and included participation from InHealth Ventures, Oxeon Partners, Pixel Perfect Ventures and Venture Investors. In total, the company has raised more than $13 million.

The second quarter of 2023 ended with 309 active drug shortages, the highest total in nearly a decade, according to a new report from ASHP. One of the organization’s executives pointed out that drug shortages have two major impacts on health systems: they create a lot of extra work for the pharmacy department, and they force clinicians to make tough decisions about patient care that could potentially result in worse patient outcomes.

Gilead Sciences is partnering with Tentarix Biotherapeutics, a startup developing multifunctional antibody drugs that it calls "Tentacles." Tentarix’s technology offers the potential to selectively address targets in cancer and inflammation.

Imugene gains global rights to Precision BioSciences’ most advanced program, an allogeneic cell therapy for advanced cases of blood cancer. Precision will now focus on in vivo gene editing therapies, some of which is partnered with Novartis and Eli Lilly.

Amazon Pharmacy announced Tuesday that it is launching automatic coupons for more than 15 insulin and diabetes care brands. The move, while incremental, solves a major pain point for consumers with diabetes, as many struggle to afford insulin products.