Alphabet ventures into AI drug discovery

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Today's Rundown

Featured Story

CMS: Healthcare workers must get first COVID shot by Dec. 5 to continue Medicare, Medicaid participation

To continue participating in Medicare and Medicaid, healthcare facilities must have policies in place to ensure all eligible employees receive an initial COVID-19 shot by Dec. 5 and their second by Jan. 4. CMS said that it expects the requirement to reach more than 17 million healthcare workers across the country.

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Top Stories

Surprise COVID-19 antibody sales of $804M help Regeneron trounce expectations in third quarter

This summer, Regeneron warned investors not to expect sales of its COViD-19 antibody treatment to the U.S. in the third quarter. But a lucrative deal, signed in mid-September, and a quick supply helped push the company's third quarter revenue beyond expectations.

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Alphabet launches AI drug discovery venture built on DeepMind's protein-folding expertise

The new Isomorphic Laboratories aims to deliver an “AI-first approach” for tackling biopharma research, with the goal of serving as a commercial partner to drugmakers.

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Amgen plays multi-specific matchmaker in quest to tackle the undruggable

Amgen already broke into the “undruggable” market with the approval of Lumakras, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for a pipeline strategy aimed at pursuing targets that were previously considered out-of-reach.

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Shipping delays, supply chain expansions ding Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine business

Moderna has been biotech’s biggest growth story in 2021, but the company’s rate of expansion slowed considerably in recent months as shipping delays on its COVID-19 vaccine and a supply chain scale-up took a toll.

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The vast majority of data engineers are burnt out. Those working in healthcare are no exception

The survey reached 600 data engineers, 100 of whom are managers. Nearly all of them reported experiencing burnout in their daily roles, and experts say healthcare is no exception.

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For pharma marketers, mobile devices reign supreme. But for how long?

Pharma marketers take note. Looking for higher click engagement? Run ads Monday and Tuesday. If higher conversion engagement is the goal, though, then it’s Tuesday and Saturday. In terms of the best time—the peak is around 3 p.m. for click engagement and 9 p.m. for conversion, all according to advertising software company Viant Technology,

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Siemens posts record year on the back of Varian acquisition, COVID antigen test sales

Outside of pandemic-related diagnostic sales, Siemens posted growth of 11.8% compared to the year before, driven by expansions in its core testing, imaging and advanced therapy segments.

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Sangamo's Fabry gene therapy clears early clinical test, firing starting gun on preparations for phase 3

Sangamo Therapeutics has posted clinical data on a therapy it hopes will shake up the Fabry disease market. The gene therapy showed encouraging safety and efficacy signs in the small study, prompting Sangamo to start preparations for a phase 3 clinical trial. 

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Hologic begins European rollout of AI-powered cervical cancer screening system

Altogether, the entire multipart system is designed to be broadly accessible and easily updated and expanded by labs across networks and around the world.

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Bayer poaches Otsuka's chief medical officer Koenen to head up its clinical operations

As Bayer looks to ramp up its R&D work in the gene therapy space amid a host of biotech tie-ups, the German pharma is tapping Christoph Koenen as its new global head of clinical development and operations in its R&D unit.

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AMIA 2021: Understanding how technology impacts patients and providers

The American Medical Informatics Association is hosting its 2021 Annual Symposium. During its virtual day last week, researchers presented multiple studies on how technology can or does affect the daily lives of patients and providers. 

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Section 32 closes $740M VC fund to back startups at 'intersection of technology and healthcare'

Several lucky startups developing new technologies to transform the medical field are about to get quite a bit richer—$740 million richer, to be exact.

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