StemCell Therapy

Some people's hearts stay strong well into their 60s, but their kidneys begin to fail. Others may have the kidneys of a 30-year-old but fall victim to constant infection.

Now, scientists may be one step closer to understanding why the aging process varies so drastically between people.

Even within a single person, aging unfolds at different rates in different tissues, sometimes striking the liver before the heart or kidney, for example. People fall into distinct categories depending on which of their biological systems ages fastest, and someday, doctors could use this information to recommend specific lifestyle changes and design personalized medical treatments, according to a new study, published Jan. 13 in the journal Nature Medicine.

The research team behind the study sorted 43 people into aging categories, or "ageotypes," based on biological samples collected over the course of two years. The samples included blood, inflammatory substances, microbes, genetic material, proteins and by-products of metabolic processes. By tracking how the samples changed over time, the team identified about 600 so-called markers of aging values that predict the functional capacity of a tissue and essentially estimate its "biological age."

So far, the team has identified four distinct ageotypes: Immune, kidney, liver and metabolic. Some people fit squarely in one category, but others may meet the criteria for all four, depending on how their biological systems hold up with age.

"Now, it's going to be a lot more than just four categories," said senior author Michael Snyder, a professor and the chair of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. For instance, one participant in the study appeared to be a cardiovascular ager, meaning their cardiac muscle accumulates wear-and-tear at a greater rate than other parts of their body. "If we [surveyed] 1,000 people, I'm sure we'll find other cardio agers and that category will become better defined." And with more research, even more patterns of aging may emerge, Snyder added.

Related: 8 Tips for Healthy Aging

In the past, scientists have hunted for markers of aging in enormous datasets for large populations, Snyder, told Live Science. Researchers pinpointed markers of aging by comparing data from young people to that of older people, but for individuals, that kind of data captures only a specific moment in time. It cannot reveal how a given person might change as they age, Snyder said.

In a clinical setting, that means population-based markers might not be the best measure to determine how a patient is aging, or what combination of medical treatments might suit them best, he added.

"Population-based decisions are crude at best," Synder said. They won't necessarily hold up for you, per se."

By tracking specific people through time, Snyder and his co-authors hoped to learn how aging markers differ between individuals. Their study participants ranged in age from 29 to 75 and provided at least five biological samples over the course of two years. Even within that relatively short time frame, several patterns of aging emerged.

For example, immunological agers accumulated more markers of inflammation through time, while metabolic agers accrued more sugar in their blood, indicating that their bodies were metabolizing glucose less efficiently. Similar to scores on a personality test, each individual's aging "profile" included a combination of traits, mixed and matched from different ageotypes.

Snyder and his co-authors plan to follow the study participants to see how their aging profiles morph over time. They also aim to develop a simple ageotype test that could be used in the doctor's office to quickly assess a patient's health status, and potentially point them toward the best possible treatment options.

"There are drugs and various kinds of dietary interventions and lifestyle interventions through which it may be possible to modulate some of these aging processes," Dr. James Kirkland, a gerontologist and head of the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told NBC News.

"But in order to apply those correctly, we have to know which people to apply which drugs or which dietary interventions in order to get the most bang for the buck," said Kirkland, who was not involved in the new study.

Related: 7 Ways the Mind and Body Change With Age

While existing drugs, diets and exercise regimes can target some signs of aging, other markers aren't fully understood yet.

For example, over the course of Snyder's study, a marker of poor kidney function decreased in 12 individuals, eight of whom took statins. The marker, a waste product called creatinine, accumulates in the blood as muscle tissue naturally breaks down, but the kidneys typically filter the substance and expel it through the urine. Creatinine levels fell in the eight individuals on statins, suggesting that the medication improved their kidney function, though it's unclear why levels also dipped in four additional people, the authors noted.

The team also found that concentrations of several microbes seem to change with age, but we don't yet know how that may affect health. Certain microbes may proliferate in response to age-related changes in the body, while others help drive them, Snyder said. The authors also spotted differences in how diabetic and pre-diabetic people aged as compared to insulin-sensitive people, but it's unclear whether these markers indicate meaningful differences in health status. Many studies suggest that insulin plays a central role in aging throughout the animal kingdom, but more research is needed to clarify its exact influence over human aging.

For now, ageotypes present as many questions as they do answers about human aging. Until scientists understand what various aging markers really mean, clinicians will continue to rely on standard vital sign assessments to track patients' health over time. In the near future, perhaps ageotypes could serve to motivate people to take better care of areas of their body that appear to be aging faster than others, Snyder said. For instance, if someone fits the profile of a cardiovascular ager, they might focus on improving their cardiovascular health and undergoing relevant medical tests to check on their progress.

"As we collect a lot more information, we are going to be better able to follow how people are aging, [as well as] what interventions they did that actually reduced their aging," Snyder said.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Scientists Discover 4 Distinct Patterns of Aging - Livescience.com

Sahota Offers AI Predictions for the New Year

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Artificial intelligence, or AI, will play a significant role in the 2020 election campaign and may also lead to major breakthroughs in solving personal medical issues, according to futurist and AI expert Neil Sahota.

"I'm increasingly concerned about the impact of fake news, photo scams and other deceits designed to negatively influence voting this year," says Sahota, who works closely with the United Nations and other organizations to foster innovation and develop next generation products/solutions to be powered by AI. "We will see the effect of more AI tools generating fraudulent information and influencing voters. Thankfully, there will also be new tools to fight this kind of disinformation. What is certain is that machine vs machine battles will become more prevalent."

The author of the influential book Own the AI Revolution (McGraw Hill), Sahota is also an IBM Master Inventor, who led the IBM Watson Group and is a professor at the University of California/Irvine.

In addition to its potential impact on the election campaigns, Sahota predicts AI will be responsible for significant medical advances. "We will see more use of AI that will accelerate solutions for doctors, nurses, clinicians and researchers in providing personalized care," he said. "Each of us is genetically unique and there isn't a one-size fits all solution for us. But AI can solve this dilemma by providing personalized medicine based on a specific person's genomic sequence, lifestyle, medical history, environment and other differences. I think there will be great strides in these areas in the coming year."

"The election and medicine are only two areas where we will feel the impact of AI, which is coming into its own as an emerging technology," Sahota says. "We are likely to see it help combine tools such as block chain, virtual reality and artificial reality. For example, I envision a virtual reality courtroom where a law student interacts with an AI 'judge,' opposing counsel and jury. AI simulation is not only more 'real world' but has great variability, meaning each time the VR module is used, it's different. There's no memorization or 'cheat sheet' for the law student. It's a dynamic, highly interactive learning module and 2020 will start the wave of convergence: combining these technologies together.

About Neil Sahota: Neil Sahota is a futurist and leading expert on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other next generation technologies. He is the author of Own the AI Revolution (McGraw Hill) and works with the United Nations on the AI for Good initiative. Sahota is also an IBM Master Inventor, former leader of the IBM Watson Group and professor at the University of California/Irvine. His work spans multiple industries, including legal services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, travel, transportation, energy, utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media, and government.

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SOURCE Neil Sahota

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Artificial Intelligence Expert Neil Sahota Says AI Will Have Major Impact On 2020 Elections And In Medicine - Yahoo Finance

SAN FRANCISCO Few CEOs tell a story better than bluebirds Nick Leschly.

He cuts a Jeff Bezos figure on stage at the Colonial Room, the JP Morgan presentation hall for A-list biotechs: lean and bald, fast-talking and vest-wearing. He explains in simple language, apologizing when he has to brush on the data. It helps that he has a good story to tell.

We treated them one time, Leschly tells a packed crowd, gesturing to the slide behind him. Look what happened.

The slide shows 9 horizontal bars studded with diamonds. Each bar, he explained, represented a sickle cell patient, and each diamond represented a severe medical event, such as a pain crisis. The diamonds stud one side before the therapy and vanish on the other, afterward.

A 99% reduction in these events this is a functional cure for sickle cell disease, Leschly says. This is unprecedented data.

Upstairs and an hour later, Ted Love stands before a narrow conference room in his suit and polka-dot tie. Love, the CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics, is a 60-year-old physician. His voice trails off at the end of sentences, and the story he tells is less compelling. There are no cured patients.

This is the first drug that addresses the root cause of sickle cell disease, Love says, speaking in front of a slide showing a white pill bottle for GBTs new drug Oxbryta. Right in the label, it says that this drug inhibits polymerization.

In the 60 years after scientists discovered the cause of sickle cell, almost no treatments emerged, even as the condition debilitated hundreds of thousands of Americans, most of them black or Hispanic. But the last few years have seen a resurgence of interest as new technologies have made the disease seem newly beatable.

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GSK, Pfizer contradict on the future of consumer health JV report - Endpoints News

Perthera is a cancer therapeutic intelligence company that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven therapy recommendations for oncologists to offer precisely tailored treatments to cancer patients based on their genetic factors, molecular profile and much more. The company was founded seven years ago by a team of experts in oncology, biomarkers, bioinformatics, and AI, and has since become a prominent force in bringing precision medicine to oncology. Read on to hear what Gary Gregory, Perthera CEO and President, had to say to DocWire Newsregarding his companys innovative work.

Gary noted that Pertheras primary goal is to harness all the benefits and opportunities of precision medicine in oncology. He added that the patients entire medical and treatment history, as well as their unique, multi-omic molecular profile position, is factored into the Perthera Platform, which is used by the physician to create their customized treatment plan. The patients comprehensive clinical information is run through the companys Therapeutic Intelligence EngineTM, which includes multiple databases, heuristic rules, algorithms and AI, that ultimately delivers a ranked set of therapeutic recommendations that the patients physician can consider. The AI built into the Perthera Platform leverages its computational engine and multiple databases to compile and utilize real-world evidence (RWE) to improve patient outcomes.

We also run each and every patient through our patented, cloud-based, molecular tumor board that allows us to scale a unique and powerful solution, Gary added. This contrasts with most cancer centers where less than 10% of patients typically have the benefit of a molecular tumor board, which has been proven to be highly advantageous from a medical practice perspective.

Another facet of Pertheras mission is to equip pharma, biotech, drug development companies and clinical trial organizations (CROs) with real-world evidence and clinical services that can enable them to expedite drug development, enhance market surveillance of these drugs and accelerate their clinical trials enrollment.

Regarding the advancement of their current technology, Gary noted that the company is always striving to advance Pertheras proprietary algorithms, use of real-world evidence, deployment of AI, and integration of new molecular technologies to continually improve their precision oncology solution.

Were also involved in a number of exciting projects with industry, whether its with pharma companies, CROs or advocacy groups, he added. We partner with them to bring forward their initiatives, the developmental work theyre doing on new therapeutic agents, theyre detailing the clinical efficacy of precision medicine, and even the clinical utility of Pertheras Platform, which has been proven to provide a significant improvement in both overall and progression-free survival.

Pertheras main offering is a Precision Medicine Program for Hospitals and Physicians, which allows healthcare providers to harness and capitalize on the benefits of Pertheras precision oncology platform. This program starts with the physician ordering the Perthera Platform and clinical report. Perthera completely de-burdens the clinical staff by orchestrating all molecular profiling tests, and running the comprehensive clinical information through its Therapeutic Intelligence EngineTM, and then an expert Molecular Tumor Board, consisting of a variety of medical experts, to ultimately produce the ranked therapeutic options.

Next, Perthera delivers a personalized report that is precisely matched to each patient, and contains specific, ranked therapeutic recommendations that are supported by medical, clinical, and scientific evidence, to promote expanded progression-free survival and overall survival outcomes.

The final step in this process involves Pertheras following the patient and capturing comprehensive RWE data regarding the patients treatment and outcomes.

And the physicians and hospitals can use this data for research purposes, whether its for publications, for accelerating their own clinical trials, or simply to advance the care of their patients, Gary explained. The data we collect is made available for their use. We provide it back to them via a dedicated portal so that they can take full advantage of the understanding, analysis and utilization of their specific data, to advance their practice of medicine and care of their patients.

Its also important to note that Perthera now customarily delivers their Platform at low to no charge to hospitals, physicians and patients. This approach has been transformative in allowing many healthcare organizations to capitalize on the Perthera Platform and all it offers to providers and patients.

The computational engine, or Therapeutic Intelligence EngineTM, is at the center of what Perthera offers healthcare providers and patients. This is founded upon their proprietary, comprehensive computational system that Perthera has been building over the course of six plus years.

It features 10 distinct databases and over 50,000 heuristic rules, algorithms and AI, he explained. Every patients data is analyzed by Pertheras Therapeutic Intelligence EngineTM. We provide an initial set of computationally ranked therapies, and then the patients clinical data and information is analyzed and polished by our expert, cloud-based, Molecular Tumor Board which provides the highly unique human in the loop component of our Platform. The byproduct of these elements is the Perthera Report, which has these precisely ranked therapeutic recommendations (including on label, off label and clinical trial options) for the physician to evaluate, choose from and direct their patients medical therapies. As we collect RWE outcomes and treatment selections, we incorporate that data back into our Therapeutic Intelligence Engine, which gains experience over time, to further improve our service and the resulting clinical outcomes.

As previously mentioned, research has shown that if the top-ranked therapies that Perthera suggests are chosen, survival rates are significantly more likely to be improved.

Beginning his work with Perthera in the past year, Gary noted that one of the first things he saw in the company was their proven approach to precision oncology, that was backed by reputable clinical research publications.

Our Platform and service is clinically proven in the sense that its been delivered to over 250 cancer centers and utilized by well over 10% of practicing oncologists across the U.S., he explained. Its also proven through peer-reviewed publications that detail when physicians use the Perthera Platform, they do a better job of harnessing the power of precision medicine and they improve their patient outcomes, both from an overall and progression-free survival.

Its a really exciting clinical arena and marketplace. The care of cancer patients is being transformed before our eyes. As importantly, its an exciting time for Perthera, because we believe were the only company that offers this end to end Platform, that has been proven to advance the care of patients, and also to deliver better clinical outcomes, he concluded. The comprehensive, end-to-end nature of what we do makes Perthera highly unique, and allows us to deliver exceptional value to patients, physicians, hospitals and biopharma companies.

Link:
How Perthera is Using AI and Molecular Data to Bring Precision Medicine to Oncology - DocWire News

Editors note: January is Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month. Throughout the month, we will feature a Shedding Light on Clinical Trials series that provides key information about clinical trials and how they can benefit pancreatic cancer patients. Todays article gives an overview of the current clinical trial landscape.

There are approximately 170 pancreatic cancer clinical trials currently enrolling patients across the United States. These clinical trials are open at cancer centers, hospitals and community medical practices throughout the country.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) maintains the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of pancreatic cancer clinical trials available in the United States.

Clinical trials are designed to determine whether an experimental treatment or combination is effective, safe and an improvement over the current standard of care options. Participants must meet specific eligibility criteria, which can include their type of pancreatic cancer, the stage of disease, treatment history and other health and wellbeing requirements.

While most clinical trials strive to answer similar questions, the way the trial is designed can vary.

In recent years, theres been an increase in biomarker-driven clinical trials for pancreatic cancer patients.

Biomarkers are biological clues that can be measured from a patients blood, urine, tumor tissue or other specimens. The presence or amount of a biomarker may vary between someone whos healthy and someone with a disease like pancreatic cancer.

Moreover, through a precision medicine approach, biomarkers can provide information about whether a patient is likely to respond to a certain type of treatment.

Some clinical trials are designed to only enroll patients with expression of certain biomarkers, while other trials strive to find biomarkers that could predict a patients response to their experimental treatment.

PanCAN recommends all patients with pancreatic cancer undergo testing to analyze their tumors molecular profile (through testing a sample of tumor tissue) and to determine if they have germline (genetic) alterations that they were born with (through analysis of their blood or saliva).

Both tests are available through PanCANs Know Your Tumor precision medicine service. Patient Central can provide information about Know Your Tumor and other ways to access these tests, as well as provide a list of biomarker-driven clinical trials that may be relevant to the patient.

Another type of trial, adaptive platform trials, allow investigators to ask multiple questions at the same time, rather than testing only one experimental drug against the standard of care.

Adaptive platform trials are designed to learn and evolve over time, with the expectation that additional experimental treatments will be added. If an experimental treatment arm isnt performing well within the trial, it can be discontinued at any time.

Todays pancreatic cancer clinical trials are being designed based on rigorous scientific and clinical evidence and to quickly and efficiently evaluate experimental treatment options to benefit patients.

Pancreatic cancer patients who participate in clinical research have better outcomes. Every treatment available today was approved through a clinical trial. PanCAN strongly recommends clinical trials at diagnosis and during every treatment decision.

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Evaluating the Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trial Landscape - Pancreatic Cancer News & Stories

Exercising and eating better as part of our new year health kicks are great, but we should also think more deeply about the role the environment plays on our health. As a professor of environmental medicine, I believe this is an exciting new area of study that will play a big part in the future of personalized medicine.

Consider this, every day we are bombarded with messages: genes that cause cancer, supplements that prevent Alzheimers disease, diets that prevent asthma, chemicals that make us gain weight. But while headlines frequently proclaim game changing new findings, over the last 20 years in the US and Europe our health status as a population has seriously deteriorated. Rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and learning disorders continue to rise. Genetic variation may be part of the puzzle that explains why we get sick, but clearly there are missing pieces.

After all, 20 years of increasing obesity and diabetes represents only a single generation. If our genes didnt change in the last 20 years, then our environment must have.

Genes never work in isolation. Instead, they determine how we react to our diet, social surroundings, physical environment, infections and chemical exposures. Environment is the missing piece of the puzzle.

The old 20th-century concept of nature v nurture needs to be redefined, as genetics and environment do not compete, they work hand in hand, sometimes to our benefit and sometimes to our detriment. The correct formula is really nature times nurture. Right now the nurture part of that equation is largely unknown, but that may soon change.

Recently, a new concept has arisen, the science of the exposome: the measurement of all the health-relevant environmental factors across the lifetime.

The exposome is to our environment what genomics is to our genetics. Most of what we know about environment and health is still a black box consisting of yet to be discovered risk factors we too often attribute to bad luck ie because we dont measure the environmental cause, the problem appears random.

But most of what we now understand about genetics was also a black box in the 20th century.

Physicians see the role of environment daily even if it is not clear to them that environment is the cause. For example, a child with autism develops more frequent combative oppositional behaviors and emotional outbursts. An adult with diabetes cant seem to control her blood sugar despite higher doses of insulin. A newborn is born with blue skin but a normal heart.

For each of these cases, sequencing the genome would not have identified the cause. The autistic child had lead poisoning because of pica brought on by autism, the diabetic adult used perfumes high in phthalates, chemicals that affect metabolism and the newborn baby drank formula mixed with well water contaminated by fertilizer runoff that reacted with his hemoglobin.

In each case, genomics would not have given us the correct answer, but if we had the tools to measure the exposome, we would have made the correct diagnosis. Just as importantly, because the underlying causes were environmental, we can treat the problem with interventions.

Furthermore, in most diseases, environment and genetics work in combination. Its very rare to have a genetic variant that causes Alzheimers disease, but it is fairly common to have a genetic variant that makes us susceptible to environments that can cause Alzheimers. The different between those with the genetic variant who get sick and those who dont is their different environments.

Imagine a visit to your physician in which you begin by handing over your smartwatch to have its data downloaded, followed by a blood draw to measure your chemical environment and nutritional status, then you update your lifetime home address and occupational history into a secure computer that houses your genomic data. This then computes your personalized risk score for heart disease, diabetes and other diseases. Or, if you already have one of these diseases, computes the ideal treatment regimen based on this big data. This is how we will be able to personalize medicine.

We are not there yet, but the technology to measure the exposome is far more advanced than the general public, and even many researchers, realize. There are now lab tests that can demonstrate the presence of thousands of chemicals in our bodies and satellites that record our daily weather, air pollution, light exposure and built environment. Public records have data on water quality, age of housing, local crime statistics, outdoor noise levels and even where disease clusters are occurring. Cellphones are ubiquitous and can link our daily behavior and movement patterns with the quality of the local air and water while simultaneously measuring our heart rate, physical activity and sleep quality.

Computational science has advanced to a point where storage of terabytes of data is routine and computer clusters are found in every major university and methods to bring these databases together are no longer science fiction. Artificial intelligence and other big data approaches to genomics also provide a roadmap for analyzing exposomic data.

Understanding how environment affects your health will empower people to make the changes in their lifestyle that will matter most. To understand what food to buy, which fragrances to avoid, where and when to exercise, etc. All the pieces to solve this puzzle are beginning to come together. What is needed is the grand vision to invest in and integrate exposomic science into public health and clinical medicine. This is the final piece of the puzzle. Once we understand our exposome and integrate it with our genome, we will finally understand why and how chronic diseases have become so common and how we can start to reverse their trends in society.

Dr Robert Wright is a pediatrician, medical toxicologist, environmental epidemiologist and director of the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

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New year health kicks are great but your environment is also vital - The Guardian

Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I'm Dr F. Perry Wilson.

It's a new year. After a little holiday break, I'm back and, frankly, a bit cranky as I peruse the recently published medical literature. I'm focusing today on a rather small study. It's one that hits a pet peeve of mine, so I'm going to channel my inner Andy Rooney here and gripe for a bit.

Appearing in JAMA Network Open, we have this article with the compelling title "Use of Machine Learning for Predicting Escitalopram Treatment Outcome From Electroencephalography Recordings in Adult Patients WithDepression."

I like to know what I'm getting into when I read a title, and this title promises quite a bit. To me, it reads like researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) and some fancy machine-learning stuff to predict which patients with depression would benefit from escitalopram treatment.

That ideausing a machine-learning model to choose the best psychiatric treatment is holy graillevel personalized medicine stuff. See, when confronted with major depressive disorder, docs often try medication after medication to see what sticks; anything to lessen that trial-and-error approach would save tons of time, not to mention lives.

But that is not what this study is about. Walk with me through the methods and you'll see what I mean.

Researchers from British Columbia analyzed EEG data from 122 adult patients with major depression who were initiated on escitalopram therapy.

As you know, an EEG outputs a ton of datamultiple electrodes, thousands of measurements. This is actually an ideal place to use machine-learning tools to squeeze all of those data into a single number. The authors do an exemplary job of using a well-established machine-learning algorithm called a support vector machine to take those gobs of data and turn it into a prediction.

But what exactly are they predicting?

They are predicting whether the patient will have remission of depression in 8 weeks. They are not predicting whether escitalopram was good for the patient, and that difference is huge.

This study had no control group; all 122 patients were treated with escitalopram. We therefore have no way to know whether the machine-learning model identified individuals who are more likely to achieve remission regardless of therapy (let's remember that depression spontaneously remits in around 20% of cases) or those who truly benefit from escitalopram.

See, every patient with depression has four potential destinies in regard to escitalopram:

Some will have remission with or without the drug. Some will never have remission regardless of treatment. Some will only experience remission if they get the drug, and others, presumably, would only not experience remission if they get the drug.

It's really the last two categories we care about in terms of deciding on treatment, but ironically, the first two categories are the easiest to predictbecause in the end, the biggest predictor of whether you get remission from depression is not whether you get a drug but how severe your depression is in the first place.

This is a huge difference in terms of a prediction problem and one that can actually lead to patient harm.

Let me give an example.

Imagine that we built a model predicting who is least likely to have a heart attack among a population receiving simvastatin.

Without a comparator group, we'd find that individuals with lower LDL, more physical activity, and no diabetes would have the best outcomes. If we then argue that these are the types of people who should receive statins, we'd be doing a huge disservice to the people with more severe disease at baseline. Our model doesn't tell us who should get the drug; it only tells us who was better off in the first place.

We need models that can target therapies to the right patients regardless of how sick they are at baseline, or else we'll always choose the least sick people to get treatment. Sure, that will make the success rate of therapies look awesome, but it's not how I want to practice medicine.

Okay, back to escitalopram. What this paper shows us is that the authors built a model based on EEG data that show who is likely to have remission of depression. You could argue that the model has nothing to do with escitalopram. The model may predict outcomes equally well among patients on any antidepressant or on no antidepressant at all. In other words, we're no closer to the dream of strapping an EEG on someone's head and knowing what drug to give them than we were before. But studies like this get reported inaccurately all the time, suggesting that we have some new tool in our personalized medicine toolbox.

My biggest fear is that these models get commercialized as some sort of "use this to decide who to treat" black box, which, as we now all understand, is biased against those who are sicker at baseline, even if they would respond well to therapy. The second sentence of the conclusion of this paper reads: "Developed into a proper clinical application, such a pipeline may provide a valuable treatment planning tool."

Not reallynot unless you want to reserve treatment for the least sick individuals.

Could the researchers prove that their model is not simply identifying less severe depression as opposed to escitalopram response? Well, they could show how their model correlates with baseline depression scores or other baseline factors. My bet is that we'd mostly find that the model just identifies those with less severe depression at baseline, but those data are not presented.

And let's remember that although it's very cool to get data about how severe your depression is just from an EEGI mean, that's Star Trek-y and I love itwe have plenty of tools already available to assess depression severity.

So the next time we see a study (using machine learning or otherwise) that claims to "predict response to therapy," the very next question we have to ask is, "How do we know the model isn't simply identifying less severe disease at baseline?"

F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE, is an associate professor of medicine and director of Yale's Program of Applied Translational Research. His science communication work can be found in the Huffington Post, on NPR, and here on Medscape. He tweets @methodsmanmd and hosts a repository of his communication work at http://www.methodsman.com.

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A Few Minutes on the Potential Harm of Predictive Models - Medscape

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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration ofThe European Stingwith theWorld Economic Forum.

Author: Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Sanofi

In November 2019, an Italian surgeon used a virtual reality headset to travel more than 100 kilometres from his location in Rome to an operating room in Terni. His mission? To oversee a laparoscopic procedure being performed in real-time. Thanks to 5Gs low latency, the physician was able to view and zoom in on live images of the patients organs, providing live commentary to the physicians in the operating room. It was a monumental moment for modern medicine, demonstrating the potential of cutting-edge technologies to transform the way we reach and treat patients around the globe.

Innovations like this are becoming more and more common and its clear that technology is going to transform the way that we care for patients around the world from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and beyond. As an industry, were edging closer to personalized medicine and optimized population health, two highly ambitious but important goals. But as we move toward this horizon, we must take care to apply digital innovation strategically across every aspect of our business.

Digital has the potential to fundamentally change the game in R&D and manufacturing, for example:

Relentless R&D engines: I recently visited a lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where a robot was operating 24 hours a day, synthesizing 200 proteins at once. It wasnt long ago that a human being would have been tasked with synthesizing all of those proteins, and it would have taken much longer, with more opportunities for error. Scenes like this where technology is embraced and taking over time-consuming, repetitive tasks, freeing human beings to take on more complex, higher-value work are becoming increasingly common in the research and development phase of drug discovery. Scientists around the globe are deploying digitalization to their advantage, and as a result, we are able to understand diseases and reach breakthrough moments faster, which ultimately benefits patients.

Smart manufacturing: Of course, developing treatments faster and more efficiently is just the first step in bringing the right medicines to the patients who need them. Right now, we are at the very beginning of a movement that will improve current manufacturing systems, which often struggle to keep pace with volume and complexity demands. By using leading-edge technology and taking advantage of data to increase efficiencies and improve the agility needed to respond to rapidly changing patient needs, smart factories help to connect the production and distribution processes with R&D. Similarly, the factories are able to quickly change from one manufacturing process to another, greatly limiting the latency time between products and paving the way for the more efficient commercialization of life-saving treatments. These facilities can be up to 160% more productive, increasing factory output by 200% and cutting costs by up to 40%. As equally impressive and important, smart factories are 50% more energy efficient by cutting emissions, reducing pollution and mitigating damage to the environment.

To achieve excellence in both of the areas, the pharma industry must build the foundations necessary for digital to succeed. This includes pursuing company-wide digitalization versus disjointed implementation of the flashiest technologies on the market. To build this foundation, we must ensure that four things happen: firstly, we need to retrain our employees across every division not just in manufacturing or in the lab with the skills they need to work alongside new technologies. In tandem with these efforts, we must also support employees from the factory floor to the C-suite to de-learn old ways of working and embrace a Man + Machine reality.

Thirdly, both of these efforts will require a robust employee engagement movement focused on keeping employees informed of changes and dispelling fears about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Finally, we need to embrace an industry-wide mindset that celebrates collaboration as the new pathway to innovation. We must have a new open dialogue and partnerships within the innovation environment. If we fail to collaborate and share vital tools such as data, new tools and lessons from start-up pilots, everybody loses. Conversely, if we do all of these things, everyone wins, especially patients.

Of course, these efforts will just scratch the surface of the challenges we face as an industry on our journey to the future of healthcare. But if we focus our energies on equipping our people to succeed and laying the groundwork for digitally enabled companies, digitalization will revolutionize the way we help patients and transform our industry.

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Personalized healthcare and better population health? Heres how digital can help achieve that - The European Sting

Study on the Personalized Medicine Market

The comprehensive report published by Future Market Insights (FMI) offers an in-depth intelligence related to the various factors that are likely to impact the demand, revenue generation, and sales of the Personalized Medicine Market. In addition, the report singles out the different parameters that are expected to influence the overall dynamics of the Personalized Medicine Market during the forecast period 2016 2026.

As per the findings of the presented study, the Personalized Medicine Market is poised to surpass the value of ~US$ XX by the end of 2029 growing at a CAGR of ~XX% over the assessment period 2016 2026. The report includes a thorough analysis of the upstream raw materials, supply-demand ratio of the Personalized Medicine in different regions, import-export trends and more to provide readers a fair understanding of the global market scenario.

ThisPress Release will help you to understand the Volume, growth with Impacting Trends. Click HERE To get SAMPLE PDF (Including Full TOC, Table & Figures) at https://www.futuremarketinsights.co/reports/sample/REP-GB-1511

The presented study addresses the following queries related to the Personalized Medicine Market:

The presented market report dives deep into understanding the business strategies adopted by leading market players in the global Personalized Medicine Market. Further, the SWOT analysis for leading market players is enclosed in the report along with the revenue share, pricing analysis, and product overview of each company.

The extensive study on the Personalized Medicine Market pinpoints the different factors that are likely to influence the prospects of the Personalized Medicine Market in each region.

Decisive Information Enclosed in the report:

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Key Players

Some key players in this market are Roche Holding AG, Astra Zeneca PLC, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Qiagen Inc., BD (Becton Dickinson & Co., Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer Inc., American Association for Cancer Research, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc. among others.

The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.

The report covers exhaustive analysis on:

Regional analysis includes

North America (U.S., Canada)

Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)

Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)

APEJ (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)

Japan

Middle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa)

The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.

Report Highlights:

Detailed overview of parent market

Changing market dynamics in the industry

In-depth market segmentation

Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

Recent industry trends and developments

Competitive landscape

Strategies of key players and products offered

Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth

A neutral perspective on market performance

Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint.

NOTE All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed in reports are those of the respective analysts. They do not necessarily reflect formal positions or views of Future Market Insights.

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Personalized Medicine Market Segment Analysis by Leading Players, Drivers, Regional, Competitive Landscape & Forecast To 2016 2026 - Citi Blog...

The partnership combines EVERSANA's fully integrated patient services model with Noom's digital therapeutic platform. Noom's program is based on cognitive behavior therapy and focuses on increasing patient engagement and improving clinical outcomes by leveraging human coaches and artificial intelligence.

"Despite a long road to diagnosis, adherence to therapy falls to 50% - 80% for patients with complex, chronic diseases who routinely deal with difficulties handling side effects, navigating lifestyle changes, and finding the education and resources needed to understand their disease and care," said Jim Lang, CEO, EVERSANA. "By integrating Noom's proven behavioral health technology with EVERSANA's best-in-class patient service programs, we will help manufacturers give their patients the personalized support they have long needed and deserved."

"This relationship with EVERSANA will enable us to engage with a greater number of Life Sciences partners," said Saeju Jeong, CEO and co-founder of Noom. "While we have helped millions of consumers adopt a healthier lifestyle, Noom is more than just a consumer weight-loss company. We have harnessed the power of psychology to help manage patients with both diabetes and hypertension. As a digital companion to drug therapies, Noom is a powerful agent to drive patient engagement and improve health outcomes at scale."

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide face increasing pricing pressures and the need to demonstrate greater value for their products, often measured by therapy adherence, evidence of the lower cost of long-term care, plus patient engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, the promise of regenerative medicine and precision medicine demands the evolution of traditional patient services to meet the complex needs of smaller patient populations.

Both EVERSANA and Noom are widely regarded for leading the evolution of life science services to serve future market and patient needs. EVERSANA has made significant investments in the development of Patient Services 2.0, a high patient-experience-focused model enabled by technology and analytics. Noom's evidence-based curricula and behavioral psychology program is clinically proven through over a dozen published studies and grants from the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

To learn more about the collaboration, visit eversana.com and noom.com to contact company representatives.

CONTACT: Sarah Zwicky sarah.zwicky@eversana.com +1 (414) 434-4691

David Osborne davido@noom.com +1 (917) 575-9133

About Noom, Inc.

Noom is the world's leading behavior change company, disrupting the weight loss and healthcare industries. By combining the power of artificial intelligence, mobile tech, and psychology with the empathy of over 1,500 personal coaches, Noom helps people live healthier lives by changing their long-term habits. Millions have benefited from Noom's behavior change courses, including its virtual diabetes prevention program, which was the first of its kind to be recognized by the CDC. The Noom platform is already being used by leading healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to improve treatment outcomes for patients worldwide. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices in Seoul and Tokyo.

About EVERSANA

EVERSANA is the leading independent provider of global services to the life science industry. The company's integrated solutions are rooted in the patient experience and span all stages of the product lifecycle to deliver long-term, sustainable value for patients, prescribers, channel partners and payers. The company serves more than 500 organizations, including innovative start-ups and established pharmaceutical companies to advance life science solutions for a healthier world. To learn more about EVERSANA, visit eversana.com or connect through LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Eversana; Noom

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EVERSANA and Noom announce strategic partnership to improve therapy adherence and patient engagement for complex therapies - PRNewswire

Personalized Medicine Market Overview

The Personalized Medicine Market market report provides an in-depth analysis of various market elements that are required for a better understanding of the market. The forecast period mentioned for the study is 2017-2025. Market elements such as market definition, dynamics, research methodology, segments and competitive landscape is used to gauge better market insights. Various factors under the market dynamics section such as drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges help in adopting various organic as well as inorganic market strategies and approaches. The market estimation for various segments is performed in order to fetch qualitative as well as quantitative insights regarding the market.

Personalized Medicine Market : Market Outlook

Our analysts use various approaches such as primary research and secondary research to fetch the raw data which is further utilized to classify the data on the basis of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches. We also utilize other sources such as industry magazines, government associations, paid databases to validate our data. An executive summary is also provided to our clients helping them to gauge the latest industry trends and forthcoming market insights.

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The main objective of the market study is to provide both extrinsic as well intrinsic market insights. The market is broken into smaller segments which helps in building a much more classified market outlook. Each segment is analyzed w.r.t the global market as well as various other micro-markets. Along with the market dynamics, value chain analysis and Porters Five Forces analysis is also provided. Porters Five Forces Model offers insights regarding bargaining power of supplier and consumer along with threats from substitutes and new entrants.

Personalized Medicine Market : Competitive Landscape

The market analysis also encompasses competitive insights for the major industry players and start up ecosystems. In order to fetch insights regarding the positioning of the key industry players, a company ranking analysis is provided. The companies are considered on the basis of following parameters:

Key Player Profiled in the Report Includes Abbott Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc., AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC., Novartis AG, Amgen, Inc., Bayer AG, Mylan N.V. and Eli Lilly

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Personalized Medicine Market : Growing Popularity and Emerging Trends in the Market - ReportsPioneer

The House will vote today on a resolution to limit President Donald Trumps options for military action against Iran, with Democrats unsatisfied by the administrations justification for last weeks airstrike that killed a top Iranian official.

The war powers resolution from Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former CIA analyst, would require the president to cease military actions against Iran unless authorized by Congress or in response to an imminent threat. A similar measure in the Senate has been introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

The vote is mostly symbolic because the Senate version is unlikely to attract much support from the chambers Republican majority and the House resolution by design would never go to the president to become law.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said it is Congresss duty to keep the American people safe, and she said Trumps actions in the region have endangered diplomats and members of the military by escalating tensions with Iran. Pelosi said the Democratic-led House may also soon consider legislation pushed by the partys progressives to cut off funding for action against Iran and repeal existing military authorizations.

Read the BGOV Bill Summary on the House resolution to end hostilities with Iran.

While the Senate resolution has little chance of passing the Republican-led chamber, Kaine did pick up two GOP supporters yesterday: Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) say they will support the resolution. Lee said that Trump administration officials left a briefing for lawmakers on Iran after only 75 minutes, adding hed sought more details on the U.S. drone strike on General Qassem Soleimani but White House officials werent forthcoming. Read more from Erik Wasson and Billy House.

Trumps Soleimani Hit Pays Off: Trump took the biggest risk of his presidency by killing a top Iranian general, and for the moment the bet is paying off. The question now is: For how long? A retaliatory Iranian missile attack on two U.S. bases in Iraq early yesterday caused no casualties, allowing the president an opportunity to stand down from what looked like an escalation toward war. We must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place, Trump said in remarks to the nation.

The Jan. 2 strike that killed Soleimani was a dramatic show of strength that, at least for now, reset the power dynamic between the U.S. and Iran. Trump appears to believe Iran will now think twice about provoking the U.S. and the two nations could even begin to forge a new understanding to reshape fraught Middle East politics. But its not at all clear that Iran is done with its reprisals. Read more from Justin Sink.

Trump yesterday vowed more sanctions as part of his maximum pressure campaign against Iran. The penalties are likely to target key regime figures and the countrys metals sector, a person familiar with U.S. plans said. The sanctions will likely be aimed at non-oil sectors of the Iranian economy and fit into a previously disclosed administration plan to choke off other sources of revenue now that the U.S. has clamped down on the nations oil exports, said the person, Nick Wadhams reports.

House to Vote on PFAS Bill Thats DOA in Senate: A far-reaching House bill that would force the federal government to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination has little hope of becoming law in its current form, according to the chairman of the Senates environment committee. It has no prospects in the Senate, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in an interview. None.

Barrassos comments came as the House is swiftly moving toward passage of the bill, which would change the way these persistent and potentially toxic chemicals are regulated. In addition to forcing the EPA to set nationwide drinking water standards for the chemicals, the bill also would require the agency to add the chemicals to its hazardous substance list, which potentially could turn every contaminated location into a Superfund site. Read more from David Schultz.

For more on the PFAS bill, see the BGOV Amendments Summary and BGOV Bill Summary by Adam M. Taylor.

Some Democrats Ask Pelosi to Let Trial Begin: Pelosi will hold her weekly news conference today amid the standoff over sending the impeachment charges against Trump to the Senate. Several Democratic senators are pressuring Pelosi to transmit the impeachment articles and let the Senate trial begin, and one said the trial could start next week.

If were going to do it, she should send them over. I dont see what good delay does, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Pelosi said she is holding back the articles of impeachment adopted by the House last month until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sets out his rules for the trial. But Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) suggested the House has little leverage in the matter. My expectation is that well be able to start this trial next week, Murphy said. The leverage over Republicans exists in the votes we take inside the trial. Read more from Billy House and Laura Litvan.

Sekulow to Join Trump Defense Team: Attorney Jay Sekulow will be a member of Trumps defense team for the Senate trial, according to a person familiar with the matter. Sekulow, who became one of Trumps private lawyers in mid-2017, specialized in constitutional issues in the Mueller investigation. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone will lead Trumps legal team for the trial. Separately, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is being recommended by some of the presidents allies to the White House as a possible member of his defense team. Read more from Jordan Fabian and Billy House.

Democrats Unveil Plan for 100% Clean Energy: House Democrats yesterday released ideas for future bills aimed at getting the U.S. to 100% clean energy by 2050 and said theyd work to build support for it in the months ahead. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) called the ideas a framework for a measure that will be called the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for Our Nations Future, or CLEAN Act. The bill hasnt been introduced, and Pallone said draft text would be released around the end of the month. Read more from Dean Scott.

IRS Asked to Advise Nonprofits on Refunds: The IRS should issue guidance instructing tax-exempt organizations how they can claim refunds for overpaid taxes after Congress repealed a portion of the 2017 tax law, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) wrote in a letter to the agency. The 2017 tax overhaul required nonprofits to pay a 21% tax on parking and transportation benefits that they offer to employees, but lawmakers repealed the provision in December. Read more from Laura Davison.

FCC Pirate Radio Fines: The Senate unanimously cleared legislation that would allow the Federal Communications Commission to impose up to $2 million in fines against unauthorized radio broadcasters, or so-called pirate radio stations. The bill from Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), now heads to the presidents desk. The House passed the bill last February. Read more from Jon Reid.

Trumps Iran Strike Delights Supporters: Trumps loyal political base is standing by his decision to kill a top Iranian general, polls show, even though the move may undermine a key 2016 pledge to end U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. And recent polls show a clean partisan divide on the confrontation. About 67% of Republicans said they either strongly or somewhat approve of Trumps handling of Iran in the days following the U.S. airstrike on Soleimani, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday. About 69% of Democrats strongly disapprove.

But the political impact of the strike may be most telling among independent voters. About 48% of independents had a negative response to the presidents handling of Iran while roughly 36% answered positively, according to Reuters/Ipsos. And overall, a majority of Americans 53% disapproved of Trumps handling of Iran following the strike, an increase of 9 percentage points from December. Read more from Mario Parker.

Buttigieg Ad Highlights Black Support: Pete Buttigieg is seeking to overcome low support from black voters in South Carolina with a new ad highlighting residents of South Bend, Ind. The 30-second spot avoids any direct mention of race, but it features four black residents praising Buttigiegs record in the city. He listened to our community, says one resident. In recent weeks, Buttigieg has stepped up efforts to win over black voters, who make up the majority of Democrats in South Carolina, meeting with African-American leaders and holding smaller events. Read more from Ryan Teague Beckwith.

DOJ Says Virginias Push for Equal Rights Amendment Futile: The Virginia General Assemblys new Democratic leadership has opened the legislatures session with a pledge to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment. But a U.S. Justice Department official says in a newly released legal opinion that those efforts are in vain, as a 1979 ratification deadline set by the U.S. Congress has passed.

The ERA resolution has expired and is no longer pending before the States, according to Steven A. Engel, assistant attorney general with the Office of Legal Council. That deadline is binding and Congress has to restart the process, Engel said in the memo. Engels legal guidance was issued as Virginia appears to be poised to ratify the amendment. The commonwealth would become the 38th state to approve the ERA, which aims to set a broad guarantee of equal rights under the law, regardless of sex. Read more from Andrew M. Ballard.

Facebook Will Give Users the Option to See Fewer Political Ads: Responding to popular demand, Facebook will soon give users the option to see fewer political and social issue advertisements in their feed. This new setting, which will also be available in Instagram, is part of an effort to give people more control over what they see ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Facebook announced the new option Thursday in a broader update about political ads on the service. The company did not, however, announce major changes or restrictions to the ad-targeting tools available to political campaigns. Facebook has discussed potential changes to ad targeting internally in recent months following restrictions from rivals Google and Twitter Inc. The social network decided against changing its targeting tools, which can be very granular and specific, after extensive outreach and consultations with third parties, the company said in a blog post.

Facebook is also sticking with a controversial policy that stipulates the company will not fact-check posts from politicians, including political ads. Read more from Kurt Wagner.

(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the majority owner of Bloomberg Governments parent company.)

Kuwaiti Cash Fuels Misleading U.S. Media Coverage: A business executive accused of financial crimes in Kuwait is getting support from an all-star cast of famous Americans, including a son of the U.S. president who liberated the Gulf nation and several of Trumps allies. Theyve helped generate a torrent of sympathetic media coverage from the Middle East to Washington. The boldface names are part of a $4.9 million campaign that also has been marked by subterfuge and deception, including a fake protest, thousands of dollars in payments to some U.S. opinion writers, misleading news reports and a correspondent who may not exist. A review of government filings and an examination of dozens of articles shows just how easily money can warp U.S. press coverage. Read more from Zachary R. Mider, Benjamin Elgin and Joe Light.

Chinas Liu He to Travel to U.S. for Trade Deal Signing: China announced that Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the U.S. next week, locking in Beijings commitment to a ceremony already announced by Trump. Liu, who has acted as Chinese President Xi Jinpings top trade negotiator throughout the tariff conflict, will travel to the U.S. from Jan. 13 to Jan. 15 at the head of the delegation, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said today in Beijing. He said he has no more information to release about the trade talks, other than that the teams remain in close contact. Read more.

Medical Testing Sector Awaits Court Clarity on Patents: Medical companies that develop tests to diagnose neurological disorders, heart disease risk and fetal abnormalities have been in legal limbo since a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that limited the patenting of such tests, finding they occurred in nature and were not invented. The high court may signal as soon as tomorrow whether it will revisit the subject as such tests become critical to the burgeoning field of personalized medicine, in which doctors determine whether a patient is genetically susceptible to a particular disease or would respond to certain treatments. Read more from Susan Decker.

The Cost of IRSs Failure to Collect From Tax Cheats: The average U.S. household is paying an annual surtax of more than $3,000 to subsidize taxpayers who arent paying all they owe, a new report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service found. Reduced funding for the Internal Revenue Service has led to lower staffing levels and fewer audits, which has reduced the amount the IRS has been able to collect from taxpayers voluntarily or through enforcement, the Taxpayer Advocate, an independent branch of the IRS, said in its annual report to Congress yesterday. Read more from Laura Davison.

Private Push for Trump Wall Hits Legal Snags: An effort to build pieces of Trumps Mexico border wall using private funding and land has run into an unlikely obstacle the federal government. The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission isnt exactly a core pillar of the Trump administration. But with help from the top federal prosecutor in southern Texas, the agency is pushing back against the likes of Steve Bannon and other Trump allies who are trying to put up an 18-foot tall bollard-style barrier along a 3 1/2-mile stretch of the Rio Grande that they claim is used for illegal border crossings and drug smuggling. Read more from Peter Blumberg and Tom Korosec.

To contact the reporters on this story: Zachary Sherwood in Washington at zsherwood@bgov.com; Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giuseppe Macri at gmacri@bgov.com; Loren Duggan at lduggan@bgov.com

Continued here:
What to Know in Washington: House to Hold Symbolic Vote on Iran - Bloomberg Government

SMi has released an exclusive interview with industry expert Shikta Das, Independent Senior Data Scientist, ahead of the upcoming Disruptive Technologies in Pharma conference this January.

Disruptive Technologies in Pharma will bring together experts in pharma technology to explore the latest developments within artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, digital therapeutics, eHealth and blockchain, highlighting the challenges of implementation and how to overcome them.

During the run-up to the conference, SMi interviewed industry expert and conference speaker Shikta Das, an Independent Senior Data Scientist. Here is a snapshot of what was discussed:

What is your background in disruptive technologies and which technologies have you been involved with throughout your career?I have been a research scientist most of my career and recently started working with the pharma industry as a Data Scientist. My undergraduate degree was in Zoology and I became fascinated with the advances in genomics with the human genome coding in 2001. Therefore, I decided to study for an MSc in Bioinformatics from Birkbeck, London. That MSc opened the door to Imperial College Londons Bioinformatics team, working with pioneering bioinformatics research. I loved Imperials open mindedness and focus on innovation and decided to purse my PhD there. I thoroughly enjoyed that rigour and became a well acknowledged PhD. To be honest, I have never looked back since then.

I had long been at the edges of Data Science I have been handling large amounts of data and running statistical modelling on clinical datasets, both of which seemed fundamental requirements for data science nowadays. I have continued to gain good coding experience in R since my MSc days and a great passion for personalized medicine- it is no accident that I have ended up in pharma! Also as I was very keen on learning prediction from data, I got involved with ML.

As a data analyst in healthcare, what is your insight on the digital transformation process of the healthcare sector and the need for such transitioning?In my work, I spend a lot of time thinking about qualitative and quantitative data and connecting digital technologies with predictive models

To read the full interview, visit: http://www.disruptivetech-pharma.com/pr8

Shikta Das will be presenting on Healthcare Disruptors, which will cover recent advances in using AI in Healthcare and the impact of AI in Healthcare.

Disruptive Technologies in Pharma20th 21st January 2020London, UK

ENDS Contact Information:For media enquiries contact Neill Howard on +44 (0)20 7827 6164

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Disruptive Technologies in Pharma 2020 - the "Healthcare Disruptors" - - pharmaphorum

New York, Jan. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is hosting a free webinar Using Tools of Neuroscience to Make Personalized Care a Reality in Schizophrenia on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, from 2pm to 3pm ET. Gregory A. Light, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, will be the presenter.

Dr. Light will describe precision medicine trials his team has conducted which significantly reduced symptoms and improved cognitive and daily functioning in patients with chronic psychosis in a real-world setting: a long-term community inpatient facility. They also found that reliable, easy-to-obtain signatures of brain-wave activity recorded at the outset of treatment can be used to identify which patients are most likely to benefit (or not) from treatments. This work ultimately aims to develop personalized biomarker assessment tools to deliver the right treatment to the right person at the right time, to improve outcomes among the millions of people with psychotic disorders, most notably schizophrenia.Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and Host and Executive Producer of the public television series Healthy Minds, will be the moderator. Join by phone or on the web at bbrf.org/januarywebinar.

This webinar is part of a series of free monthly Meet the Scientist webinars on the latest developments in psychiatry offered by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $408 million to fund more than 4,800 leading scientists around the world, which has led to over $4 billion in additional funding. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in research grants. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is the producer of the Emmy nominated public television series Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, which aims to remove the stigma of mental illness and demonstrate that with help, there is hope.

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Using Tools of Neuroscience to Make Personalized Care a Reality in Schizophrenia - A Free Webinar from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation -...

Omri Gottesman came to the US from the UK 10 years ago, wide-eyed like many others.

The human genome project was long-complete and, with great fanfare, researchers were beginning to try and leverage those insights into treatments. Mount Sinai School of Medicine offered him a fellowship focused on just that: genomic medicine.

At the time, there was a lot of hope and hype that we had solved health, and would be able to discover and prevent everything and treat everyone, Gottesman told Endpoints News. It was the reason I came to Mount Sinai.

Over the ensuing decade, human biology proved much more elusive than they imagined. Genetics was more complicated than A-T and C-G. There were no easy hacks. Still, the field advanced and after 4 years at Mount Sinai and a stint at Regeneron, Gottesman decided he wanted to advance it on his own and build a new platform around the original mission: Analyze genetic information to home in on ideal drug targets. He called the new company Empirico and soon raised $30 million.

Its not a unique concept, but its one Gottesman pulled off well enough to today score a three-year partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, one of the oldest and more successful genetics-based drug developers.

Ionis will make a $10 million equity investment into Empirico and offer $30 million in near-term operational and preclinical milestones, with another $620 million promised for clinical, regulatory and sales goals. In exchange, Empirico will make up-to 10 platform-discovered drug targets available to Ionis.

We spent about a year building the discover-first platform, Gottesman said. Part of the motivation for the Ionis collaboration and exploring collaborations more broadly is that we now have more potential targets than our capacity to develop therapies for them.

On the Ionis side, this is the latest collaboration for a biotech that has sought many since its founding and is trying to keep early-stage strong while some late-stage programs come to fruition. The deal also includes an option for Empirico to license a drug back from Ionis as it strives to become a target-to-market company.

Youve heard of platforms like Empirico before; its the mixed machine learning and wet lab approach taken by a growing number of biotechs. Gottesman and his team use their computer platform to interrogate genetic data for the roots of diseases. Should the computer find a mispelling or other variant in genetic code that appears to cause the malfunction, they then produce cell lines with that mispelling in the lab. Should those cell lines show the same malfunction as the disease, they then use their platform to identify the best form for a therapy.

Theyve used that method to build 5 preclinical targets, leading to a small molecule program for an upper airway disease and an siRNA candidate for glaucoma.

The targets for the Ionis collaboration will be those Empirico finds can be best-treated with their partners signature antisense technology. The biotech has already identified a couple, although they didnt disclosed them.

A 40-year-old concept, antisense therapies have recently brought some of the genetics-based health gains Gottesman and others sought. Along with a handful of approved drugs, last year a neurologist in Boston created a personalized therapy for a young girl with a never-before-seen genetic error. And yesterday, Ionis founder Stanley and Rosanne Crooke launched a charity to make those kinds of genetics-based ultra-personalized medicines broadly accessible.

Those bespoke therapies are arguably the apex of the vision Gottesman and others had 10 years ago. Its a vision he thinks has made more progress than some think, even if it hasnt brought any utopian dream.

Over the last decade, weve realized its really harder than it seems, he said. But actually, if you work at it, theres real value.

Social image credit: Ionis via YouTube

Link:
Ionis finds new partner in a young biotech and its hopeful founder - Endpoints News

We now drive electric cars, watch our favorite shows on mobile devices, attend concerts via virtual reality and control the temperature in our homes by giving instructions to a voice assistant.

Technological innovations like these underpin the transformative forces that are changing how we live and work.

You can harness the growth potential of these powerful forces by investing in megatrend ETFs.

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a diversified collection of securities (like a mutual fund) that trades on an exchange (like a stock). Megatrend ETFs capture targeted groups of stocks perceived to be well-positioned to benefit from shifts in technology, society, the environment and demographics over time.

Here's why megatrend ETFs are the next frontier of access and a glimpse at the five megatrends BlackRock sees at the forefront of our changing world.

With megatrend ETFs, iSharesBlackRock's ETF businessoffers individual investors access to opportunities that were once available primarily to institutional investors able to qualify for venture capital, private equity and other private market investments.

This is unlike sector indexes (like Technology or Communications) that more rigidly track companies within a single sector, or broad indexes (like the S&P 500) that track a universe of companies across many industries and are weighted heavily toward larger, more established companies rather than smaller, more disruptive players.

As an example, with megatrend ETFs, investment in the self-driving and electric vehicles trend would go beyond carmakers and also include hardware companies that make road-monitoring sensors, software companies that make the algorithmic "brains" required to guide vehicles as well as battery producers. By looking beyond sectors and regions and selecting companies that are leaders in a particular ecosystem, investors can access the full growth potential underpinning these trends.

Megatrend ETFs are also transparent and easy to own, removing the need to pick single-stock winners, which has proved difficult for investors to successfully do. With the potential to capture long-term growth opportunities, megatrend ETFs can be seen as complementary holdings to your core portfolio.

BlackRock has identified five megatrends shaping our future. Here's a look at each and how they can help position you for tomorrow.

Technology is such a prevalent force that the current era has been dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. How you live and work is shaped by exponential technologies like artificial intelligence, 3D printing and synthetic biology, to name just a few. Technology is driving exponential progress in the tech sector and far beyond and underpins the other megatrends we'll mention shortly.

You can tap into the firms harnessing technology to solve privacy threats by investing in iShares Cybersecurity and Tech ETF.1 The fund seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of companies involved in cybersecurity and technology, including cybersecurity hardware, software, products and services.

Longer lifespans and modern lifestyles will change medicine and consumer habits. If you are fascinated by the possibilities of medical technology, consider ETFs that target companies at the forefront of medical progress. iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF2 is one such option. This ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of companies that could benefit from the long-term growth and innovation in personalized medicine: genomics, immunology and bioengineering.

It's expected that more than two-thirds of the world's population will reside in cities by 2050, double the percentage from 1950.3 This mass migration to cities will require new business models and infrastructure.

If you would like to invest in companies that may benefit from this megatrend, consider iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF.4 The fund seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of equities of U.S. companies that have infrastructure exposure and could benefit from a potential increase in domestic infrastructure activities. This ETF offers access to two groups of infrastructure companies that are equally weighted: owners and operators, such as railroads and utilities, and enablers, such as materials and construction companies.

Demand for a clean, green tomorrow will advance energy and conservation. If you drive, or would like to drive, an electric car, you may be interested in putting your money in an ETF with an environmental focus. iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF5 seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of companies that may benefit from growth and innovation in and around electric vehicles, battery technologies and autonomous driving technologies.

It's expected that the number of newly affluent consumers will expand in Asia and across emerging markets. For example, China now has 3.5 million millionaires and more residents with wealth above $50 million than any country except the United States.6 iShares MSCI China A ETF7 can provide access to the Chinese market as it tracks the investment results of an index composed of domestic Chinese equities that trade on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange and are not well-represented in broad benchmarks.

Every day, you witness how megatrend-driven innovations are transforming our world. With iShares megatrend ETFs, you can invest in the future today.

For more information on how ETFs can help you invest in our changing world, click here.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses, which may be obtained by visiting http://www.iShares.com or http://www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

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Invest With A Purpose: Own The Future With Megatrend ETFs - Forbes

Atrium Innovations, a Nestl Health Science company, to leverage clinician-designed, algorithm-driven platform with healthcare providers

SUDBURY, Mass., Jan. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Atrium Innovations, a globally-recognized leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative, science-based nutritional health products, takes the next step in the company's mission to expand into personalized nutrition with the acquisition of San Francisco-based LivingMatrix. LivingMatrix, a technology-based, data and algorithm-driven personalized functional medicine platform, was designed by clinicians to help practitioners effectively evaluate and engage patients, create personalized, actionable care plans and track patient health outcomes.

"This exciting acquisition is reflective of the current mission and direction for Atrium Innovations, with support from Nestl Health Science, to expand our role in personalization within the medical professional and consumer spaces. The addition of LivingMatrix will allow us to take the next steps in leading the future of personalized health management," says Kyle Bliffert, President of Atrium Innovations. "Our goal is to further scale our personalization platform through integrating LivingMatrix with our existing PureGenomics platform and future healthcare provider patient management systems providing the most comprehensive solution in the industry."

"The addition of LivingMatrix to the Atrium Innovations growing personalized medicine portfolio will further elevate the way functional medicine practitioners and patients in our longstanding network view and use healthcare," adds Joy Devins, Chief Strategic Leader of Atrium Innovations.

"The launch of the LivingMatrix platform has been a critical turning point for personalized and functional medicine and now, with the support of the Atrium Innovations and Nestl Health Science family, we look forward to breaking even more barriers," says Priya Kamani, Founder and CEO of LivingMatrix. "This partnership brings opportunities to scale the business and accelerate our ability to drive and support additional research studies to expand the evidence base for effectively addressing chronic conditions."

LivingMatrix is the latest acquisition for Nestl Health Science as part of the company's mission to lead the personalized nutrition sector into its next evolution. Their recent acquisition of Persona, a science-based proprietary technology which considers specific factors in a consumer's lifestyle, history and individual needs to develop a personalized vitamin program, was announced in August 2019. Persona's individualized assessments meet consumers' desires to find the right nutritional supplements for their unique needs. These personalized vitamin and supplement services are available to consumers through http://www.personanutrition.com. These strategic acquisitions will leverage Atrium Innovations' nearly 30-year industry expertise, bringing valuable insight from the company's network of medical professionals as well as professional brand development knowledge to the partnership.

"Through combining the strength of Persona's proprietary algorithm, the LivingMatrix data-driven technology and Atrium Innovation's leadership in the industry, we are creating an exciting future for personalized nutrition for professionals and consumers alike," says Bliffert.

For more information about Atrium Innovations, visit http://www.atrium-innovations.com.

About Nestl Health Science (NHSc)Nestl Health Science (NHSc), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestl, is a globally recognized leader in the field of nutritional science. NHSc is committed to empowering healthier lives through nutrition for consumers, patients and their healthcare partners. The company offers an extensive consumer health portfolio of industry-leading medical nutrition, consumer and VMS brands that are science-based solutions covering all facets of health from prevention, to maintenance, all the way through to treatment. NHSc is redefining the approach to their management of health in several key areas such as pediatric health, allergy, acute care, oncology, metabolic health, healthy aging, gastrointestinal health, and inborn errors of metabolism. Headquartered in Switzerland, NHSc employs over 5,000 people around the world, who are committed to making a difference in people's lives, for a healthier today and tomorrow. For more information, visit https://www.nestlehealthscience.com.

About Atrium Innovations Atrium Innovations is a recognized innovative leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of science-based nutritional and supplement health products. The company's mission is to be a global leader in vitamins, minerals and supplements, offering free form science based nutritional solutions through healthcare professionals. Its brands and business model are complementary with Nestl Health Science, its parent company, offering science-based nutritional solutions for consumers, patients, doctors, nurses and other partners in healthcare. Atrium Innovations Professional brands include Pure Encapsulations, Douglas Laboratories, Genestra BrandsTM, KLEAN Athlete, PharmaxTM, and Wobenzym.

About LivingMatrixLivingMatrix is the leading cloud-based, clinician-designed, outcomes-focused personalized medicine platform, helping over 600 practices in 22 countries engage in high-quality, personalized, therapeutic partnerships to address chronic conditions at scale effectively. LivingMatrix has partnered with the Institute for Functional Medicine and helps practitioners deliver a unique engagement process utilizing the Timeline and Matrix tools, and validated, patient-reported outcomes measures that provide a comprehensive assessment of a patient's health and objective tracking of patient progress. The result is a faster time to life-changing outcomes for the patient and an increase in referrals and growth for the practice. Learn more at https://livingmatrix.com

About Persona Persona combines therapeutic levels of nutritional support and a uniquely personalized vitamin program to deliver customized nutrition to subscriber's doorsteps. Based on science and using the highest-quality bioavailable ingredients, Persona's online assessment is built from its proprietary algorithm, which factors individual needs, lifestyle and prescription medications to deliver a recommendation as unique as the patient providing 5 trillion different recommendations. https://www.personanutrition.com Instagram:@personanutrition

Media Contact:Ashley HughesRLA Collective, a Ruder Finn Company(914) 241-0086, ext. 1014Ashley.Hughes@RLACollective.com

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Atrium Innovations to Further Scale the Future of Personalized Nutrition with the Acquisition of LivingMatrix - BioSpace

This weeks Cardio Round-up features a look back at what you may have missed during the holidays, as well as some of the big 2019 cardiology stories.

The past year saw some big stories like the Apple Heart study, presented at ACC.19, which essentially validated the ability of a wearable device (an Apple iWatch) equipped with a tachogram-tracking algorithm was able to detect pulse irregularities associated with atrial fibrillation. Icosapent ethyl also featured prominently, gaining an FDA approval for the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk as an add-on to statin therapy in high-risk patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Dapagliflozin (highlighted in the DAPA-HF study) also was shown to be an effective treatment for heart failure in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

2019 In Cardiology: Apple Heart Study Lands; Icosapent Ethyl Gets FDA Nod for New Indication; Dapagliflozin For Nondiabetics; and More

A new observational study published inEuropacesuggests it is possible to monitor and predict individual progression ofatrial fibrillation (AFib) using pacemakers or defibrillators.We aimed to study the progression of AER in individual patients with implantable devices and AFib episodes, the paper authors wrote. The study results indicated that the slope of AAR changes during the progression of AFib showed patient-specific patterns correlating with the time-to-completion of AER (R2 = 0.85). This technology opens up enormous possibilities in personalized medicine for AFib patients because it allows us to determine the progression rate of the arrhythmia in each individual and to optimize the timing of medical intervention with current treatment options, one of the researchers said in a press release.

Personalized Medicine for AFib: How Electric Activity in the Heart Can Predict Individual Progression of Atrial Fibrillation

A research team, publishing the study in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, worked on converting adipogenic mesenchymal stem cells, which reside within fat cells, into cardiac progenitor cells. The ensuing cardiac progenitor cells can be programmed to aid heartbeats as a sinoatrial node (SAN), which is part of the electrical cardiac conduction system.We are reprogramming the cardiac progenitor cell and guiding it to become a conducting cell of the heart to conduct electrical current, said study co-author Bradley McConnell, associate professor of pharmacology, in a press release. Results of this study show that the SHT5 combination of transcription factors can reprogram CPCs into Pacemaker-like cells.

The Next Generation of Biologic Pacemakers? New Discovery in Stem Cells from Fat Creates Another Alternative Treatment

Diabetes mellitus is an independent predictor for heart failure, according to the findings of a study published inMayo Clinic Proceedings. In this study, using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, researchers assessed the long-term impact ofdiabeteson the development of heart failure by including 116 study subjects with diabetes, who were matched 1:2 based on age, hypertension, sex, coronary artery disease and diastolic with 232 participants without diabetes. The results showed that that diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure. Over the duration of 10 years, 21% of participants with diabetes developed heart failure, independent of other causes. The researchers observed that by comparison, only 12% of patients without diabetes developed heart failure. The key takeaway is that diabetes mellitus alone is an independent risk factor for the development of heart failure, wrote one of the authors.

Diabetes is an Independent Predictor for Heart Failure

A new study suggests that regularly getting a good nights sleep isnt just a helpful overall health recommendation but is also an essential way to keep risk for heart disease and stroke down. The paper, published in theEuropean Journal of Cardiology, included more than 300,000 participants initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) from UK Biobank. According to the results, there were 7,280 documented cases of incident CVD (4,667 coronary heart disease and 2,650 stroke) cases. Participants with a sleep score of 5 had a 35% reduced risk for CVD, a 34% reduced risk for coronary heart disease, and a 34% reduced risk for stroke when compared to participants with a score of 0-1.As with other findings from observational studies, our results indicate an association, not a causal relation, one of the authors said in a press release. However, these findings may motivate other investigations and, at least, suggest that it is essential to consider overall sleep behaviors when considering a persons risk of heart disease or stroke.

Getting Quality Sleep, and the Right Amount, Can Offset Genetic Susceptibility for Heart Disease and Stroke Risk

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Cardio Round-up: Look Back at 2019, The Importance of Sleep, and More - DocWire News

IOWA CITY Throughout his 29 years as an internal medicine doctor in Iowa City, Dr. Richard Larew felt the pressure building.

There were demands to see more patients, meaning he couldnt spend as much time with each patient as he wished.

I was trying to find a way to get back to the way we have done things in the past, Larew said. There was more time. There wasnt quite the same pressure to see so many people.

Larew left hospital practice earlier this year to go into private practice and open Larew Internal Medicine, at 2557 N. Dodge St. in Iowa City.

Hes using an alternative care model called concierge medicine that allows him more time with fewer patients for a fee.

In exchange for an annual retainer, Larew limits his patient count, allowing him time for extended visits and agreeing to be available to patients at any time for any medical concern.

Larew has about 200 patients on his retainer. Each patient pays about $1,800 a year for the service, or $150 a month.

Larew, who grew up in Iowa City, had worked for Mercy Iowa Citys Towncrest Internal Medicine for 29 years before opening his concierge practice in July.

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Larews patients are able to get same-day appointments for acute illnesses, such as influenza, and they have Larews cellphone number for questions they might have after hours.

The majority of Larews patients are those with multiple chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, who he sees every three months. He refers such patients to specialists and tracks their progress.

Thats not a model theyre accustomed to using, Larew said. They just come in when theyre sick. The idea that we would spend a good part of time (during the visit) talking about how they can improve things is a different way of thinking about it.

Through concierge agreements, Larew believes he is able to provide more comprehensive, proactive care to patients.

He also thinks the agreements give patients a chance to reconnect with their primary care physician.

Part of what has always made medicine and being a physician a great profession is that personal connection, he said.

Kathy McCue, 66, of Iowa City, signed up for Larews medical concierge service when it opened. Larew had been her doctor for at least 20 years, and she wanted to stay with him.

I dont have any big health concerns, but if something did come up, I would like him to be my point person to be able to talk through things, McCue said.

McCue described Larew as thorough, a good listener and someone who loves educating patients and answering their questions.

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I think thats why he transitioned to concierge medicine, she said. He loves that part in medicine, and I always said he would be a good professor in that way.

And, its nice to have as a patient.

Concierge medicine, sometimes known as membership medicine, was created in the late 1990s by two Seattle physicians who wanted to offer more personalized medicine.

Concierge Medicine Today, a trade publication, estimated 5,000 to 6,000 doctors were practicing concierge medicine in 2018, though no database tracks the numbers. The approach inspired a USA Network television series, Royal Pains.

The method comes in for criticism because its available only to those who can afford the monthly fee, on top of their regular health insurance premiums.

A 2016 study published by the Population Health Management journal found patients health care expenditures declined in the third year of participation in concierge medicine programs. Researchers suggested that happens because patients address untreated health concerns and are caught up with chronic disease management.

Not much other research exists on the concept.

No one knows how to measure whos getting healthier, but do I think that people are benefiting? Absolutely, Larew said.

I think were achieving what were hoping to, he said. I want people to have a great experience when they walk in the door, and I want to be able to provide people with that extra time.

Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

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Iowa City doctor seeking more time with patients opens 'concierge' practice - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines

SUDBURY, Mass., Jan. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --AtriumInnovations, a globally-recognized leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative, science-based nutritional health products, takes the next step in the company's mission to expand into personalized nutrition with the acquisition of San Francisco-based LivingMatrix.LivingMatrix, a technology-based, data and algorithm-driven personalized functional medicine platform, was designed by clinicians to help practitioners effectively evaluate and engage patients, create personalized, actionable care plans and track patient health outcomes.

"This exciting acquisition is reflective of the current mission and direction for Atrium Innovations, with support from Nestl Health Science, to expand our role in personalization within the medical professional and consumer spaces. The addition of LivingMatrix will allow us to take the next steps in leading the future of personalized health management," says Kyle Bliffert, President of Atrium Innovations. "Our goal is to further scale our personalization platform through integrating LivingMatrix with our existing PureGenomics platform and future healthcare provider patient management systems providing the most comprehensive solution in the industry."

"The addition of LivingMatrix to the Atrium Innovations growing personalized medicine portfolio will further elevate the way functional medicine practitioners and patients in our longstanding network view and use healthcare," adds Joy Devins, Chief Strategic Leader of Atrium Innovations.

"The launch of the LivingMatrixplatform has been a critical turning point for personalized and functional medicine and now, with the support of the Atrium Innovations and Nestl Health Science family, we look forward to breaking even more barriers," says Priya Kamani, Founder and CEO of LivingMatrix. "This partnership brings opportunities to scale the business and accelerate our ability to drive and support additional research studies to expand the evidence base for effectively addressing chronic conditions."

LivingMatrixis the latest acquisition for Nestl Health Science as part of the company's mission to lead the personalized nutrition sector into its next evolution. Their recent acquisition of Persona, a science-based proprietary technology which considers specific factors in a consumer's lifestyle, history and individual needs to develop a personalized vitamin program, was announced in August 2019. Persona's individualized assessments meet consumers' desires to find the right nutritional supplements for their unique needs. These personalized vitamin and supplement services are available to consumers through http://www.personanutrition.com. These strategic acquisitions will leverage Atrium Innovations' nearly 30-year industry expertise, bringing valuable insight from the company's network of medical professionals as well as professional brand development knowledge to the partnership.

"Through combining the strength of Persona's proprietary algorithm, the LivingMatrix data-driven technology and Atrium Innovation's leadership in the industry, we are creating an exciting future for personalized nutrition for professionals and consumers alike," says Bliffert.

For more information about Atrium Innovations, visit http://www.atrium-innovations.com.

About Nestl Health Science (NHSc)Nestl Health Science (NHSc), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestl, is a globally recognized leader in the field of nutritional science. NHSc is committed to empowering healthier lives through nutrition for consumers, patients and their healthcare partners. The company offers an extensive consumer health portfolio of industry-leading medical nutrition, consumer and VMS brands that are science-based solutions covering all facets of health from prevention, to maintenance, all the way through to treatment. NHSc is redefining the approach to their management of health in several key areas such as pediatric health, allergy, acute care, oncology, metabolic health, healthy aging, gastrointestinal health, and inborn errors of metabolism. Headquartered in Switzerland, NHSc employs over 5,000 people around the world, who are committed to making a difference in people's lives, for a healthier today and tomorrow. For more information, visit https://www.nestlehealthscience.com.

About Atrium Innovations Atrium Innovations is a recognized innovative leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of science-based nutritional and supplement health products. The company's mission is to be a global leader in vitamins, minerals and supplements, offering free form science based nutritional solutions through healthcare professionals. Its brands and business model are complementary with Nestl Health Science, its parent company, offering science-based nutritional solutions for consumers, patients, doctors, nurses and other partners in healthcare. Atrium Innovations Professional brands include Pure Encapsulations, Douglas Laboratories, Genestra BrandsTM, KLEAN Athlete, PharmaxTM, and Wobenzym.

About LivingMatrixLivingMatrix is the leading cloud-based, clinician-designed, outcomes-focused personalized medicine platform, helping over 600 practices in 22 countries engage in high-quality, personalized, therapeutic partnerships to address chronic conditions at scale effectively. LivingMatrix has partnered with the Institute for Functional Medicine and helps practitioners deliver a unique engagement process utilizing the Timeline and Matrix tools, and validated, patient-reported outcomes measures that provide a comprehensive assessment of a patient's health and objective tracking of patient progress. The result is a faster time to life-changing outcomes for the patient and an increase in referrals and growth for the practice. Learn more at https://livingmatrix.com

About Persona Persona combines therapeutic levels of nutritional support and a uniquely personalized vitamin program to deliver customized nutrition to subscriber's doorsteps. Based on science and using the highest-quality bioavailable ingredients, Persona's online assessment is built from its proprietary algorithm, which factors individual needs, lifestyle and prescription medications to deliver a recommendation as unique as the patient providing 5 trillion different recommendations. https://www.personanutrition.comInstagram:@personanutrition

Media Contact:Ashley HughesRLA Collective, a Ruder Finn Company(914) 241-0086, ext. 1014Ashley.Hughes@RLACollective.com

SOURCE Atrium Innovations

Nutritional health products EMPOWERING HEALTHIER LIVES

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Atrium Innovations to Further Scale the Future of Personalized Nutrition with the Acquisition of LivingMatrix - PRNewswire