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29
Mar
2021

Flying Blind on the Origin of a Pandemic

I was always curious.  An early elementary school memory is my mother returning from a parent-teacher conference to report that my teacher thought I had “an enquiring mind.” Curiosity is what led me to a life of research, as a biostatistician and population scientist. Because in research, the questions you ask are just as important as their answers. The questions...
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28
Mar
2021

Needed: Planet Fitness for The Digital World

Digital platforms such as Peloton and Tonal have clearly learned how to use emerging technologies to cultivate healthy exercise habits and a loyal base of fitness-focused customers. These same technologies would seem ideally suited – if presented in the right way – to coax more people off the couch in the first place.  This represents an enormous health — and...
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27
Mar
2021

Digital Health: From Pharma To…Fitness?

Astute TR readers might have noticed that I’ve been writing a lot about digital fitness lately, in contrast to digital pharma.  This is deliberate, and represents an evolution of my thinking. I was first drawn to digital health over a decade ago, in the context of a translational medicine training program for medical scientists that I developed with Dr. Denny...
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25
Mar
2021

Can Digital Fitness Extend Beyond Hardy Base To Reach Those Who May Benefit Most?

Whether you are an “exercist,” who relentlessly talks up the benefits of regular exercise to anyone who will listen, or instead are like the vast majority of people and conscientiously avoid exercise, you will find something appealing in the recently published Exercised, by Harvard anthropologist Daniel Lieberman. Those who assiduously avoid unnecessary exertion – pretty much the definition of exercise...
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25
Mar
2021

A Glimpse Into a Price-Controlled Future

Imagine if H.R. 3 — the drug price-control bill that has significant support in the House of Representatives — were to become law. What would it look like if some of the bill’s provisions, like indexing US prices to 120 percent of prices in Europe, were enacted? How would entrepreneurs adapt? What types of drug discovery programs might be prioritized,...
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20
Mar
2021

Enticing Some With Social Cues, Others With Health, Exercise Rewards Body And Mind

I recently discussed the rise of digital fitness, and specifically how companies like Peloton are succeeding by delivering an engaging experience. The new crop of digital fitness companies have figured out how to make health-promoting activities that are intrinsically tedious – like riding a stationary bike – into something compelling and sustaining. A New York Times writer, Amanda Hess, captures...
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16
Mar
2021

Why Digital Fitness Companies Like Peloton and Tonal Are Exciting For Healthcare

A truism in healthcare is that a medicine only works if it’s taken. Unfortunately, many people don’t take the medicines they are prescribed. Adherence rates for many drugs – especially for preventive medicines like statins – tends to be remarkably low, as I’ve discussed in the New York Times.  About half of patients who start taking statins to reduce their...
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15
Mar
2021

Software for the Cell & Gene Therapy Wave: Vineti’s Amy DuRoss on The Long Run

Today’s guest on The Long Run is Amy DuRoss. Amy is the co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Vineti. The company provides software to manage the delicate logistical dance for cell and gene therapies. Vineti has raised about $115 million in three venture rounds of financing. Its backers include Cardinal Health, the big medical distributor, as well as traditional venture...
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10
Mar
2021

Once Vaccinated, What To Do With Masks?

Contributing editor: Chris Beyrer, MD Once I’m fully vaccinated, should I still wear a mask? This is probably the biggest public health policy question facing us today. It’s an issue each one of us will have to ask ourselves as the U.S. mass vaccination campaign continues to roll out, especially when many people around us aren’t yet fully vaccinated.  ...
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9
Mar
2021

The Rise in Asian American Hate Crimes: A Biopharma Perspective and Call For Action

I have been a biopharma executive for 30 years. For the last 12 years, I’ve been living with Young-Onset Parkinson’s Disease. I have been an Asian American even longer…all my life. The biopharma industry has been very good to me, offering constant growth and opportunity for advancement and reinvention. My most recent job was in patient engagement. It suited me...
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