Life science and health care companies had a banner year in 2018, with a record-breaking year for venture capital investment, according to Silicon Valley Bank's Trends in Healthcare Investments and … [Read more...]
PRECISION MEDICINE
Newborn Sequencing Delivers Some Unanticipated Findings
January 22, 2019
Newborn genomic sequencing (NGS) can identify risk for a wide range of disorders that otherwise may not be detected, even in seemingly healthy babies, according to a study published Jan. 3 in the … [Read more...]
LEGISLATION
New Broad All-Payor Kickback Law Impacting Laboratories, Commission-based Compensation and more
January 14, 2019
By Danielle Sloane bio and Chris Climo bio In a recent piece of federal legislation intended to address the opioid crisis across the United States, Congress enacted a new all-payor kickback … [Read more...]
GENETIC TESTING
Most Oncologists Report Using Sequencing-Based Panels In Practice
January 7, 2019
The majority of U.S. oncologists report using next-generation sequencing-based (NGS-based) tests to guide patient care, according to a study published Nov. 13 in JCO Precision Oncology, although use … [Read more...]
INFORMATICS
Big Data Can Reshape Lab Reference Values in the Era of Personalized Medicine
December 31, 2018
As might be expected, there are substantial differences in "normal" laboratory values determined by healthy outpatients and critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, even … [Read more...]
INDUSTRY TRENDS
Despite 23andMe Authorization, FDA Cautious About PGx Testing
November 26, 2018
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided 23andMe (Mountain View, Calif.) authorization for the first direct-to-consumer (DTC) test for detecting genetic variants that may be associated … [Read more...]
TESTING STRATEGY
FDA Enabling New Point-of-Care Tests for Ebola Outbreak, Flu Season
November 26, 2018
Several recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actions are bringing point-of-care (POC) infectious disease tests closer to patient care. These recent regulatory wins are enabling more rapid … [Read more...]
DATA
6 Steps to Data-Driven Transformation
November 26, 2018
By Nir Kaldero bio We're now well into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The First Industrial Revolution was about steam and railroads, the Second about electricity, and the Third brought … [Read more...]
INDUSTRY TRENDS
One-Fourth of Myriad’s Variants of Unknown Significance Reclassified Over 10 Years
November 19, 2018
Variant reclassification following hereditary cancer genetic testing is common, according to a study published by Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City) Sept. 25 in the Journal of the American Medical … [Read more...]
TESTING TRENDS
Multiplex, Point-of-Care Test for STIs Could Offer Public Health Benefits
November 12, 2018
Point-of-care (POC) testing that could simultaneously identify multiple sexually transmitted infections (STIs) could be a valuable addition to sexual health clinics, according to a U.K. study … [Read more...]
