Kuo Tong

LSI, BioscienceLA, #LAMedtechweek, and HLTH's #VIVE2024 event resulted in the latest GTM Pulse Check offering which has successfully taken off! As a result, I am continuing on last week's series of go-to-market tactics. Crafting a robust marketing plan is essential for medical device companies to thrive in today's world. By leveraging these outlined sections, organizations can optimize their marketing strategies and drive meaningful impact.This post takes a step back to outline the sections of a marketing plan. Read on 👇🏼 Looking for support in creating your marketing plan?  Let’s chat! Book here 👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/g92YA9WK _____ P.S. Enjoying my content? ⚕️Follow me for more tips on medical device commercialization and repost to share with your network. #medtech #gotomarket #medicaldevices #healthcareinnovation

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In Episode 3 of the "Brain Cancer Science Talk" series on #MissionGBM, we chat with John de Groot, MD (Division Chief of Neuro-Oncology, UCSF) about immunotherapies, the need for combination protocols, Focused Ultrasound, and necessary improvements to clinical trial design and Regulatory framework to advance the development of treatment options for #braincancer patients. #FUS #ImmunoOncology #GBM #Onward #Nof1onBehalfofAll

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I <3 Jon Campbell takeaways and agree completely! I'll also add that, regardless of commercial failures in the space, #digital #medicine is here to stay and is really the only hope we have of fixing a broken healthcare system. Additionally, we'll see #AI/ML increasingly being utilized in healthcare to advance early access and equity and improve outcomes.

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Big congrats to our outstanding rising clinical research stars and global health practitioners at IGHS, UCSF! After months of dedicated hard work, we've all completed our qualifying oral exams. I believe these projects hold the potential to lead to the development of new healthcare technologies, services, or interventions that address pressing global health issues and aid underserved populations. The breadth of our research is evident in the diverse range of global health issues we explored, including but not limited to: 1. Women's empowerment and reintegration programs. 2. Telehealth systems for Native American children with complex medical needs. 3. Performance of COVID-19 exposure notification systems. 4. Mental health interventions during natural disasters in low- and middle-income countries. 5. Cancer screening and treatment access in underserved communities. 6. HIV care and support services. 7. Predictors of disease severity in pediatric febrile illnesses. 8. Cost-effectiveness analyses of various interventions (malaria detection, CAR T-cell therapy, cervical cancer screening). 9. Social media analysis of tobacco product marketing strategies. 10. Pediatric emergency triage tools for resource-limited settings. 11. The impact of food insecurity on mental health. 12. Acculturation, diet quality, and their connection to childhood obesity. 13. Nursing perspectives on COVID-19 pandemic interventions. This wide range of topics underscores the multifaceted nature of global health challenges and the critical need for innovative, interdisciplinary solutions. Furthermore, cost-effectiveness analyses, cost-of-illness studies, and implementation studies can inform strategies for sustainable and scalable solutions.

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How do we minimize the number of protocol amendments and increase the operational feasibility of our clinical trials? This article below points out the benefits of using data, conversations and real world data to enhance the feasibility of the protocol design and inclusion/exclusion criteria: 1) Are we being too strict on our criteria in order to "control" for data variability? 2) Do are criteria allow for the intended patient population in the real world (if not, they need to) 3) How realistic is your design in how the study sites actually work? How they see and treat patients? How is your company ensuring the design meets these requirements? https://lnkd.in/gzJzFd-3

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Takeda's CEO's annual letter hits on some key themes that many biopharma CEO's are converging on: value-based care, price transparency, breaking up the middlemen, and driving healthcare access and equity. "For several years I have been outlining Takeda’s thinking on health equity—including advocating for a transition to value-based health care that pays for outcomes and care quality, emphasizing the need to prepare for the next pandemic by ensuring global vaccine equity and explaining how the protection of intellectual property rights is essential to incentivize investment in R&D. One area where we would like to see greater progress this year is pharmacy benefit managers reform. We support efforts in Congress to delink rebates from list prices or wholesale acquisition cost. It is a complex system, but the bottom line is that the current system creates misaligned incentives that ultimately result in higher costs for the system and higher out-of-pocket costs for patients. One potential way to address these challenges is through greater transparency. Transparency at the point of purchase for patients would empower them to make decisions knowing exactly what their costs will be. This could lower costs for the entire system by building in greater pricing accountability along the chain so that no stakeholder can benefit from the inefficiencies that result in the prices that patients pay today." At COEUS, we are working with the world's leading biopharma companies to help transition them from a broken FFS model towards value-based care. We have built the world's leading platform that hosts the biggest CGT commercial launches, and rapidly moving into Oncology, Obesity/ Diabetes, and beyond. 1. Enabling Value-Based Healthcare: Our solution facilitates the transition to value-based healthcare by providing a powerful tool for creating and managing contracts that pay for outcomes and care quality. 2. Enhancing Transparency: By aggregating disparate healthcare data from various sources, our platform provides unprecedented transparency into the entire healthcare ecosystem. This empowers payers, providers, and patients to make informed decisions and helps stakeholders across the value-chain to tie price and value to therapeutic outcomes. 3. Driving Innovation: Our platform's ability to evaluate complex rules for value-based contracts, real-world evidence studies, and health equity measurements fosters innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. By providing a tool to measure the impact of new solutions, we help companies drive medical advancements while ensuring equitable access. 4. Improving Access and Affordability: Our solution helps identify areas where access and affordability can be improved without compromising innovation. By providing data-driven insights into the effectiveness of various interventions, we enable stakeholders to make informed decisions that benefit patients and the healthcare system as a whole. Visit https://coebra.ai/.

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A recent analysis from Biomedtracker of clinical trial phase transitions between 2014 and 2023 suggests biopharma development success rates are falling. This poses several questions: what are the underlying reasons dragging success rates down and what does this mean for R&D productivity and the return on investment on pipeline spend? https://lnkd.in/ezX4Dsmb Citeline Commercial #biopharma #clinicaltrials #RnD

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As the discourse shifts from models to compound AI systems / agents, we need better AI benchmarks to evaluate multi-modal and multi-step task performance, especially in healthcare and life sciences. When we wrote the first paper demonstrating ChatGPT's performance on the USMLE, we chose the US Medical Licensing Exam as a benchmark for accessibility, speed, and ease. This benchmark was never intended to represent AI model performance on real-world clinical tasks. Today, I still see so many research teams and startups using benchmarks (like the USMLE) that are ill-fitted for assessing the true clinical or scientific performance and utility of the models they are developing for real-world contexts. Benchmark development may be seen as a "less sexy" area of research, but it is of paramount importance. Years after the rise of the transformer, we still lack adequate benchmarks for so many single-step tasks in biomedicine. With compound AI systems (i.e., architectures that integrate multiple AI models to perform complex tasks) emerging, we need new benchmarks for agentic behaviors. I'd argue that developing an agent with novel capabilities without at least proposing a companion benchmark (if an industry standard does not yet exist) may hinder the adoption of said agent, especially for high-stakes workflows. Designing more benchmarks that capture/simulate real-world clinical and scientific workflows will help us mitigate the major discrepancies observed between in silico and in vivo performance and better support safe + effective deployment of AI in biomedicine. There are already brilliant people focused here, and we need more. DMs are open if you're researching or working in this area of multi-step/multi-modal benchmarking in healthcare and life sciences! #healthcare #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeai

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How can you use cutting edge molecular analysis of a patient's cancer to develop a personalized treatment plan? Brian McCloskey is an advanced prostate cancer patient who may have received the most testing of anyone on the planet over his eight years of treatment. With help from the diagnostics company BostonGene, he recently had extensive testing done (whole genome DNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, and multiplex immunofluorescence), which identified new biomarkers (such as VEGF), characterized the microenvironment around his tumors (fibrotic), and compared these test results with his previous test results to uncover evolutionary divergence between his original tumor and new metastatic tumors. Brian's doctor Rana McKay, a leading oncologist at UCSD, then used these test results and a review of data on treatment options to arrive at a very personalized treatment plan: a two-drug combination available through a clinical trial. One drug (cabozantinib) targets one of his biomarkers (VEGF) and the other is an immune checkpoint inhibitor drug (nivolumab, brand name Opdivo). This combination has shown good efficacy in other cancers with a similar genomic profile. For more, please see here: https://lnkd.in/eWVfGGk9

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So humbled to partner with these amazing leaders in AI Healthcare and Biotech! Chief if you're in town for #NYCtechweek join us! #Healthcare #Biotech #AI #Leadership EVENT TITLE: 𝐇𝐋𝐖𝐅™ 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 : IN-PERSON AI in Lifesciences- Women Leading Biomedical Innovation EVENT DETAILS: Join us for an invigorating panel discussion moderated by 𝐑𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐢 𝐑𝐚𝐨 https://lnkd.in/e9_hmpPe Founder of HLWF™ Alliance who will guide our exploration into the transformative role of AI in life sciences. This panel will feature five eminent women who are pioneering the integration of AI in healthcare: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐣𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐭, CEO of Curio Digital Therapeutics, will delve into AI's role in enhancing drug development and optimizing health economics. https://lnkd.in/eCNK2Zjx 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐢 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐢, a leader in digital health, will discuss the impact of AI on improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes through advanced data analytics. https://lnkd.in/ecwZZKQ7 𝐌𝐞𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐦, SVP, Head of Global Medical Affairs Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) an expert in gene therapy and biotech, will highlight the revolutionary applications of AI in biopharmaceuticals and global health strategies. https://lnkd.in/eXhJv4DE 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐢 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝𝐨, head of ProcellaRX, will emphasize the significance of AI in ensuring regulatory compliance and quality in healthcare innovations. https://lnkd.in/eNcR_2S3 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬, a seasoned attorney, will explore how AI can navigate complex legal landscapes to bring cutting-edge solutions to market. https://lnkd.in/egyaewSc Recent trends in life sciences show a surge in AI-driven solutions that are reshaping everything from clinical trial designs to personalized medicine, offering predictive insights and enhanced decision-making capabilities. AI is also playing a crucial role in drug discovery, enabling faster and more efficient processes that could lead to breakthrough treatments for complex diseases. As we integrate these technologies, they promise to enhance patient care, streamline operations, and improve outcomes across the healthcare spectrum. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain invaluable insights from leading experts at the nexus of AI and life sciences, where innovation meets impactful healthcare solutions. Rashmi Rao | Chief Product Officer | Board Director | Women in Tech Hall of Fame | Top Voice | Forbes | WEF | Ex-APPL, SAMSUNG, QCOM

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This article by the WSJ is critically important for public health officials and HealthTech entrepreneurs to internalize. We need multiple solutions for patients to move towards post GLP-1 usage. These solutions need to be easy to implement, non-disruptive to daily life and focused on caloric restriction , lifestyle change and muscle gain. Too many startups are still focused on GLP-1 prescription and delivery. Not enough people focused on the next stage of the weight management journey. As the Journal states, the benefits of the GLP-1 craze are only going to be successful long term if the transition off of them is successful. Otherwise, we risk unforeseen, long term consequences to a large group of patients stuck on GLP-1's with no healthy way to transition off. https://lnkd.in/dYBd3HaN Meghan FitzGerald James Stearns Dominic Perks John LaMattina Raju Kucherlapati

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Digital Health: Countervailing Forces… Consider this: over the past five years nearly $78 billion has been invested in digital health companies and yet just this past year over 20 million Americans were taken off the Medicaid rolls. Certain policy changes can be very damaging, to say nothing of other human-induced factors like pollution, climate change, wars, inadequate housing and education, and hunger which have staggering implications on health. At times it can feel like bailing water out of a sinking ship.    The overall venture capital activity in 1Q24 was a relatively muted $36.6 billion across 2,882 companies for an average round size of $12.7 million, as compared to $51.6 billion and 4,026 companies in 1Q23. Notwithstanding that the level of investment activity in the healthcare technology sector has receded from the $30 billion highwater mark in 2021 to a more manageable $10 – $12 billion annual pace, the opportunities to “transform the business of healthcare” remain obvious and acute. Arguably, the 2021 hangover still lingers in the healthcare technology sector as companies that raised too much capital at too high a price work to sort out challenging cap tables. Out of the 2021 mosh pit of too many companies, it appears that the sector is in an “Emerging Winners” phase that will drive companies with narrow and/or incomplete offerings to combine or shut down.   Thoughts on what to expect for the remainder of the year… https://lnkd.in/egy7Afhg Flare Capital Partners #digitalhealth

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This was a very enjoyable conversation that delved into the details about why multimodal data can offer a substantial improvement on what we can understand today in terms of time, cost and accuracy for clinical development. Thanks so much Brian K. Buntz for your time.

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One key reason why healthcare technologies like AI, telemedicine, and software haven't structurally lowered costs or broadened access for the entire system after decades of experimentation (excluding pure financial engineering of payer contracts) is the limited reimagining of care delivery itself, with asynchronous telemedicine as a notable exception. In the same way that digitizing physical paper failed to exploit the capabilities of a new computing medium for word processing, hosting physician-patient conversations over video does not transform the actual delivery of care. In telemedicine, many of the inputs (e.g., clinician time) and therefore cost structures of in-person care persist, which is why we often see fee-for-service telemedicine companies struggle to achieve economies of scale (i.e., growing revenues non-linearly while growing costs linearly). Until we deconstruct the components of a medical appointment – from intake and triage, to chart review, history gathering, physical examination, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up – we will continue to be underwhelmed by the disconnect between the transformative potential of these technologies and real-world patient/system impact. I’m optimistic that the emergence of reliable and performant medical AI agents will urge us to perform this deconstruction and redesign the fundamental building blocks of a “medical appointment.”

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Over the past two decades, the healthcare landscape has evolved significantly, marked by a surge in diverse data sources and an expansion of therapeutic choices. Stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, and payers, now seek and utilize complex information with a higher level of sophistication. This proliferation of data has led to increased expectations and demands for more intricate knowledge from all involved. Transforming medical leadership beyond traditional roles is essential in light of these changes. Diversification of expertise, development of business acumen, and a revised approach to measuring performance will be key for this transformation. #HealthcareLeadership #MedicalInnovation #DataTransformation #medicalaffairs

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Using GenAI models for administrative tasks is only the beginning. We all see their potential and capability for clinical help. They can go beyond producing notes to ensure that the insights within the notes are comprehensive, correct according to the patient-specific clinical context, adhere to organizational protocols, and are backed by the correct clinical reasoning behind their decisions. I enjoyed speaking with Adam Carewe MD about the path we still need to pave in order to make GenAI live up to its clinical potential and how we as an industry can join forces in bringing reliable clinical solutions to market. Kahun Medical #digitalhealth #healthcareAI #clinicaloversight

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In a groundbreaking decision, the FDA has approved the first AI-enabled diagnostic tool for sepsis that kills 270,000 people each year in the U.S. Sepsis is notoriously difficult to diagnose, and early detection is crucial. Instead of monitoring each parameter such as heart rate, cell counts, temperatures… individually, AI is synthesizing 22 parameters and generating a patient’s deterioration score. This is another example of how AI-enabled tools can accelerate the treatment process and save lives. #ai #aihealth Read more:   https://lnkd.in/gdy-cW3n

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Here's another fundraising roundup spotted in the healthcare wilds 👀 🍃 ✅ Sword Health raised $130M (new valuation: $3B). ✅ Better Health raised $14M to deploy expanded payer partnerships. ✅ Alzheon, Inc. | Preserving Future Memories raised $100M Series E to advance development & commercialization of its Alzheimer’s treatment. ✅ CinRx Pharma raised $73M to continue its ‘Hub and Spoke’ model of startup formation. ✅ Eko Health raised $41M to scale AI-driven heart and lung disease detection. ✅ Anterior (formerly Co:Helm) secured a $20M Series A to unlock admin efficiencies for healthcare payers. ✅ SamaCare raised a $17M Series B to scale specialty drug prior authorization platform. ✅ Plenful secured a $17M Series A to streamline pharmacy operations with AI-powered workflow automation. ✅ Grayce raised a $10.4M Series A led by Maveron amid a caregiving crisis. ✅ Stitch Employment Services Inc PEO raised $8.75M in seed to support independent medical practices. ✅ Posterity Health secured $6M to fund expansion and technology acceleration. ✅ Sware raised $6M to accelerate life sciences innovation by automating FDA-mandated software validation. ✅ Keragon raised $3M, as announced in @Conno Christou’s LinkedIn post. As always, if I missed you, let me know! Each week I'm spotlighting an innovative healthcare startup. I just ask for a bit more transparency. All submissions are confidential; submit yours here 👇 https://lnkd.in/gF4DrAvJ Looking for more fundraising roundups, alongside healthcare industry news and analysis? Subscribe to Hospitalogy, my 2x/week newsletter. Join 33K+ other investors, executives, and healthcare professionals: https://lnkd.in/g-nfRqW6

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Had to miss today's #BiotechHangout but will be listening on X to make sure that I don't miss the thoughtful discussion and insights shared earlier. I invite you to do the same ICYMI.

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