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Rounding out the top 10 in BF’s new Startup Ecosystems category are Houston, San Jose, Orlando, Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and Salt Lake City, respectively. The top 10 metros for startups each offer a growing skilled workforce, a mix of emerging growth sectors and the quality of life that amplifies talent attraction, BF Editor in Chief Jack Rogers said. “Nashville has become a thriving healthcare hub that is drawing a lot of healthcare-oriented startups to Tennessee’s capital,” Rogers noted. “With a quality of life that’s second to none, put a big up arrow next to Nashville in this category.”
Congressman Ben McAdams (D-UT) and Congressman Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide commonsense regulatory relief for America’s growing companies, including many in the bioscience sector. The Fostering Innovation Act is a narrow fix that allows small emerging growth companies to keep public capital working to fund business needs, such as innovative medical research, rather than expensive regulatory filings.
The Trump administration has softened its stance on drug importation, giving a boost to states that want to curb rising drug prices by importing medications from Canada. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar last week said he and President Trump “are committed” to making importation work.
Reprocessing medical devices originally labeled for single use saved hospitals and surgery centers nearly $500 million in 2018, according to survey findings released by an industry trade group Monday. For hospitals, reprocessing a device after patient use typically involves sending it to a third-party reprocessor, which cleans, sterilizes and repackages the device. Hospitals reprocess a range of single-use devices, ranging from non-invasive items like blood pressure cuffs to invasive surgical instruments. While some clinicians initially expressed concerns over the safety implications of reusing devices, these largely have been assuaged in the wake of FDA oversight and lack of evidence pointing to any such health risks.
Venture capital fundraising this year by biopharma startups is on course to fall behind last year, though it will be above the figure for 2017. But the biggest story may be where that funding is going. Silicon Valley Bank released its 2019 midyear report, “Trends in Healthcare Investments and Exits 2019,” on Thursday. So far, healthcare companies have raised $5.8 billion in the first half of this year, compared with $9.6 billion for all of 2018 and $9.1 billion in 2017.
5 trends driving innovation in global healthcare
Much of the progress made in healthcare in recent decades stemmed from advancements in biotechnology, but in the years to come, digital technology and artificial intelligence will take over as drivers of innovation. In its annual Global Innovation Index, released July 24, the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization identified five global trends, all steeped in IT, that will have a significant impact on healthcare. The five trends are information revolution, AI, precision medicine, consumerism and evolving business models.
