interesting. it was reported today that Neuralink raised $600m, a tad over the $500m is was rumored to be raising back in April, but the story doesn't name the investors. anyone know who's involved here? www.semafor.com/article/05/2...

excited to announce I'll officially be spending more time diving deep into the stories shaping the future of healthtech. tldr: my purview's no longer limited to stories w/ a deal element. (but keep deal news coming!) if you're building, investing in, analyzing, or advising in this space, let's talk!

scoop: Next Life Sciences is looking to raise $20M to further develop male contraceptive product Plan A. the San Luis Obispo company is courting investors and hopes to close the round by this June to power early feasibility trials in Australia and Canada and to prep for a 2027 U.S. FDA submission.

this headline appears to suggest the other VC firms aren't *already* in Washington... www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Exclusive: Navajo Code Talkers disappear from military websites after Trump DEI order

I've gotten a lot of good feedback about this story — if there's more to share, pls contact me on Signal at @erin.14 or via email at [email protected].

calling all San Diegans: Join me this Friday at 9am for an event about the challenges in today’s pain treatment landscape and the current state of pain, featuring Stanford University’s Beth Darnall. what smart Qs should I ask her? theprognosisforamericaspainmanagement.splashthat.com/newsletters

Board member of Meta hugs it out with Andrew Tate, well known heinous person www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Sadly unsurprising

www.axios.com/pro/health-t... beep

Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

www.axios.com/2025/02/28/g... boop

Yesterday I caught Pfizer making some telling changes to their DEI page. @elaineywchen.bsky.social tried to get the company to explain, but they only gave her a generic statement. Judge for yourself, we’ve got all the edits here, annotated: www.statnews.com/2025/02/27/p...

The first measles death in the US in a decade -- the tragic, preventable death of a child whose parents chose not to protect them with vaccination -- should spark an immediate nation-wide campaign to ensure all children are protected against preventable diseases. Anything less is unconscionable.

Breaking: FDA's March meeting to select flu shot strains for 2025-2026 season has been canceled per email sent to committee members, a VRBPAC member told me. drug companies need about 6 months leeway to make shots in time for fall vax campaigns. #healthpolicy

My colleagues and I have been working to break news + write stories holding powerful people accountable. These are the top stories on our homepage right now, one of which I worked on. Our newsroom work is continuing. No one has ever told me what to write. If that changes, I’d speak out and leave.

Important! Fantastic story by @claudia-lopez.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/policy/exclu...

I heard a ski instructor tell a little kid on a ski lift recently "it's not win-lose. it's win-learn." and I think I'm just going to have to accept that as my slogan for 2025

Talkspace, which NYC paid $26M to provide free online therapy to teens, was leaking data about who visited the website to TikTok, Meta, Snap, and other social media companies that the city is currently suing for harming teen mental health. gizmodo.com/teen-mental-...

Excellent piece from PLOS co-founder and Nobel laureate, Harold Varmus: "If the attacks on our scientists and their institutions are allowed to continue, our envisioned future of longer, healthier lives will happen more slowly, in other countries, or not at all." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/o...

important note for anyone interested in healthcare: FDA cleared *does not* mean FDA approved. FDA clearance can simply mean the agency is allowing you to advertise and sell your product. in many cases, it simply means a product is "substantially equivalent" to other cleared products.

“This is a parallel overlaying of authority over the entire structure of the U.S. government.“

Scoop: With its unprecedented hospital deal officially closed, General Catalyst is setting up shop in Ohio. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

new: racing to combat burnout, health systems are flocking to technology at an unprecedented pace as they test and trial AI medical scribes. with investors flooding the zone, the landscape is primed for a massive shakeout. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

DATA! 📊 Health care policy analyst @charlesgaba.com has downloaded the entire CDC site. Access it below.

figure this is as good a time as any to say: I write investigations and deep dives focused on businesses in the digital health sector. please send tips to [email protected] or send me a direct message and I'll give you my Signal number. both platforms are encrypted for privacy purposes.

You know how the Trump admin blocked publication of the CDC's weekly morbidity and mortality report, which until now had been released every single week since 1952? Turns out last week's report would have included 2 important new studies on bird flu transmission. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

New: RFK Jr says he’ll amend his ethics form after questions about his financial stake in HPV vaccine litigation RFK Jr had denied a possible conflict of interest when pressed by @warren.senate.gov at confirmation hearing this week Warren now says it’s grounds to delay the nomination

From a journalist friend: Just spreading the word. The CDC is purging data, so people should archive their favorite CDC datasets today, namely ones around race/ethnic diversity, LGBTQ, and reproductive health. Also health data involving climate. The youth risk behavior survey has already gone down.

The CDC has shuttered its webpages for supporting LGBTQ+ youth in schools, Health Disparities Among LGBTQ Youth, and Creating Safe Schools for LGBTQ+ Youth www.cdc.gov/healthy-yout... www.cdc.gov/healthy-yout... www.cdc.gov/youth-safe-e...

General Catalyst is selling stakes as it expands beyond its VC roots www.axios.com/2025/01/30/g... @danprimack.bsky.social

HITAC's meetings focused on creating "protections for patients at a time of rapid innovation" www.statnews.com/2025/01/29/h...

I just donated $50 to @transjournalists.org because they do important work and deserve the support. I strongly encourage anyone who can match me to do so. It also feels better than becoming more overwhelmed from doomscrolling: www.transjournalists.org/donate/

If you're a scientist that serves on an NSF panel that got cancelled today, I'd love to talk to you about it for an NPR story. DM, email or reach out on signal.

PBS is now live on Prime — ad-free — and you don't need a subscription to watch. This marks the first time this programming will be available *free* on a major streaming service. Channels include PBS Drama, Documentaries, Kids + live feeds for 150 local stations www.pbs.org/articles/str... #TVSky

Please repost! We’re trying hard to sort out rumors from truth + would like to hear from anyone affected by the new federal orders + NIH pause. Patients, scientists, health equity researchers: please contact us below. We won’t share anything without your permission. www.statnews.com/2025/01/25/t...

my take on JPM 2025 in a nutshell: leery health care insiders seek safety www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

really not feeling like dressing up for JPM. can we just all agree it's gonna be more casual vibe this year?

it's wild to me that Amazon could have its biggest impacts on the pharmacy sector not through the entity it created for that purpose, Amazon Pharmacy, but rather through its core retail business, which is cutting significantly into the revenues of players like CVS and Walgreens.

"A 2014 study of 40 random episodes of 'The Dr. Oz Show' found that less than half (46%) of the recommendations made on the show had at least a case study to back them up." Case studies are among the most basic forms of "research"—usually one person's story. www.axios.com/2024/11/20/d...

“One thing he could not do is abolish vaccine mandates, such as requirements that children receive certain immunizations before attending school. Those are set by state and local governments. The federal health secretary does not have the authority to override them.”

back from family leave; what did I miss? ✌🏻

one of those stories I'll probably *still* be talking about over the holidays. www.theverge.com/c/features/2...

There is simply no modern precedent for the number of journalists killed in Gaza. The toll is staggering. cpj.org/2023/12/isra...

SCOOP: a sale process is underway for Sheridan Capital-backed Oral Surgery Partners. would be the first deal of its kind in 6 months. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

guidance from @amermedicalassn.bsky.social to VC & PE funds: "direct investments to companies that work with incumbents to help ensure coordination of care & reduced fragmentation, address needs of vulnerable populations & perform efficacy research of their products" www.ama-assn.org/system/files...

Exclusive: Bold, a provider of virtual exercise programs for Medicare Advantage members, inks $17M in Series A funds led by Rethink Impact. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

exclusive: pharma-focused decision analysis software provider Aily Labs added $20.7M in Series A funds, the startup's first outside funding. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...

Bolt founder Ryan Breslow's medical startup Love debuted in 2022 with the tagline "people-powered pharma." it now sells tea and soap. www.axios.com/pro/health-t...