ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dudley Sue Bock, 75, received the shocking news last July that she had a 70 percent blockage in one of the two arteries that provide blood to her brain.

In October, Bock became one of the first patients in the Southwestern U.S. to undergo a new stenting procedure at New Mexico Heart Institute that restored blood flow through carotid artery on the right side of her neck.

The procedure, called Transcarotid Artery Revascularization, or TCAR, is intended to lower the risk of stroke or heart attack, particularly in older patients, while patients are on the operating table, Heart Institute surgeons said.

“The question here is, is there any way to limit that stress on the heart, but keep the procedure as safe and effective” as conventional surgery, said Dr. Steve Henao, the Heart Institute’s chief of vascular surgery.

The Heart Institute is one of about 40 medical centers worldwide participating in a study to evaluate the effectiveness of TCAR, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015 for use in patients at high risk of stroke.

Read More: https://www.abqjournal.com/981104/technology-3.html

Anti-TIGIT Demonstrates Potent Anti-Tumor Activity in Preclinical Models

WASHINGTON and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics, presented data from multiple preclinical studies detailing the mechanism and anti-tumor activity of anti-TIGIT alone and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors at the AACR Annual Meeting 2017.  These are the first data from OncoMed's anti-TIGIT program to be shared publicly.  OncoMed plans to initiate a Phase 1a single-agent study of its anti-TIGIT antibody (OMP-313M32) in the first half of 2017.
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"TIGIT is a highly desirable target in immuno-oncology with similarities in structure and function to PD1 and broad expression of its ligands on a wide variety of tumor tissues. We believe that by blocking TIGIT signaling our anti-TIGIT antibody may enable T-cell activation and facilitate a potent anti-tumor immune response, potentially halting the growth and recurrence of tumors," said Austin Gurney, Ph.D., OncoMed's Senior Vice President of Molecular and Cellular Biology and co-Chief Scientific Officer.  "In multiple preclinical studies with anti-TIGIT antibodies we have observed immune activation and robust anti-tumor activity — both as a single agent and in combination with other cancer immunotherapeutics.  Notably, the effect on inhibiting tumor growth persists upon re-challenging cured animals with re-injection of tumor cells, indicating that we are inducing a long-term immune memory response that we hope will translate into long-term clinical benefit.  We look forward to advancing our anti-TIGIT antibody into the clinic in the first half of 2017."

Read More: http://www.oncomed.com/invest/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1019847

Outset Medical, a commercial-stage company delivering new technology into the $13 billion global dialysis market, today announced the appointment of Gus Castello as the company’s chief operating officer.

Gus is an experienced med tech veteran with more than 30 years of diverse leadership positions in product operations and quality. From early 2002 until late 2013, he held the positions of Vice President of Manufacturing and later, Senior Vice President of Product Operations worldwide for Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG). During Gus’ tenure at Intuitive Surgical he was responsible for the leadership, planning and execution of the company’s Product Quality and Operations strategy in support of 20% year-over-year topline revenue growth from $40 million in 2001 to $2.3 billion in 2013. During this time, Gus also led key initiatives around the reliability, cost reduction and high-volume manufacturability of four generations of the da Vinci ® Surgical System and its associated surgical tools and accessories.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gus to the Outset Medical leadership team,” said Leslie Trigg, Outset Medical’s CEO. “In much the same way Intuitive Surgical leveraged technology to transform the way surgeries are performed, Outset sees an opportunity for new technology to reduce the cost of dialysis care and meaningfully improve the patient experience. Gus’ experience helping build Intuitive Surgical into the powerhouse it has become is invaluable as we scale the growth of our technology both domestically and abroad.”

Read More: ​http://finance.yahoo.com/news/outset-medical-announces-appointment-gus-181200197.html

 BY SEAN DUFFY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR

A simple premise: individuals cost the American healthcare system more once they are sick. And today in the United States, the most common illnesses — and the ones that are the primary drivers of rising health costs – are chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called chronic disease “the public health challenge of the 21st century.”

So as Congress continues to debate the balance between access to affordable healthcare, controlling healthcare costs, and encouraging personal responsibility, members should consider the pivotal role played by prevention. No matter what coverage mechanisms Congress chooses to implement, healthcare costs will continue to rise unless we invest in prevention.

Diabetes provides a perfect example. From 1988 to 2014, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S rose by 274 percent. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 30 million Americans have diabetes, with at least another 86 million perched on the tipping point of the disease with pre-diabetes.

Read More: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/323782-prevention-the-key-to-healthcares-fiscal-sustainability

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED) will present new data related to its clinical and preclinical immuno-oncology and anti-cancer stem cell therapeutic candidates in a total of six presentations at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting to be held April 1-5, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Among the presentations will be three posters detailing preclinical data for OncoMed's novel anti-TIGIT (OMP-313M32) immuno-oncology therapeutic candidate.  These will be the first data that the company has shared publicly for its anti-TIGIT antibody program.  New data will also be presented on biomarker research associated with the Phase 1b portion of OncoMed's tarextumab (anti-Notch2/3, OMP-59R5) clinical trial in small cell lung cancer and OncoMed's preclinical GITRL-Fc trimer (OMP-336B11) program.  In addition, xenograft data will be presented for anti-RSPO3 (OMP-131R10) in combination with taxane chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

Read More: http://investor.shareholder.com/oncomed/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1015497

An interview with Leslie Trigg, President and CEO of Outset Medical

What spurred your interest in Outset Medical?

Most of my medical device career has been in spent in areas of healthcare that have experienced rapid, technology-driven change. In cardiology, for example, it’s not unusual to see several groundbreaking new devices enter the market in the same year. What hit me right away about dialysis was the inverse. The paucity of new technologies was striking. Being new to it, I thought, “Well, is new technology needed? Maybe there are no unmet needs that can be solved by technology.” Those questions were quickly answered by learning more about the clear need for cost reduction and improvement of the patient experience.

We see an exciting opportunity for technology to help solve important problems within dialysis care provided in clinics, in hospitals, in homes, and in extended care facilities.

Read More: http://www.kidneynews.org/kidney-news/features/in-center-self-care-hemodialysis-idea-whose-time-has-come

Silicon Valley venture pioneer Bill Draper will get a lifetime achievement award from the National Venture Capital Association next month.

The honor is one of several that Valley firms and VCs are up for at the group's annual leadership gala at the Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park on March 8.
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All three finalists for the Excellence in Healthcare Innovation Award are from outside of the Bay Area — Annie Lamont of New York-based Oak HC/FT, Jack Lasersohn of the The Vertical Group in New Jersey and Mark Levin of Third Rock Ventures in Boston.

Read More: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2017/02/23/bill-draper-vc-association-awards-ross-jaffe-award.html OR ​https://nvcaleadershipgala.wordpress.com/ 

Digital diabetes management company Omada Health has brought on federal policy veteran Lucia Savage as their new Chief Privacy and Regulatory Officer. Savage, who previously worked as Chief Privacy Officer at the Office of the National Coordinator for IT, will lead Omada’s legal and compliance team. In her new role, Savage will lead Omada’s regulatory strategy and ensure the privacy and security of the platform users’ personal health information. She will also work to advance Omada’s integration with EHRs and other patient record systems, in the aim to bring the company further into clinical processes.

Read More: http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/former-onc-privacy-officer-joins-omada-health-instagrams-product-head-lends-expertise-strava

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED), a clinical-stage company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics, today announced it has enrolled and dosed the first patient in a Phase 1b clinical trial of its anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody (OMP-305B83) in combination with paclitaxel in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.  OncoMed's anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody is designed to have anti-angiogenic, anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-modulatory activity.

The Phase 1b multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation and expansion trial is designed to assess the safety, preliminary efficacy, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics and biomarker effects of the anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific antibody plus paclitaxel.  OncoMed expects to enroll approximately 30 patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (including fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancers) who have previously received bevacizumab (Avastin®, anti-VEGF) and/or have failed at least two prior therapies. The Phase 1b trial of anti-DLL4/VEGF antibody in patients with ovarian cancer is being conducted at five clinical sites in the United States.

Read More: ​http://investor.shareholder.com/oncomed/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1011562

Today’s medical therapy is tough competition, but new devices for use in CAS might tip the balance toward endovascular therapy, experts say.

HOLLYWOOD, FL—What with no distinct advantage for carotid artery stenting (CAS) over carotid endarterectomy (CEA)—and today’s availability of more aggressive medical therapy—it is unclear which approach to revascularization holds an edge, experts said last week at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET) 2017. But it may be that tweaking certain aspects of CAS devices tips the scales.

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“I believe the outlook of CAS is bright because of three advances that are currently on the horizon that may decrease strokes.” These include better embolic protection devices with cessation or reversal of flow (eg, Medtronic’s Mo.Ma device), cervical access to avoid the aortic arch and reverse flow (eg, Silk Road Medical’s ENROUTE system), and membrane or mesh-covered stents to stop delayed strokes, Veith said.

Read More: https://www.tctmd.com/news/gains-carotid-stenting-technology-could-increase-treatments-appeal