A study presented Monday at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions found that one-third of those who initially screened positive for prediabetes or diabetes were able to bring their blood sugar down to normal levels after taking part in a workforce-based intervention.

The study by Quest Diagnostics, which involved a collaboration with the digital health provider Omada Health, shows promise for employer-based wellness programs that involve a 2-step process: screening for those at risk, and then offering an evidence-based program of lifestyle change and support for those whose health risks are revealed during screening.

Read More: ​https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/quest-omada-health-collaboration-shows-onethird-in-workforce-study-reduced-risk-for-diabetes

When not researching systems to prevent strokes, you might find Silk Road Medical CEO Erica Rogers on the dance floor or acting in a staging of “The Sound of Music.”

Rogers’ company develops and manufactures less invasive medical devices meant to improve the treatment of carotid artery disease through proprietary therapies.

Rogers estimates the markets for these products is $1 billion annually. The company sells them to hospitals primarily through direct sales in the U.S.

Silk Road Medical is working on other similar products, Rogers told FierceCEO. “We have pipeline products that are in and around what we do.”

Rogers has been CEO of Silk Road Medical since 2012 but doesn’t exactly stick to the CEO script.

Read More: ​​https://www.fierceceo.com/growth-innovation/silk-road-medical-ceo-erica-rogers-mixes-art-science-to-fight-strokes

Digital Therapeutics Pioneer Launches Comprehensive, Personalized Solution for Obesity-Related Chronic Disease

SAN FRANCISCO, June 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the company's pioneering approach to digital behavior change, Omada Health today announced the availability of new programs that will help individuals control type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Adding to Omada's industry-leading diabetes prevention program, the company will now offer integrated condition management programs for enterprise and health plan customers, significantly expanding the populations Omada serves. Leveraging seven years of data-driven insights; integration experience with hundreds of health plan and employer customers; and a proven approach to sustainable lifestyle change, Omada will now provide personalized interventions for those at-risk for, or with, certain obesity-related chronic conditions.

"Since the early days of the company, we've developed Omada to be an adaptable program that delivers meaningful health outcomes for participants, and return on investment for customers," said Omada Health CEO Sean Duffy. "Today's announcement is the next step in that journey. Clients, partners, and participants want a holistic digital healthcare provider built on clinical evidence, best-in-class user experience, and validated results. As we deliver new programs and features, Omada will continue to help our customers manage the health of their populations, as well as their healthcare spending."

Read More: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/omada-health-adds-new-programs-for-type-2-diabetes-and-hypertension-self-management-300668419.html

Compared with carotid endarterectomy, transcarotid artery revascularization was associated with similar in-hospital outcomes in patients with carotid stenosis, according to data presented at the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Annual Meeting.

Transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR), which involves direct access via the carotid artery and cerebral protection with a flow-reversal system (Enroute, Silk Road Medical), has emerged as an alternative to transfemoral-access carotid artery stenting due to reduced risk for short-term stroke, Marc L. Schermerhorn, MD, chief of the division of vascular and endovascular surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, said during a presentation.

Schermerhorn and colleagues analyzed 1,182 patients who underwent TCAR (median age, 74 years; 63% men) and 10,797 patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy (median age, 71 years; 60% men) between January 2016 and March 2018 and were included in the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative TCAR Surveillance Project or endarterectomy databases.

Read More: ​https://www.healio.com/cardiac-vascular-intervention/cerebrovascular/news/online/%7B7a178c8b-fc0c-447e-88c6-a45e133833b0%7D/transcarotid-artery-revascularization-offers-similar-in-hospital-outcomes-to-surgery

Digital chronic disease management company Omada Health announced today the launch of new programs designed to support individuals with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Accompanying these are a set of new features for the enterprise and health plan platform focused on medication adherence and remote monitoring, all of which comprise what a representative from the company described as “the largest product expansion in Omada’s history.”

The addition of the diabetes and hypertension programs come as a part of Omada’s aim to become a more holistic health management and coaching offering, CEO Sean Duffy told MobiHealthNews. He stressed that the Omada platform is designed to be an open-ended system that customizes itself based on the user’s specific health needs.

Read More: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/omada-health-expands-digital-platform-type-2-hypertension-programs-new-features

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Silk Road Medical, Inc., a company dedicated to preventing the devastating burden of stroke through surgical innovation, today announced key events at the upcoming Society for Vascular Surgery 2018 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) June 20-23 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. These include real-world data presentations comparing the company’s TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) procedure to transfemoral carotid artery stenting (TFCAS) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA), as well as other company-sponsored events about TCAR.

Two podium presentations will feature data from the Society for Vascular Surgery’s TCAR Surveillance Project, launched in 2016 to obtain real-world comparative outcomes of TCAR and other carotid artery treatments from centers participating in the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI):

• “In-hospital Outcomes of TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) and Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA) in the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative” (VESS05) will be presented by Dr. Marc Schermerhorn of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) on Wednesday, June 20 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 311.
• “TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) vs. Transfemoral Carotid Artery Stenting (TFCAS) in the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative” (SS24) will be presented by Dr. Mahmoud Malas of Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) on Friday, June 22 at 4:22 p.m. in Ballroom A/B.

​Read More: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180618005276/en/Silk-Road-Medical-Announces-Key-Events-Society

Expanded Phase of Trial will Assess anti-TIGIT in Combination with anti-PD1

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in the company's Phase 1b portion of the Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of anti-TIGIT (OMP-313M32) in combination with anti-PD1 (nivolumab). TIGIT (T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) is a next generation checkpoint receptor, and upon activation by the PVR ligand, a protein broadly expressed on tumor cells, it blocks T-cell activation. OncoMed's anti-TIGIT candidate is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody checkpoint inhibitor which binds to the human TIGIT receptor on T-cells with a goal of improving the activation and effectiveness of T-cell and NK cell tumor-killing activity.

"The dosing of the first patient in the Phase 1b portion of the anti-TIGIT trial marks an important milestone in the advancement of this therapeutic candidate through the clinic, where we will be evaluating the potential synergy of our anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody with anti-PD1," said John Lewicki, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of OncoMed. "We look forward to continuing our exploration of the potential anti-tumor activity of anti-TIGIT and its ability to combine safely with anti-PD1 in key clinical oncology settings. Simultaneously, dose escalation in the Phase 1a portion of the trial is nearing completion and dose expansion in select tumor types is planned." 

Read More: http://www.oncomed.com/invest/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1069903