Here, Sean Duffy speaks with Kate Warnock of GuideWell during the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Summit 2016 and shares how Omada Health's digital innovation and value-based model is impacting people with chronic disease.

Read More: http://health.oliverwyman.com/engage-consumers/2016/10/video_interview_wit.html

Innovative Minimally Invasive Approach for Neurological Conditions Has Been Used in 1,000 Patient Procedures

PLYMOUTH, Minn., Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Monteris Medical today announced that leading surgeons at 40 sites across the U.S. and Canada have used the company's NeuroBlate® System, a minimally invasive robotic laser thermotherapy tool, in more than 1,000 patient procedures.

"NeuroBlate is a significant advance in neurosurgery, offering the potential to improve clinical outcomes for patients," said Eric C. Leuthardt, M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Director of the Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology, and the Brain Laser Center at Washington University School of Medicine. "And because NeuroBlate is a minimally invasive tool, we are seeing reductions in pain and shorter recovery times compared with traditional open surgery."

Read More: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/monteris-medical-reaches-milestone-for-neuroblate-system-300346443.html

The digital behavioral health coaching program from Omada Health has been shown to reduce overweight and obese seniors' risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease by helping them lose weight and adopt healthier behaviors, according to a new study.

Over a three-year span, researchers looked at 1,121 adults age 65 or older who had a baseline body mass index of 24 or higher, plus additional risks for diabetes and heart disease, and were enrolled in the Omada digital coaching program. The program features an initial 16-week online educational program followed by ongoing coaching and notifications to sustain behavioral changes, a social network support group, a professional health coach to facilitate group and individual counseling; and digital tracking tools including a wireless scale and an activity tracker.

Six months after the program started, almost 90 percent of participants had completed at least nine of the 16 lessons in the program, and had lost an average of 6.8 percent of their body weight. This put estimations of cost savings at $1,770 per participant, with additional savings accumulating over the next decade.

Read More: http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/study-shows-seniors-risk-diabetes-and-heart-disease-lose-weight-reduce-healthcare-costs

Company’s fifth peer-reviewed publication shows seniors engage with the Omada Program and lose weight; model estimates savings in less than two years

San Francisco, CA; (October 13, 2016) – As the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) works to finalize a diabetes prevention program for beneficiaries, Omada Health today announced the publication of a study demonstrating its program’s effectiveness with individuals 65 and older. Published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, the published research contained data from more than 1,100 senior participants in the Omada program. Those participants started the Omada program, with an average age of 69 years old and BMI of 32.5 kg/m2.

Six months after beginning the Omada program, 89.5% of participants in the study completed at least nine of 16 lessons. Twenty-six weeks after beginning the Omada Program, average weight loss for program completers was 7.3%, while average weight loss for all participants was 6.8%. Estimated savings from the population included in the study were $1,770 over three years per participant, with additional savings accumulating over the next decade.

“This study validates what our team has known for a while: that American seniors can – and will – reduce their risk of chronic disease by engaging with a properly designed digital health intervention,” said Omada co-founder and CEO Sean Duffy. “The evidence from this study shows that the Omada program delivers clinically-meaningful health outcomes and significant savings for those 65 and older. This publication is a demonstration of our company’s values in action.”

Read More: https://www.omadahealth.com/news/peer-reviewed-study-demonstrates-omada-program-helps-seniors-reduce-risk-of-type-2-diabetes-and-heart-disease

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED) today announced the presentation of interim clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1b trials of ipafricept (FZD8-Fc, OMP-54F28) and vantictumab (anti-Fzd, OMP-18R5) at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2016 Congress.

Ipafricept and vantictumab are first-in-class Wnt pathways inhibitors that are each being tested in combination with Abraxane® (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin bound) plus gemcitabine in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer.  Each Phase 1b clinical trial is designed as a dose-escalation study to primarily assess safety and tolerability.  Secondary objectives include a preliminary assessment of efficacy and exploratory objectives include the identification of pharmacodynamic and predictive biomarkers. 

"In the pancreatic cancer setting, ipafricept and vantictumab in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy have demonstrated acceptable safety and encouraging early signs of efficacy and biomarker effects," said Jakob Dupont, M.D., Chief Medical Officer.  "The data presented at ESMO, alongside the data presented at ASCO for ipafricept and vantictumab, provide evidence supporting the Phase 2 readiness of each drug.  Upon the completion of additional dose cohorts and subsequent follow-up, we look forward to presenting an opt-in package to our partner Bayer for these distinct Wnt pathway inhibitors in the first half of next year."  

Read More: http://investor.shareholder.com/oncomed/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=992805

In-center self-care hemodialysisis associated with better outcomes than traditional in-center hemodialysis.
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Modalities of renal replacement therapy are categorized into in-center hemodialysis and home therapies. A subset of hemodialysis patients referred to as in-center self-care hemodialysis (ICSCHD) receive patient training as if they were going home but instead perform their dialysis in-center with minimal staff support. Preliminary data suggests ICSCHD is associated with better outcomes than traditional in-center hemodialysis. We looked at ICSCHD patients initiating maintenance dialysis from April 1, 2011 to March 30, 2014 and compared them at a 1:2 ratio to propensity-score matched controls from surrounding facilities within the same catchment area. The median follow-up was 14 months. Patients on ICSCHD had lower mortality rate (0.02 vs 0.07 per patient year; p <0.05), fewer hospitalization events (0.82 vs. 1.70 per patient year; p = 0.008) and fewer missed treatments (1.1% vs 3.8% of all treatments; p = 0.005) than matched controls. We concluded that patients on ICSCHD had lower mortality rates and fewer hospital days than well-matched controls and spent more time on dialysis and missed fewer treatments. Establishing a facility-wide culture of care promoting patient engagement in ICSCHD may have contributed to these findings.

Read More: http://www.nephrologynews.com/outcomes-among-patients-receiving-center-self-care-hemodialysis/