The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 86 million American adults have prediabetes, and of those, as many as a third will become diabetics within five years.

Beginning January 1, 2015, virtually all private insurers must cover services — with no copay — that help people with elevated blood sugar levels change their diets and increase their physical activity.

Health officials hope the change in coverage will drive down diabetes rates.

At the same time, make no mistake: Entrepreneurs “feel the commercial winds blowing,” said Omada Chief Commercial Officer Mike Payne.
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Read More: http://www.marketplace.org/2015/11/27/health-care/diabetes-prevention-becomes-lucrative-growth-industry

Omada Health has revealed promising results from a study that looked at how well its digital health tools could help spur weight loss among Medicare members, a milestone for the company a couple of months after it roped in new funding to develop its health management program.

The study, which Omada conducted with Humana ($HUM), showed that 491 people lost an average of 8.7% of their body weight over 6 months while participating in the company's Prevent program. Prevent offers digital tools to help people reduce their risk for obesity-related chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, including a wireless scale presynced to a patient's account, 24/7 access to a personal health coach and an online peer network so people on the cusp of chronic disease can find support.

The study findings are especially significant given the participants' age. People in the program were, on average, 70 years old, and their weight loss correlates with data from the Diabetes Prevention Program clinical trial. The trial found that people over 60 at risk for chronic disease have a 71% reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes at 3 years if they lose the same amout of weight, Omada said in a statement.
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Adherence data from the study also weighed in Omada's favor. Seniors stuck with Prevent over time, with more than 85% of participants staying active in the program after 6 months, the company said.

Read More: http://www.fiercemedicaldevices.com/story/omada-health-trumpets-promising-results-study-digital-health-program-medica/2015-11-16

Preclinical Comparison Study Shows Improved Anti-Tumor and Immune Responses for Anti-DLL4/VEGF Bispecific Plus Anti-PD1 vs. Either Alone

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 07, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED), a clinical-stage company developing novel anti-cancer stem cell and immuno-oncology therapeutics, presented new preclinical data for anti-DLL4 combined with anti-VEGF and anti-PD1 during the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Conference.  
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A series of preclinical experiments compared the impact of anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific and a triple blockade of DLL4-VEGF-PD1 on anti-tumor immune responses.  The combination of anti-DLL4/VEGF and anti-PD1 was found to have more potent anti-tumor and enhanced immuno-oncology activity than either agent alone across a number of measures.  The triple blockade of DLL4-VEGF-PD1 significantly inhibited tumor growth with more pronounced tumor regression.  The addition of anti-DLL4/VEGF also improved anti-tumor activity of anti-PD1 alone in both PD1 responsive and non-responsive cancers in murine models. 

"These data highlight the ability of the anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific to combine with anti-PD1 and to modulate anti-tumor immune responses," said Austin Gurney, PhD, Senior Vice President of Molecular and Cellular Biology.  "In addition to increased anti-tumor efficacy, we note enhanced generation of memory T cell responses and reduced tumor-associated macrophages.  These results show that co-targeting of DLL4 and VEGF with PD1 might be an effective and durable anti-cancer therapy in part by promoting anti-tumor immune responses and inhibiting pro-tumor immune responses"  

DLL4 is a ligand within the Notch pathway and plays important roles in regulating cancer stem cells, tumor angiogenesis and pro-tumor immune responses.  OncoMed has two clinical agents targeting DLL4: demcizumab (anti-DLL4, OMP-21M18), currently in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific, (OMP-305B83) currently in a Phase 1a trial in advanced solid tumors.  The combination of anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific with anti-PD1 demonstrated a distinct mechanistic profile versus prior observations of the synergistic combination of anti-DLL4 and anti-PD1 presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2015 Annual Meeting, suggesting potential for increased T-cell activation, maintenance and memory T-cell function. 
Angie Park, Ph.D., Director of Immunotherapy and Stem Cell Biology of OncoMed presented these data in a poster titled "Co-Targeting of Delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) with Programmed Death 1 (PD1) blockade inhibits tumor growth and facilitates anti-tumor immune responses." during the Optimizing Combination Immunotherapy session.

Read More: http://investor.shareholder.com/oncomed/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=941376