InnovationRx: TikTok’s Parent Company Is Moving Into Pharma

InnovationRx is your weekly digest of healthcare news. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here . B eijing-based tech giant ByteDance , better known as the parent company of social media platform TikTok , is recruiting scientists in a variety of fields for AI-based research into drug discovery and other scientific endeavors, according to reporting from our colleague Alexandra Levine.

It’s not clear exactly how drug discovery fits into the company’s overall strategy, but it’s already published research on protein and drug design . It’s also released an open source AI tool for computational biology. Read the whole story here .

How This Startup Is Using 10 Million Patient Records To Reduce Bias In Health AI While the Biden administration grapples with how to keep up with the fast-changing technology, Dandelion Health is trying to fill the void with a de-identified dataset for developers to build and test how their algorithms perform. Dandelion’s founding team hopes they can help establish a framework for testing and validating healthcare AI while regulators play catchup. To do so, the startup just closed a $15 million seed round led by Primary.

Read more here. Pipeline & Deal Updates Fund Launch: Goldman Sachs announced the closing of its $650 million West Street Life Sciences I fund, which the bank says will “invest in and build the next generation of leading life sciences companies. ” Biotech IPO: CG Oncology, which is developing a treatment for bladder cancer, filed for an IPO on Monday.

The company, which is led by Forbes 30 Under 30 alum Arthur Kuan, is looking to raise up to $100 million . Read our past coverage of CG Oncology here . Medicare: Devoted Health, which delivers both insurance and primary care to Medicare patients, announced it raised a $175 series E round .

Hospitals: Health systems BJC Health System of St. Louis and Saint Luke’s Health System of Kansas City announced they’d completed their merger , first announced in spring of 2023. The resulting entity will bring in roughly $10 billion in revenue a year and will serve patients in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and other midwestern states.

Gene Editing, Obesity Drugs And Long-Living Dogs: The Year In Biotech 2023 saw big shifts in the macroeconomics of the biotech sector, but also major technological milestones for longer, healthier lives. One of the highlights includes the first FDA approval for a Crispr gene therapy: Casvegy, co-developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crispr Therapeutics. Read more here.

Other Healthcare News On January 1, California became the first state to expand eligibility for its Medicaid program to undocumented immigrants. An appeals court temporarily halted the International Trade Commission’s order banning certain Apple Watch sales. Rite Aid has closed about 200 stores since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

U. N. experts are urging the U.

S. to halt the first execution by nitrogen gas scheduled to take place in Alabama, warning it could be considered torture. Health officials warn about synthetic opioids called nitazenes , which are more potent than fentanyl.

Animal trials suggest a vibrating pill that reduces food consumption developed by MIT researchers could hold promise as a future weight loss option for humans. Across Forbes Here’s How Much Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Is Worth Why TikTok Advice To Report Your Ex To The IRS Doesn’t Always Add Up The Top 10 Richest People In The World (January 2024) What Else We are Reading VA’s Private Health Plan Faces Huge Cost Overruns (Washington Monthly) Texas taxpayers wanted to help the poor get health care. Instead, they’re funding a medical school at a wealthy university (STAT) Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records (KFF Health News).