Hey at least they are consistent
“Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX) announced today that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of sotagliflozin, an investigational new oral dual inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporters 1 and 2 (SGLT-1 and SGLT-2), which could be a potential treatment option for people with diabetes.” – Lexicon press release November 5, 2015 “In an 8-8 vote on Thursday, an...
That pesky 30% level
Last week during JPM it was asked many times why more Type 1 patients are not using an insulin pump. Why with all this way cool whiz-bang advanced technology only 30% or so of Type 1 patients use an insulin pump. There is an abundance of clinical evidence that proves insulin pump therapy is safe and effective. Insulin pumps have been around for decades and while pumps can and do...
Time to leave the clinic
Willie Sutton committed his first bank heist in 1925 in Ozone Park, NY. His life's work would land him on the FBI's Most Wanted List, bring him $2 million dollars, put him in prison for 33 years, (which included additional time because he kept escaping), six years in hiding and four years of parole. When asked why he robbed banks, Willie is credited with replying, “because that's where the money...
It’s not about the damn toys!
So, let’s see if we’ve got this straight Wal Mart is splitting from CVS over pricing, while Walgreens and Microsoft are hooking up on yet another digital health initiative. Oh, and we forgot to mention that yesterday the House, which is open for business, began hearings to investigate the high cost of prescription medications. Yep just another bright and sunny day in the wacky world. Of the three events the Walgreens...
Kids will be kids
It has been brought to our attention that the Evil Empire has reached a new low as they are actively censoring our posts they consider to negative. This is not just childish but goes against everything this great country of ours stands for. Sadly, we are not surprised by this childish behavior as it’s par for the course for the Empire. Long ago in a galaxy far, far away MiniMed...
That’s a wrap
As the healthcare universe leaves that beautiful city by the bay a few final thoughts on this most recent addition of JPM. 1. The Battle for the patient intensifies As we noted previously everyone is guessing how Amazon will be as disruptive in healthcare as they have been everywhere else. As we noted during one conversation, we had at the conference there is not one thing a patient uses that cannot be...
Day Two Morning Sessions
Android vs iOS Listening to the Abbott presentation and corresponding Q&A a few things are becoming clearer in the expanding CGM market. 1. The company noted there are now over 1 million patients using the Libre with 200,000 domestically and 800,000 overseas. This has generated sales approaching $1 Billion. 2. There is no question that Abbott is committed to providing Libre at a lower price point than Dexcom, noting several times that Libre...
Higher than a kite
There is no polite way to say this so please sit down before reading - IF ONE MORE COMPANY STATES THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING AS GOOD AS DEXCOM OR WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING EVEN BETTER THAN DEXCOM MOMMA KLIFF WILL GET OUT THE HICKORY FOR A WELL DESERVED WHOOPING. We mention this as it seems that Medtronic isn’t the only company which is delusional about the standalone CGM market. Check...
An Impressive Company
Before we get into the early presentations a few quick notes. First you know this is a big conference when there are three different Twitter # tags - #JPM19 #JPM2019 and #JPMHC19. Second as per usual companies which aren’t presenting here piggyback on the news flow making their own announcements. Bigfoot being the most recent example announcing today a non-exclusive deal with Lilly. Per a company release: “Bigfoot Biomedical, Inc., a...
The week ahead
As we prepare to make our annual pilgrimage to that beautiful albeit rainy city by the bay a few thoughts about what we might see and hear at JP Morgan. Based on the pre-show buzz artificial intelligence seems to be tracking as a big story. Another is the continued speculation about how Amazon will change healthcare. Along those same lines there will be more speculation as how our friends in...