Alexa To Detect Cardiac Arrest: Software-based Diagnostics In Every Home 

A study released this week reported that common home-based smart listening devices like Amazon Echo and iPhones could be used to detect cardiac arrest based on irregular breathing sound. The authors show how everyday common devices can be used not only to detect cardiac arrest with a greater than 97% sensitivity and specificity but that … Read more

FDA’s Enforcement Discretion on CBD Creates Confusion for Consumers 

FDA has maintained officially that cannabidiol (CBD) is regulated as drug and hence it is illegal to add CBD to food and dietary supplement while at the same time letting thousands of CBD containing food and supplement products sells openly. CBD is the active ingredient of one FDA-approved drug, Epidiolex, but is available in thousands … Read more

Should FDA Disclose Submission of NDA and BLA Applications?

FDA is not allowed by law to report submission of NDA and BLA applications or when it rejects these applications, but submitters do. In more than 97% of the times, companies announce via news releases, SEC filings or both, the submission of their market approval applications. A publication by FDA officials in JAMA this week … Read more

Clinicaltrials.gov Has a Loophole that NIH and FDA Need to Close 

Over the last two decades Clinicaltrials.gov has become an invaluable archive of all clinical trials where one can easily register a clinical trial, few questions asked; and that’s the problem. It has also become home to dubious and illegal clinical trials. There are trials pretending to be credible by virtue of being listed on a … Read more

Does FDA Support Industry Charging High Prices for New Drugs?

Traditionally FDA officials have avoided directly inserting the Agency in discussion on the ethics of high drug prices, till this week. This week, the FDA commissioner (acting) made an off-hand comment at a conference that seems to justify the $2.1 million price tag on a recently approved gene therapy from Novartis. He said that the … Read more

FDA Advocates Ways to Reduce Food Waste

Americans throw away about 40% of purchase food every year for non-quality related reasons. Basically, food good enough for human consumption is wasted away due to inaccurate or misleading labeling practices in the food industry. This week FDA announced that it strongly recommends all food to contain the unambiguous label of “Best if Used By” … Read more

Industry Analysts Predict Digital Technologies Will Transform Healthcare 

A report on the state of industry predicts that nine emerging technologies will transform the healthcare market to be more patient centric, efficient, and economical. While the predictions may seem obvious, the report does provide a comprehensive overview of the various technologies being developed that could be useful for program planners and thought leaders. Four … Read more