The big news: The Federal Trade Commission has paused the $615 million merger of hospital staffing and optimization companies Aya Healthcare and Cross Country Healthcare, which was agreed to in December. The FTC did not provide specifics into its pause, but representatives from Cross Country said they still believed the deal would close this year.
On the move: Pfizer announced that Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D. would rejoin the company as Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President. Dr. Cavazzoni was most recently Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A 25-year industry veteran, Dr. Cavazzoni previously worked at Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi.
The buzz: Medtronic received FDA approval for the world's first Adaptive deep brain stimulation system for people with Parkinson's Disease. Medtronic’s technology personalizes therapy based on a patient's brain activity in real time, both in clinical settings and in daily life.
On the rise: Hims & Hers announced that it has acquired a US-based peptide facility based in California. The acquisition will enable the company to strengthen the long-term durability of its domestic supply chain, allowing the company to further focus on quality and customer safety.
What’s next: Researchers at Stanford University have developed an AI tool that can detect infections and health conditions by analyzing the body’s B and T cells. In a study of 600 people recently published in Science, the tool was able to determine if a patient had COVID-19, type 1 diabetes, HIV, lupus, and whether or not they had recently received a flu vaccine.
