Biotech & Health

Linda Yaccarino joins health tech platform eMed as CEO after leaving X

Linda Yaccarino’s next role after departing X as CEO will be another chief executive role at eMed Population Health, an AI startup building a tech platform for patients using GLP-1s. Yaccarino was a longtime advertising executive at NBCUniversal, but left to join X as CEO for two years, where she managed to have a positive […]

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Jury rules Meta violated California privacy laws by quietly collecting Flo users’ menstrual health data

A California jury has found Meta in violation of state user privacy laws in a class-action suit brought by users of period tracking app, Flo, who alleged that the tech giant collected private menstrual health data without users’ consent and used it for ad-tracking purposes. The plaintiffs, claiming to represent millions of Flo users, had

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Fed up with brands that use corn syrup and skim milk, this mother developed her own ‘clean’ baby formula

When Esther Hallam welcomed her daughter, Nara, into the world, she faced the challenge of searching for trustworthy brands that offered high-quality, organic infant formula in the U.S.  Despite being available for nearly 160 years, the quality of infant formula options in the U.S. is still lacking, she believes. Many manufacturers opt for skim milk

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Study warns of ‘significant risks’ in using AI therapy chatbots

Therapy chatbots powered by large language models may stigmatize users with mental health conditions and otherwise respond inappropriately or even dangerously, according to researchers at Stanford University. While recent coverage in The New York Times and elsewhere has highlighted the role that ChatGPT may play in reinforcing delusional or conspiratorial thinking, a new paper titled

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With Varda Space, leading Silicon Valley players make big bet on making drugs in space

Pharmaceutical scientists come up against a hard limitation here on Earth: gravity. Varda Space wants to change that. The company has raised a massive new round to turn space into the “ultimate high ground” for the production of critical pharmaceutical components that can be brought back to Earth and used to make finished drugs.  The

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Anne Wojcicki’s nonprofit reaches deal to acquire 23andMe

Beleaguered genetic testing company 23andMe announced Friday that it has reached an agreement to sell itself to a nonprofit led by the company’s co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki. Following a massive cyberattack in 2023 and a related lawsuit settlement, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, with Wojcicki resigning in order to become an independent

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23andMe says 15% of customers asked to delete their genetic data since bankruptcy

23andMe’s interim chief executive Joseph Selsavage told lawmakers on Tuesday that 1.9 million people, or about 15% of its customer base, have requested their genetic data be deleted from the company’s servers since it filed for bankruptcy protection in March. Selsavage was speaking at a House Oversight Committee hearing, during which lawmakers scrutinized the company’s

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Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z bio and health strategy, steps down

Vijay Pande, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz who founded the firm’s a16z Bio + Health strategy, announced that he is stepping down from his role. Since its founding in 2014, a16z Bio + Health has raised four funds of nearly $3 billion each, including a $1.5 billion fund that closed in 2022. However, it’s

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Omada Health IPO signals healthier market, avoids ‘down-round’ trend

The IPO market is starting to feel healthier. Omada Health, a 14-year-old company providing virtual care for chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension between office visits, closed its first trading day on Friday at $23 a share, a 21% jump from the IPO price of $19. The IPO valued the company just above $1 billion

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