People with precancerous colonic lesions exhibit significant differences in their gut microbiome compared to the general population, even up to 5 years before the development of these lesions. This insight comes from a comprehensive 22-year analysis conducted by the Dutch Microbiome Project cohort study. The study suggests that the gut microbiota might play a role in the onset of colorectal lesions and cancer. Ranko Gacesa, PhD, from the Department of Gastroenterology, University of Groningen, Netherlands, presented the findings at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2023. He emphasized the potential of gut bacteria to enhance the efficacy of noninvasive fecal…
Author: Abhay Panchal
Illumina has provided further details regarding the European Commission’s (EC) directive to reverse its acquisition of Grail, a company that developed a blood test for multiple cancer screenings. Illumina acquired Grail for $8 billion in 2021 without the EC’s approval. The key points from the disclosure are:
The healthcare sector has long been familiar with mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Over time, consolidation has significantly transformed the healthcare arena, influenced by regulatory shifts, tech advancements, and the quest for economies of scale. Lately, several new trends have surfaced, mirroring the changing needs and priorities of healthcare stakeholders. Key Trends: Conclusion:The evolution of healthcare M&A is propelled by the pursuit of efficiency, superior patient outcomes, and heightened competitiveness. The trends highlighted here underscore the sector’s continuous transformation, with organizations strategically positioning themselves to navigate an ever-evolving landscape.
Gastroenterology practices have garnered increasing interest from private equity firms over recent years, as highlighted in a May 2023 report from the University of Michigan’s Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Key Insights:
Skyrizi (Risankizumab) demonstrated its non-inferiority to Stelara in achieving clinical remission at 24 weeks and its superiority in endoscopic remission at 48 weeks for patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease. This data was presented at the UEG Week. Key Points: Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, MD, PhD, from the University Hospital of Nancy in France, emphasized the potential of Skyrizi as an effective interleukin-23 inhibitor. He stated that the SEQUENCE study adds valuable knowledge for healthcare providers aiming for new treatment goals in Crohn’s disease.
Olympus Corporation, a leading global medical technology company, has announced the market launch of its next-generation EVIS X1™ endoscopy system. This announcement was made in conjunction with the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) annual meeting held in Vancouver, Canada from October 22-24, 2023. Key Details: The launch of the EVIS X1 endoscopy system underscores Olympus’ commitment to advancing medical technology and improving patient outcomes.
The first data from a prospective, multi-center, randomized controlled trial (RCT) reveals that cold snare endoscopic mucosal resection (CS-EMR) is safer than hot snare (HS)-EMR for removing large, non-pedunculated colorectal polyps. However, the recurrence rate after using cold snare is higher. The findings were presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2023. Key Findings:
GastroGPT, a specialty-specific artificial intelligence (AI) model tailored for gastroenterology, has shown superior performance in key clinical tasks within the field when compared to leading general-purpose large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google’s Bard, and Anthropic’s Claude. This was revealed in a proof-of-concept study presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2023. Key Highlights: Simsek highlighted the potential of AI systems like GastroGPT to provide quality GI care to underserved patient populations, especially in low- and middle-income countries. He believes tools like GastroGPT could democratize access to expert-level GI care globally.
A surprising new study has found the gender gap between male and female gastroenterologists extends to Medicare reimbursements. Based on coding, it is reasonable to expect Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) billing to be gender-neutral, but female gastroenterologists were found to receive approximately 15% less in Medicare reimbursements than their male counterparts, according to Shaina Hasan, MD, an internal medicine resident at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. Although “much of the discussion regarding gender pay gaps can be subjective,” Dr. Hasan said the difference in Medicare reimbursement found in her study “was substantial even after multiple adjustments.”…
A study from the Netherlands suggests that individuals aged 75 years or older, who are at the upper age limit for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, and who had a negative fecal immunochemical test (FIT) but a detectable fecal hemoglobin (f-Hb) concentration during their last screening, are nearly five times more likely to develop CRC compared to those with no detectable f-Hb concentration. Key Points: