Author: Abhay Panchal

Medtronic’s diabetes business, MiniMed, has formally filed for an IPO, marking a major restructuring move that will create a standalone competitor in the increasingly crowded diabetes technology market—but not without near-term financial and operational headwinds.The filing reveals that MiniMed generated $2.72 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, while posting a $198 million loss, underscoring the challenge of balancing scale, innovation, and profitability in diabetes devices.

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An AI-enabled digital collaborative care model significantly improved symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), demonstrating how clinician-guided AI can scale guideline-recommended, multidisciplinary care without overwhelming specialty practices. In a study published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility, researchers evaluated Ayble Health, a digital collaborative care model (DCCM) that integrates personalized nutrition, brain-gut behavioral therapy (BGBT), and access to a multidisciplinary care team for patients with IBS. The analysis included 202 patients (median age 41.5 years, 78% women), nearly all of whom engaged with the nutrition pathway, while three-quarters utilized behavioral therapy and clinician support. Most patients selected multiple pathways, with…

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The American Gastroenterological Association’s 2025 clinical guidance reflects a clear shift toward risk-based, personalized, and technology-enabled GI care—aimed at helping clinicians deliver higher-quality outcomes while navigating growing complexity in practice. In its year-in-review update, AGA highlights a broad set of evidence-driven guidelines and clinical practice updates designed to translate rapidly evolving research into practical decision-making at the bedside. Among the top clinical practice updates, AGA addressed everyday yet high-impact challenges, including optimized screening and vaccination strategies for patients with IBD, guidance on portal vein thrombosis, and updated approaches to gastric cancer prevention. New recommendations also tackle less common but often…

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A large international microbiome study has identified a distinct and consistent bacterial shift at the very onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), strengthening the case for microbiome-based early diagnosis and prevention strategies. Published in Gastroenterology, the study is the first to pool and harmonize raw microbiome data across multiple cohorts, analyzing more than 1,700 treatment-naïve children and adults from 11 countries at the time of initial IBD diagnosis. The analysis shows that newly diagnosed patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis experience a pronounced loss of beneficial anaerobic bacteria responsible for fermenting complex carbohydrates and maintaining gut homeostasis. At the…

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in the U.S. is no longer limited by evidence, technology, or insurance coverage—but by misalignment between clinical culture, patient preference, and finite system capacity. While colonoscopy remains the most comprehensive single-step screening tool, national guidelines from the USPSTF and others clearly place stool-based tests on equal footing when used appropriately and followed by diagnostic colonoscopy after abnormal results. Yet, according to Mark Fendrick, MD, clinical norms have been slower to adapt to two realities: colonoscopy capacity is constrained, and most patients prefer noninvasive screening options. Fendrick argues that gastroenterology has historically treated colonoscopy as the “24-karat…

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Administrative friction from payors—especially prior authorizations, formulary instability, and opaque coverage criteria—has reached a breaking point for gastroenterology practices, prompting the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) to shift from advocacy alone to direct collaboration with national insurers. Recognizing that legislative progress has stalled despite bipartisan awareness, AGA has begun engaging payors directly to understand their decision-making processes and identify pragmatic ways to reduce clinician burden while preserving appropriate utilization controls. Since fall 2024, AGA leadership has held ongoing discussions with major insurers focused on streamlining prior authorization workflows, improving coding clarity, aligning medical policies with evidence-based GI guidelines, and exploring value-based…

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The FDA’s approval of oral semaglutide (Wegovy) marks a watershed moment for obesity and cardiometabolic care, introducing the first once-daily GLP-1 pill with weight loss and cardiovascular risk–reduction benefits. Backed by robust OASIS and SELECT trial data, the 25 mg oral formulation achieved up to 13.6% mean weight loss at 64 weeks, with consistent efficacy across sex, race, and BMI subgroups—bringing injectable-level outcomes to a pill format. Beyond convenience, the approval has major implications for long-term adherence, access, and scale, particularly for patients reluctant to start or sustain injectable therapies. With GI side effects remaining the most common adverse events…

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AI is transforming colorectal cancer screening across the entire care continuum—from early risk assessment to real-time lesion detection and post-procedure follow-up. This review highlights how AI-powered colonoscopy systems are already improving adenoma detection rates, reducing inter-operator variability, and addressing one of screening’s biggest gaps: missed lesions. Beyond the procedure room, AI models are advancing blood- and stool-based screening, imaging analysis, and personalized risk stratification, with the potential to shift screening from age-based protocols to data-driven precision strategies. At the same time, the article underscores the hurdles that must be addressed for widespread adoption, including clinical validation, bias across populations, regulatory…

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This year featured a wealth of clinically important publications in gastroenterology, making it difficult to choose only 10 to highlight. In the end, the new guidelines and consensus statements below were selected for their practice-changing implications. Prominent organizations, such as the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and others, weighed in on topics, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and steatohepatitis (MASLD/MASH), Crohn’s disease, Barrett esophagus, and eosinophilic esophagitis. Taken together, these publications from expert colleagues offer high-yield overviews across the wide spectrum of gastroenterology.

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