#10: From Cancer Detecting Magnets to Womb Transplants, here’s what’s new!

This week in healthcare, innovation is making significant strides, from womb transplant and cancer-fighting magnets to life-saving features in smartwatches. In India, MedyVend’s drug dispensing kiosks are transforming healthcare access in rural areas. Meanwhile, trade tensions and concerns over AI bias emphasise the need for checks and balances in the future of healthcare.

• 🛜 Medyseva’s bringing smart care to rural India with MedyVend, an IoT-powered kiosk that dispenses meds 24/7 after remote doctor consults. It also features real-time stock updates and cashless transactions. (EH)

• 🩸 IOTA Diagnostic just got a patent in India for the M-Strip— a self-sampling test that uses menstrual blood to screen for cervical cancer. No clinic visits, no invasive tests! (EH) 

• 📸 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has launched the 'Inter-AIIMS Referral Portal' to speed up patient referrals, using facial recognition and automated systems. (The Print)

• 👶 In a heartwarming medical breakthrough, Grace Davidson, has given birth to the world’s first child conceived with a donated womb, thanks to a transplant from her sister in 2023. (BBC)

• ⌚ Your Pixel Watch might just save your life! Google's Pixel Watch 3 now includes a Loss of Pulse Detection feature that can call emergency services if it senses no heartbeat. It is FDA-cleared and gradually rolling out in the U.S. (The Verge)

• 🔬 Based on screenings of over 2.5 million Indians, Apollo Hospitals’ Health of the Nation 2025 report found that 26% had undiagnosed hypertension, and 65% had fatty liver, highlighting a silent surge in lifestyle diseases across the country. (Apollo Hospitals)

• 🤖 AI in healthcare isn’t as fair as it seems. New research shows it recommends costly tests like MRIs and CT Scans for high-income patients, but skips them for low-income ones, even with identical symptoms. Looks like even algorithms need a lesson on equality! (ETHealthWorld)

• 🧲 Indian scientists are exploring magnetic nanoparticles to fight cancer, using heat to destroy tumour cells through magnetic hyperthermia, offering a gentler, lesser side-effect alternative to chemo and radiation. (MB)

• 🚗 Say goodbye to travel nausea! Researchers found that a special sound, dubbed “sound spice”, played in the inner ear can ease motion sickness in just one minute! No meds, no fuss, just sound at everyday volume. (HT)

• 💉 Cipla just got the USFDA green light for its generic version of Abraxane, used to treat breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer, and is gearing up to launch in the U.S. soon. (ET) 

• ⚠️ Glenmark and Biocon are pulling products off U.S. shelves; Glenmark over a cancer-linked impurity in 8,160 bottles of an antipsychotic, and Biocon for 2,184 bottles of a cholesterol drug that didn’t meet dissolution standards. (ET)

• 🚀 Novo Nordisk is fast-tracking the launch of its weight-loss drug Wegovy in India to rival Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which launched last month. Originally set for 2026, Wegovy may now debut within months, ahead of its patent expiry in 2026. (Reuters) 

🇮🇳 India

• 🚨 With the U.S. turning up the heat on imports, Indian pharma majors like Dr. Reddy’s and Sun Pharma could feel the pinch. India supplies nearly half of America’s generic meds, fuelling a large export market, which might just be heading into choppy waters. (Mint)

🇮🇳 India

• ⏱️ Indore-based Perkant Tech just raised ₹6.6 Cr to scale its AI-powered device that scans your health in under 60 seconds, making futuristic checkups a reality, fast! (DHN)

• 💵 Metropolis Healthcare is set to buy Dehradun’s top diagnostic chain, Dr Ahuja’s Pathology and Imaging Centre, for ₹35 crore, its third North India acquisition to become the region’s No.2 diagnostic player. (BS)

• 💊 Mumbai-based Steris Healthcare, known for its niche super-speciality meds across urology, nephrology, oncology, and more, is investing ₹50 crore to expand into South India, with an IPO on the horizon by FY 2026–27! (BioS)

• 📈 Healthcare & pharma jobs in India jumped 62% in a year, and 7% in just 3 months, with AI, healthtech, and compliance fuelling the hiring boom. (ET)

🌏️ Global

• 🧬 US-based genomics and biotechnology giant, 23andMe, has gone bankrupt after a 2023 data breach exposed the genetic and personal info of nearly 7 million users triggering lawsuits, lost trust, and a sales nosedive it couldn’t bounce back from. (MedPageToday)

• 🤝 UK’s Epsilogen, specialising in IgE-based cancer antibodies, just acquired Boston’s TigaTx, the IgA antibody pros, teaming up to expand next-gen cancer antibody treatments across isotypes. (FB)

• 🚚 DHL’s dropping €2B by 2030 to supercharge healthcare logistics- think more pharma hubs (specialised storage & distribution centres), cooler cold chains, and speedy, chill deliveries for life-saving meds. (EH)