#16: AI Saves, Vaccine Victories & Big Pharma Bids

This week in healthcare: AI is powering heart care, taurine might be the villain in your energy drink and US doctors pulled off a world-first bladder and kidney transplant. While Delhi’s inaugurating its first Brain Health Clinic, global politics are throwing curveballs at public health. Oh, and gonorrhoea’s getting vaccinated - because why not?

• 🤖 Meet AIRA! Qure.ai’s new AI co-pilot tool designed to assist frontline health workers in low-resource countries. AIRA supports AI-enabled digitisation of medical data, thereby enhancing diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficiency in underserved regions. (BioS)

• 🫀 U.S. based healthtech company, Auxira Health, launches a virtual cardiology model that uses AI for real-time risk detection, remote monitoring and personalised heart care - anytime, anywhere. (MobiHealthNews)

• 🇺🇲 In a world-first, California docs pulled off an 8-hour miracle- transplanting both a bladder and kidney into a cancer survivor. Freeing him from years of dialysis and rewriting transplant history. (ThGuardian)

• 🧠 Brain tumour diagnosis now in just 90 minutes! Researchers at the University of Nottingham have unveiled a rapid genetic test that can diagnose brain tumors mid-surgery. No more long waits- doctors can now make crucial decisions instantly. (BBC)

• 💉 England’s rolling out the world’s first gonorrhoea vaccine, aimed at gay and bisexual men. Powered by a meningitis B shot, this 30-40% effective jab could block 100,000 infections and save the NHS £8 million over the next decade. (BBC)

• ⚠️ Taurine - an amino acid common in energy drinks and supplements - can accelerate blood cancer growth! Once considered safe, a new Nature study links taurine to fueling leukemia cells, raising big questions about what’s really in your energy boost. (TOI)

• 🇮🇳 Big win for Bharat Biotech! Their oral cholera vaccine just aced Phase III trials, and with 200 million doses in the pipeline, India is one step closer to fighting a disease that still affects millions. (ET)

• 💰 US-based insurance company, Cigna is making weight-loss drugs more affordable. Soon, users of popular treatments like Wegovy (Novo Nordisk) and Zepbound (Eli Lilly) will pay no more than $200 a month, improving access to these costly medications. (Reuters)

• 🚀 Sanofi’s $470M power play in Alzheimer’s fight! Sanofi is acquiring Vigil Neuroscience, a biotech company, to advance VG-3927- a promising oral therapy poised to transform Alzheimer treatment and bring new hope. (Reuters)

🇮🇳 India

• 📋 The National Medical Commission is shaking up medical education with a detailed ranking system featuring 11 criteria and 78 parameters- excluding intern and resident stipends. They want your feedback before rolling it out in 2025! (ETHealthworld)

• 💪🏻 Delhi has inaugurated its first ‘Brain Health Clinic’ at Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, offering therapy, screening and tele-neuro care for stroke, Parkinson’s, dementia, and more. This initiative, supported by NITI Aayog and Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, aims to establish ten more clinics citywide within a year! (BS)

🌏️ Global

• 🌏 The U.S. is exiting the World Health Organisation (WHO) by Jan 2026, leaving behind a staggering $600M gap and a 21% budget cut. But China’s stepping up as the new top funder, covering 20% of the tab. With tighter purse strings, WHO’s shifting focus to fast-tracking vaccines and tackling outbreaks. (ETHealthworld)

• 🤰🏻 Adriana Smith, 30, is brain-dead—but still on life support to carry her baby. Her family wants to say goodbye, but Georgia’s strict abortion ban won’t let them- turning tragedy into a legal standoff. (NDTV)

• 🧑‍⚕️ A UK doctor faces a misconduct hearing over alleged failures in the case that sparked “Martha’s Rule”. Despite her parents' pleas, 13-year-old Martha Mills died from sepsis - leading to a new policy that gives families the right to demand a second medical opinion. (TheGuardian)

• 🦟 Deadly virus hits UK for the first time! Mosquito-borne West Nile Virus has been detected in the UK. There’s no vaccine, most cases are mild, but a rare few face severe brain complications. Health agencies are on high alert to contain this silent threat. (ETHealthworld)

• 🏳️‍🌈 In a political twist, the Trump administration moves to gut transgender healthcare protections under Obamacare - removing guaranteed access and marking a major setback for LGBTQ+ rights. (TheIndependent)

🇮🇳 India

• ⚕️ CureBay, an Odisha-based healthtech startup, raised $21M in Series B led by Bertelsmann India Investments. With 150+ eClinics and 1,000+ community health workers called Swasthya Mitras, now offering AI-led consults, diagnostics and meds to village doorsteps across Bihar, UP and beyond.  (VCCircle)

• 🧬 Bharat Biotech bets big on gene therapy! The vaccine giant is pumping ₹600 crore into cell and gene therapy, targeting cancer and rare diseases. With a new Telangana facility, it aims to make these elite treatments affordable and accessible in India. (ET)

🌏️ Global

• 💊 U.S. pharma giant Regeneron seizes 23andMe, an American personal genomics and biotech company, for $256M - unlocking genetic data of 15 million users to revolutionise drug discovery. With court approval pending, this move sparks fierce debate over privacy and power. (TechCrunch)

• 🏥 Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare is suing Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo for up to $1.3 billion, claiming they blocked IHH’s 2018 bid to take control of India’s Fortis Healthcare. The case will be heard in Tokyo this July. (VCCircle)