Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday launched an artificial intelligence-based
tracking system to enforce social distancing at its offices and
warehouses to help reduce any risk of contracting the new coronavirus among its workers.
The unveiling comes as the world’s largest online retailer faces
intensifying scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and unions over whether it is
doing enough to protect staff from the pandemic.
Monitors set up in the company’s warehouses will highlight workers
keeping a safe distance in green circles, while workers who are closer
will be highlighted in red circles, Amazon said.
The system, called Distance Assistant, uses camera footage in Amazon’s buildings to also help identify high-traffic areas.
Amazon, which will open source the technology behind the system, is
not the first company to turn to AI to track compliance with social
distancing.
Several firms have told Reuters that AI camera-based software will be
crucial to staying open, as it will allow them to show not only workers
and customers, but also insurers and regulators, that they are
monitoring and enforcing safe practices.
However, privacy activists have raised concerns about increasingly
detailed tracking of people and have urged businesses to limit use of AI
to the pandemic.
The system is live at a handful of buildings, Amazon said on Tuesday,
adding that it planned to deploy hundreds of such units over the next
few weeks.
https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/amazon-to-use-ai-tech-in-its-warehouses-to-enforce-social-distancing/
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Pfizer-Merck diabetes med Steglatro sees mixed results in cardio outcomes study
Pfizer (PFE +0.0%) and collaboration partner Merck (MRK +3.7%) announce results from a large-scale Phase 3 clinical trial, VERTIS CV,
evaluating cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in more than 8,200 type 2
diabetics with atherosclerotic CV disease who were receiving Steglatro
(ertugliflozin).
The study met the primary endpoint demonstrating
the non-inferiority (no worse than) of ertugliflozin compared to placebo
as measured by the time to first occurrence of MACE (major adverse
cardiovascular event), 11.9% in the treatment group versus 11.9% in the
control arm (p<0.001).
Key secondary endpoints to demonstrate the
superiority of ertugliflozin were not met, including time to the first
occurrence of the composite of CV death or hospitalization for heart
failure, time to CV death alone and time to the first occurrence of the
composite of renal death, dialysis/transplant or doubling of serum
creatinine.
The FDA approved the SGLT2 inhibitor in December 2017.
SGLT2 inhibitor-related tickers: AstraZeneca (AZN +2.2%), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +2.5%), Eli Lilly (LLY +16.4%)
J&J’s Invokana (canagliflozin) and Lilly’s Jardiance (empagliflozin) already have CV benefit claims.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3583523-pfizer-and-mercks-diabetes-med-steglatro-shows-mixed-results-in-cardiovascular-outcomes-studyPowerful rally for WW after digital business impresses
UBS says WW’s (WW +18.1%) Q2 update highlights the success the company had in shifting to an all-digital format.
Analyst Michael Lasser: “On the back of
accelerating digital trends, global recruitment inflected positive in
May. This is probably due to several tailwinds. First, we believe a
global pandemic has brought health to the forefront of consumers’ minds.
Second, govt stimulus has left many consumers with elevated levels of
discretionary income.”
Lasser thinks more shelter-in-place orders could
create less competition for the attention and money of consumers to
presents a unique opportunity for digital services such as WW, but warns
on the loss of the studio business.
WW is rated at Neutral on what UBS sees as a balanced risk/reward profile. The price target is lifted to $28.
Previously: WW +10.7% as it notes subscriber growth of 7% (June 15)
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3583521-powerful-rally-for-ww-after-digital-business-impressesMonopar and NorthStar to develop radio therapies for severe COVID-19
Monopar Therapeutics (MNPR +10.7%) and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes announce 50/50 collaboration to develop potential Radio-Immuno-Therapeutics (RITs) to treat severe COVID-19.
Monopar and NorthStar plan to couple MNPR-101, a pre-IND humanized urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) targeted monoclonal antibody, to a therapeutic radioisotope in order to create selective agent that has the potential to kill aberrantly activated cytokine-producing immune cells, hence mitigate the cytokine storm and reduce deaths associated with COVID-19
FDA clears Apple Watch ECG for remote patient visits during pandemic
The FDA expanded the use of noninvasive patient-monitoring technologies, including the electrocardiogram app for the Apple Watch.
Six things to know:
1. The expanded indications allow clinicians to use the Apple Watch as a remote monitoring ECG device during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers can access the expanded capability of Apple’s ECG app for telemedicine services for the rest of the pandemic.
2. The Apple Watch now can serve as a substitute for in-clinic diagnostic testing, and healthcare providers can use it for clinical cases where the single-lead or lead 1 ECG tests can help diagnose some arrhythmias or conditions.
3. The app shouldn’t be used for triaging emergency clinical situations, according to the report, which would include suspected heart attack or respiratory distress requiring immediate attention. Clinicians and patients also shouldn’t rely on the app alone when making a diagnosis.
4. To connect via telemedicine, the clinician can identify the visit through video, telephone or asynchronous email and then request that the patient record through the ECG app on the Apple Watch. Patients can also input symptoms into the app.
5. Patients can export a PDF with their waveform recording, classification and symptoms to their medical record. To integrate with the Epic EHR, patients need to share the PDF of their ECG findings in a MyChart message, and it will automatically appear in the Epic chart. The PDF is sent to the clinician’s in basket to view and automatically populates information in other areas of Epic.
6. Information gathered on the Apple Watch is stored encrypted on the patients’ device, and only the users can share data. If the patient syncs Apple Watch data with iCloud, it will still be encrypted while in transit and at rest.
6 insurers operating clinics
In recent years, large commercial health insurers have been expanding their reach into the clinic space.
Here are six insurers that also operate clinics:
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
3. Humana
Moderna CEO Expects To Release Covid Vaccine Efficacy Data By Thanksgiving
Coronavirus vaccine maker Moderna Inc MRNA 4.79% is closing in on the final stages of its vaccine program and could have the efficacy data by Thanksgiving, paving the way for a potential Emergency Use Authorization approval by the FDA, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with the company’s CEO Stephane Bancel.
What Happened: Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, codenamed mRNA-1273, is in Phase 2 testing and could yield efficacy data as early as Thanksgiving if everything goes right, Bancel told Bloomberg.
The CEO also discussed about the possibility of the FDA according EUA at high risk.
“They might decide to give us emergency use approval for people at very high risk, while the agency more carefully reviews the data before granting approval for a broader population, ” Bancel said.
Moderna is measuring whether the vaccine prevents COVID-19 or potentially prevents infection, she said.
Working On Pricing: Moderna’s CEO also suggested in the interview the company is working on how best to price a coronavirus vaccine to make it both affordable and viable for the company.
“What we need to make sure is that the vaccine is affordable. But vaccines won’t be free,” Bancel said.
Moderna is scheduled to start a Phase 3 trial evaluating about 30,000 volunteers, in Jul while the NIAID-sponsored Phase 1 trial and the company-managed Phase 2 trial are ongoing.
Preliminary results from the Phase 1 study released in mid-May demonstrated positive immunogenicity and safety.
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