Healthcare: Interesting Stories from Forbes Magazine

2016 Global Game Changers

What America’s 25 Most Profitable Companies Pay In Taxes

Fair Share Or Not? Here’s What America’s 25 Most Profitable Companies Pay In Taxes
At No. 1, Apple paid $13 billion in income taxes last year on profits of nearly $70 billion. But it’s also got $100 billion stashed overseas that it’s avoiding paying taxes on. Should it be pushed to bring that money home, or is it a sign that the system is broken?

Four Takeaways From The National Rx Drug Abuse And Heroin Summit
From March 28 to April 1, national leaders and recovery advocates convened in Atlanta, GA to tackle issues concerning the opioid crisis. From treatment providers to law enforcement officers, much was discussed to combat this growing epidemic.

At A Conference On Metastatic Breast Cancer, Patients Take Notes Like Their Lives Depend On It
Online communities can be terrific. But in person, patients hug one another, and develop trust, bonds that last, hopefully, from one year’s meeting to the next.

This Founder’s Story Is So Compelling It Got Her $1.5M In VC Funds
A story that resonates can be more powerful than the product.

Drone Deliveries Of Blood Could Transform Healthcare In Africa
A start-up’s drone deliveries of blood and other medical supplies to countries throughout Africa may solve the infrastructure problem that has plagued countries.

A Cancer Survivor Shares 5 Ways To Get Better Healthcare
Cancer survivor Grazyna Klim explains how she became her own health care advocate?and offers 5 tips for how you can, too.

Unpredictable Precedent: Bread, Circuses And The Termination of Pfizer-Allergan
Last week, when the Treasury effectively scuttled the Pfizer-Allergan merger, there was much rejoicing: Politicians and pundits alike were thrilled that tax inversion greed had been stopped, and that companies like Pfizer would have to “pay their fair share.” Investors seemed to rejoice as well: the biotech and pharma stock market indices shot up nearly 6% and 2.5%, respectively, one of their best single-day moves in years. No one much liked the merger, except for Pfizer and Allergan.

Doctors Send $1.6M A Year To Hospitals Despite Value-Based Care Push
Physicians are generating more revenue for hospitals even as insurers and the government shift more dollars away from fee-for-service medicine toward value-based care. Revenue per physician is $1.56 million compared to $1.45 million three years ago.

6 Surprising Facets Of Working With An Investment Bank
As an investor, I have the opportunity to see what the true valuation drivers are for startups and advise them on how to handle unsolicited acquisition offers. Even though I had gone through an M&A process before, investment banks have a unique perch. While startups benefit from VCs having M&A experience the startup may not have, investment banks see far more deals than even a VC. Through this experience, I’ve found there are some surprising things I didn’t have an appreciation before.

Two Reasons To Take Aspirin Regularly, One Reason Not To. What Should You Do?
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is the first major organization to recommend that healthy people take aspirin to protect against colorectal cancer as well as cardiovascular disease. Sorting out who should is complicated, though.

A Cancer Survivor Shares 5 Ways To Get Better Health Care
Cancer survivor Grazyna Klim explains how she became her own health care advocate?and offers 5 tips for how you can, too.

Unpredictable Precedent: Bread, Circuses, And The Termination of Pfizer-Allergan
Last week, when the Treasury effectively scuttled the Pfizer-Allergan merger, there was much rejoicing: politicians and pundits alike were thrilled that tax inversion greed had been stopped, and that companies like Pfizer would have to “pay their fair share.” Investors seemed to rejoice as well: the biotech and pharma stock market indices shot up nearly 6% and 2.5%, respectively, one of their best single day moves in years. No one much liked the merger, except for Pfizer and Allergan.

There Will Be Blood: Drone Deliveries In Africa Could Transform Healthcare
A start-up’s drone deliveries of blood and other medical supplies to countries throughout Africa may solve the infrastructure problem that has plagued countries.

The Social Costs To Pfizer In The Wake Of The Allergan Break-Up
But these major mergers are time consuming, draining, and a major distraction.

More Evidence That Obesity Is A Global Catastrophe In Slow Motion
Sometimes it is harder to see things that move in slow motion. As two recent studies published in The Lancet have re-emphasized, the sheer magnitude of the global obesity epidemic dwarfs those of most other epidemics.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Addresses The Opioid And Heroin Epidemic
In response to an increase in opioid-related deaths in his hometown, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) recently outlined his plan to combat the nation’s epidemic: improving treatment and prevention efforts, educating the medical community about more effective pain management practices, focusing on newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome, and preventing illicit drug trade.

Pfizer And IBM Launch Ambitious ‘Internet Of Things’ For Parkinson’s Research
Pfizer is betting big on the Internet of Things, or IoT, in medicine–that is, the connectivity of physical objects like medical devices to collect and exchange data–to boost Parkinson’s R&D and ultimately, to better inform care for patients.

The Unrelenting Global March Of Diabetes [Infographic]
A major new report from the World Health Organization has revealed that global diabetes cases have almost quadrupled to 422 million in 2014 from 108 million in 1980. Diabetes now affects nearly one in 11 adults with high blood sugar levels linked to 3.8 million deaths every year. Even though the report covers both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the latter (which is connected to poor lifestyle) is primarily responsible for the majority of cases.

The Biotech Hedge Fund Junior Analyst Interview Prep Quiz
Which of the following applicants is most likely to get an interview? The student with a perfect GPA and relevant internship experience The student with a near-perfect GPA and unique but non-relevant work experience The student with an average GPA, but Olympic athlete/Carnegie Hall level musician/bestselling author type extracurricular history The student whose cover letter is sprinkled with references to articles I have written The student who sends a hand-written letter in a hand-written envelope and describes why her experience and interests are well-matched to my firm

As Specialty Pharmacy Evolves, Armada Health Care Changes Name To Asembia
Armada Health Care has changed its name to Asembia to reflect its broadening business portfolio and the rapidly growing and changing specialty pharmacy business, a complex industry of complex medications to both delivery to patients and pay for.

Buy Internet Finance, Healthcare Stocks In China: Forbes Asia Power Woman Polly Chu
Polly Chu, the CEO of Kingston Financial Group in Hong Kong, was an easy pick for the new edition of Forbes Asia’s “Power Women” issue unveiled this week based on the direction of her wealth alone: Way up. Her fortune on the 2016 Forbes Billionaires List published earlier this year was estimated at $3.1 billion, double last year’s figure, on a big rise in Hong Kong-listed Kingston’s stock price and profit in 2015. (Click here for the full 2016 Power Women List.)

Sleep-Deprived Teenagers Make Worse Choices — But Schools Could Help
Only about one in six U.S. high schools and middle schools begins the day at 8:30 a.m. or later, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to combat sleep deprivation in teens. A new study suggests that insufficient sleep increases the chance that adolescents will engage in behaviors that could lead to injuries.

Marijuana For Menstrual Cramps? New Jersey May Just Say Yes
New Jersey assemblyman Tim Eustace is introducing legislation to add menstrual cramps to the list of approved conditions for medical marijuana.

Does Money From Pharma Companies Make Physicians Prescribe Pricey Medications?
When your doctor tells you that you should take a new medication, you want to trust that she has your best interests in mind. You certainly don’t want to think that she is allowing her own financial interests to influence her prescribing decisions. Take for instance the decision to prescribe brand-name drugs versus generics. When you have high cholesterol and your doctor prescribed an expensive brand-name statin, is she doing that because she believes that drug is the best one to prevent you from experiencing a heart attack or stroke? Or is she doing it because she feels obligated to the company that manufactures the drug?