Overheard at GMM HQ
"We're all for a good dessert, but since the death of the 3rd-party cookie is upon us, we're looking for another sweet to dunk in our milk.” - Mia Benenate, on why it’s critical for medtech marketers to minimize their reliance on cookies in their digital marketing strategy.
WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS BUZZING ABOUT
NO UTERUS? NO PROBLEM.
The first baby in the United States born from the transplanted uterus of a deceased donor was delivered at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio this past June. The mother is one of 10 women participating in a transplant trial for women with uterine factor infertility (UFI), a condition in which a woman doesn’t have a uterus, or had her uterus removed.
CUE: THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
One in 5,000 women is born with UFI, and this is the second time worldwide a woman has been able to give birth following the transplant of a deceased person's uterus (the first was in Brazil in 2017). “Through this research, we aim to make these extraordinary events ordinary for the women who choose this option,” said the transplant surgeon. “We are grateful to the donor. Their generosity allowed our patient’s dream to come true and a new baby to be born.” I’m not crying, you’re crying.
THE 411
“It’s important to remember that this is still research, but it’s exciting to see what the options may be for women in the future,” said maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Uma Perni in a statement on the Cleveland Clinic's website. Exciting indeed.
THIS JUST IN: DRUGS AT DRUGSTORES
And not the kind you’re used to. Retail chains led by CVS and Walgreens are expected to dominate the emerging multi-billion-dollar U.S. market of CBD, despite being largely limited to markets where states have legalized sales of hemp-derived products and begun to establish regulations for such sales. Take that, Internet.
WILL IT MAKE ME HIGH THOUGH
The only thing getting high off retail CBD sales are the retailers bottom lines, which are projected to control 54%, or $16.2 billion, of a $23.7 billion market by 2023.
THE 411
Don’t expect to see the devil’s lettuce at your local drugstore anytime soon. CVS is limiting their CBD sales to topical products only, and only products derived from hemp (not cannabis) per state laws. But if you’re looking for a new miracle lotion, we’ve got an end-cap display for you..
THE BAD NEWS FOR YOUR BAD NEWS
Growing evidence is showing that urinary tract infections (UTIs), which affect millions of people per year, are increasingly resistant to the trusty antibiotics that have been successfully treating them for years. Ruh-roh.
WHAT GIVES?
Some UTIs now require treatment with heavy-duty intravenous antibiotics, rather than the routine oral antibiotics that doctors have been prescribing since... antibiotics were invented? Last year, in fact, it was reported in a study that a third of all UTIs in Britain are resistant to “key antibiotics.”
THE 411
Resistance to antibiotics has become one of the world’s most pressing health issues. The solution, researchers and clinicians say, includes a continued push for more judicious use of antibiotics worldwide. But more immediately, a partial solution would be the development of quick, cheap diagnostic tools that would allow an instant urine culture so that a doctor could prescribe the right drug for UTIs. Where my Shark Tank contestants at?
GOOD TO KNOW
After getting put on blast by a Kaiser Health News report, the FDA has formally shut down its Alternative Summary Reporting, which allowed medical device makers to report adverse events to the agency without alerting the public. If you have something to share, share it with the whole class.
