Overheard at GMM HQ
"Not to toot our own horn, but between our women-led team, being named finalists in two of the industry’s top awards and the new case studies we’re showcasing, we put the 'cute' in 'execute'." - Holley Miller on GMM’s breakthrough work using medtech marketing best practices.
What the Industry is Buzzing About
Teenage Bad Habits Actually Can Make You Blind
Turns out it’s a junk-food only diet that can do the damage, not that old wives tale you heard. Researchers from the University of Bristol recently reported the unusual case of a teenage boy who experienced serious optic nerve damage and eventual blindness as a result of a strict diet of french fries, white bread, and sausage. Moms: Share this story with your kids and stock up on veggies, STAT.
Is This a Super-Sized Problem?
Probably not. Although diet-related vision loss is fairly common among populations where poverty and food insecurity are widespread, researchers in this case theorize that the boy’s extremely limited diet led to deficiencies in B vitamins and copper, which became severe enough to contribute to nerve damage and vision loss.
Why It Matters
Just, like, have a salad every now and then, ok?
Looking for a Quickie?
Fishing for candy to curb a diabetes-related blood sugar crash is so 1999. Last month the FDA approved a new ready-to-use liquid glucagon that will be available in an EpiPen-like injector, giving diabetics a game-changing option for managing blood sugar emergencies. But you can still stash some Werther’s Originals in grandma’s purse for nostalgia. #nojudgement
What Else?
The Xeris Gvoke Glucagon auto-injector checks all the right boxes: Safe for ages two and up, starts working within minutes, has a two-year shelf life, and users report that it’s easy to use. Now if only we could find a weeknight dinner recipe that was this agreeable.
Why It Matters
After more than 50 years of having nothing but traditional, complicated three-step emergency kits, this is quite a breakthrough for both adults and children managing diabetes. Look for products on pharmacy shelves (and formulary plans) in late 2019.
Don't Believe Everything You Read on the Internet
Google issued a new policy last month banning ads for “unproven or experimental medical techniques,” including most stem cell therapy, cellular therapy and gene therapy. But the sponsored ad for that thing you mentioned out loud one time that’s been on every webpage and social media feed since then? That one’s here to stay.
Where Does the Ban Stem From?
See what we just did there? Stem cell clinics have grown into a sprawling direct-to-consumer industry, with some clinics promising patients treatments for ailments such as macular degeneration, ALS, multiple sclerosis and degenerative lung diseases. Often, Google said in a post explaining the new policy, “these treatments can lead to dangerous health outcomes and we feel they have no place on our platforms.”
Why It Matters
The new policy is a “much-needed and welcome step to curb the marketing of unscrupulous medical products,” said Deepak Srivastava, president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. When Al Gore invented the Internet, it was to unleash the wildfire spread of cute animal videos, not to facilitate dubious medical treatments, duh.
GOOD TO KNOW
An Indian woman recently gave birth to twins at age 73 and is “looking forward to the next chapter of her life with kids,” which will include phrases that didn’t exist in her own childhood like, "vaping can kill you."
