Webinar Today: How Payer Executives Are Building AI-Ready Data Foundations Presented by Verato

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Featured Story   Speedy FDA Nod for New GSK Cancer Drug The regulatory decision GSK drug Jideytro received FDA approval as a treatment for advanced cases of non-small cell lung cancer driven a particular genetic signature called a ROS1 alteration. The approval comes two weeks after GSK closed its $10.6 billion acquisition of Nuvalent, the cancer drug developer that discovered and developed Jideytro. It’s also two months ahead of the target date for a regulatory decision. Jideytro is now GSK’s first approved lung cancer drug. The drug Jideytro is a small molecule ROS1 inhibitor. Drugs from this class are already available from Pfizer, Roche, and Bristol Myers Squibb. But ROS1-driven cancers can be aggressive, often spreading to the brain. GSK says its drug has a next-generation design that makes it highly selective to its target while offering broad coverage of ROS1 resistance mutations. This molecule can also penetrate the blood-brain barrier to address brain metastases. The FDA approval covers the treatment of ROS1-positive NSCLC for patients previously treated with a ROS1 inhibitor. Why this matters For eligible patients, Jideytro brings a new treatment option to address NSCLC that has advanced despite earlier treatment. For GSK, the approval marks another step forward for its oncology growth strategy. GSK’s top cancer product is Jemperli, a blockbuster drug for endometrial cancer that the company is trying to expand to rectal cancer. GSK also has blockbuster hopes for Blenrep, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) that reentered the market last year as a third-line treatment for multiple myeloma. In small cell lung cancer, GSK is developing an in-licensed antibody drug conjugate. Jideytro and the other Nuvalent assets give GSK multiple opportunities at multiple lung cancer targets. Soundbite “Despite advances in treatment, resistance mutations, disease progression in the brain and treatment-related adverse events continue to create challenges for patients,” said Dr. Alexander Drilon, investigator in the Phase 1/2 ARROS-1 trial and chief of the early development service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “The responses observed in ARROS-1, including in heavily pre-treated patients, represent meaningful progress for people living with this disease.”  —By Frank Vinluan Sponsored   Webinar Today: How Payer Executives Are Building AI-Ready Data Foundations Presented by Verato Health plans are under immense pressure to personalize member experiences and cut admin waste, but piling on more point solutions won't solve the real issue: fragmented data. Join us today at 1 PM ET for a strategic executive webinar on how to build a trusted, connected data foundation. Discover how top payer leaders are overcoming data barriers, preparing their workflows for AI, and driving measurable transformation.  Register Now Top Stories   Headspace Teams Up with 4 Companies for Specialty Care The news Headspace, a mental health company, announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its specialty care ecosystem with partnerships for neurodiversity, eating disorders, substance use and other complex needs. The partnerships San Francisco-based Headspace is a digital health company serving consumers, employers and health plans by offering sleep support, mindfulness, coaching and therapy. With its specialty care ecosystem, its clinicians can now refer members directly to its partners for specialty care if needed. These partners include: Charlie Health, which offers virtual intensive outpatient programs for patients ages 8 to 64 struggling with serious mental health challenges, addiction or co-occurring conditions Cortica, which provides care for children with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental conditions Prosper Health, a telehealth platform serving adults with autism and neurodiversity Equip, a virtual eating disorder company for those ages 6 and older When a Headspace clinician identifies that a member has a specific need, a referral coordination team will work with that member to connect them with one of the specialty care partners. Then the referral coordination team will continue following that patient to track their progress. Soundbite “This expansion really is allowing us to build a more connected ecosystem within the areas where we are seeing the highest set of needs,” said Jenna Glover, chief clinical officer of Headspace, in an interview. “We don't want to just provide a list of referrals for members. We really want them to have an intentional experience. And we wanted to make sure that we could direct people specifically to partners that really met our bar for clinical quality, for access, and for member experience.” — By Marissa Plescia Assured Health Secures $19M to Get Providers In-Network Faster with Agentic AI The moolah Assured Health, a startup that uses AI agents to automate provider credentialing and insurance enrollment, closed a $19 million Series A round, bringing its fundraising total to $25 million. The round was led by Insight Partners, with continued participation from First Round Capital and Kindred Ventures. The problem Co-founders Rahul Shivkumar and Varun Krishnamurthy launched Assured in early 2024, but the idea traces back to their previous company, Dawn Health, a virtual platform for treating sleep disorders. As they hired therapists, nurses and doctors across multiple states, the founders ran into the same bottleneck over and over — the cumbersome process of verifying provider licenses and getting them approved to bill insurance. It’s a slow, state-by-state, payer-by-payer slog, with some payers requiring emailed applications and weekslong waits for a response, and others using online portals that have to be filled out and followed up on by phone every few weeks, Shivkumar explained. The solution Assured built AI agents that perform the administrative work directly. The startup works with large group practices and health systems, offering three main services: credentialing new hires by verifying their licenses and background against primary sources, enrolling providers with payers so they can get paid, and monitoring state licenses to ensure they don't lapse, Shivkumar stated. Competitors To Shivkumar, Assured's competitors generally fall into two camps. At the health system level, the company competes with BPO firms that staff people, often offshore, to manually handle credentialing and enrollment. Among software vendors, Shivkumar named companies like Verifiable and Credential Stream as competitors, though he argued their products still require humans to do the underlying work while the software just tracks it. — By Katie Adams For Millions in Rural America, Medicine Is Still Far Away A daunting challenge In rural America, access to affordable medications can be a daunting challenge. If a trip to the pharmacy takes half an hour, what are the chances a rural patient is going to shop around for a better price once the pharmacist shares the cost of that prescription? Not likely, and even less so for young parents making that road trip with children or family caregivers with parents in tow. Many patients still cannot see what their prescriptions will cost before they get to the pharmacy. The result? If they can afford the medication, they get it. If not, they head home without it. Their doctor won’t know that they didn’t receive the medication they needed until months later at the next check-up or, worse, when they wind up in the emergency department. Closing the access gap It’s an area where better prescription affordability and patient access solutions could help and where states could make a deep impact through Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding and initiatives. One of the most important aspects of the RHTP, which will distribute $50 billion to approved states over five years, is the freedom it offers states to invest in solutions to improve health. This includes programs and technologies that help patients navigate costs and care. Better access, better health There are no restrictions around which entities can receive RHTP monies from the state. States can award funds to organizations that strengthen prevention and management of chronic disease, improve patient health outcomes and support sustainable access to high-quality rural healthcare services. Better access to pricing information could help clarify how much prescription medications cost and how to get the lowest price before a patient arrives at the pharmacy counter. That’s a critical step in helping rural consumers obtain needed medications at an affordable price. — By MedCity Influencer Miriam Paramore Video   Video: What did UHC CEO say in unprecedented meeting with reporters? Debunked: UnitedHealthcare invited reporters and influencers to their Minnesota HQ. Why? Hear the exchange between MedCity editor and the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

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