The unrelenting pressure on medical practice in the U.S. has sparked some innovations, but a legislative innovation is now in the works that would fundamentally shift how at least some drugs are prescribed. The Healthy Technology Act of 2025 (H.R. 238) would allow AI and machine learning algorithms to write prescriptions for pharmaceuticals, although the lack of co-sponsors for H.R. 238 suggests that this bill is not ready for prime time just yet.

In an advance that could significantly lighten the load for caretakers in the “sandwich generation” and reduce loneliness in elderly patients, Aspargo Labs Inc. developed a metered delivery device that optimizes absorption of pharmaceuticals and reminds users to take their medications.

Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. struck two licensing deals recently, including one with Hyfe Inc. Feb. 25 to develop the world’s potential first prescription digital therapeutic for chronic cough in Japan.

In what represents the first PCT filing emerging in the name of Ayble Health Inc., protection is sought for a system for adaptive, multi-level processing of health data to be used in the individualized management of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Makers of digital health apps are not often subject to the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but any such liabilities may soon become more onerous. The Department of Health and Human Services released a draft update for HIPAA cybersecurity mandates – the final version of which is sure to be accompanied by much more vigorous enforcement.

Promise Bio Ltd. emerged from stealth with $8.3 million in seed investment for its precision medicine platform, which addresses immune-mediated diseases. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of the company’s technology that analyzes proteins and their post-translational modifications to predict the treatment responses of patients with immune-mediated diseases.

The FDA’s final guidance for predetermined change control plans (PCCPs) for AI products contains a number of editorial changes, some more significant than others.

As the average cost of new drug R&D continues to skyrocket, the perception around using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to boost drug discovery is changing. “Developing new AI-based drugs is a difficult task, not only for Korea but also for countries with leading AI technology,” Hyeyun Jung, principal researcher of Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Center for Health Industry Policy, told the audience at the Bio Korea meeting on May 9. “But there is a change in perception; [namely that] applying AI to new drug development is not an option but a necessity.”

With the recent hack of Change Healthcare back in the news, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives took up the subject of cybersecurity, which included only a couple of mentions of medical devices. However, witnesses at the hearing emphasized the role of the federal government in thwarting foreign cybersecurity threats against health care facilities, with John Riggi of the American Hospital Association stating, “we need the [federal] government to go after bad actors overseas.”

With the number of people with dementia in Australia expected to nearly double by 2054, the federal government is funding a new AU$50 million (US$32.76 million) biomedical and med-tech incubator program to develop new therapies, medical devices and digital health technologies to address dementia and cognitive decline.