With unleashing the immune system on cancers all the rage in pharma research, Genentech has sealed a deal with the U.K. drug developer Immunocore to tap its T cell receptor technology for attacking tumors. Genentech, a Roche ($RHHBY) subsidiary, has agreed to pay $10 million to $20 million per cancer target and more than $300 million in development and commercial milestones for each of the programs.
Just weeks ago, Basel, Switzerland-based Roche highlighted data at the major ASCO meeting from clinical studies of an immunotherapy called RG7446 for a range of cancers. Analysts expect powerful new immunotherapies like Roche's PD-L1 antibody and other experimental therapies from Merck ($MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) and others to drive an eventual $35 billion market. Roche, which is the world's top provider of cancer drugs with products such as Herceptin and Avastin, expands its foothold in the immunotherapy field with the Immunocore deal. ?
"We believe Immunocore is the leading company in T cell receptor biology and drug development and an excellent partner for Genentech in this area," James Sabry, Genentech's senior vice president of partnering, stated. "We are delighted to have initiated this significant partnership with them. We hope this collaboration will lead to breakthrough therapies for cancer patients with unmet medical needs."
Abingdon, U.K.-based Immunocore formed in 2008 through a spinoff from the German biotech MediGene to focus on advancing the T cell receptor technology. T cell receptors identify misfit molecules such as cancer cells, triggering immune attacks on disease molecules. Immunocore's special sauce is its technology for linking engineered T cell receptors to anti-CD3 antibody fragments, forming bispecific antibody compounds called ImmTACs.?
Normally, there are too few cancer-identifying peptides on the surfaces of tumor cells for soldier T cells to recognize them as diseased, enabling the cancer cells to operate below the radar of the immune system, Immunocore CEO James Noble told FierceBiotech in an interview. To overcome this escape mechanism of cancer cells, the company engineers T cell receptors to home in on as few as 10 of the peptides on the surface of cancer cells, and the anti-CD3 fragment serves as a recruiter of natural T cells to attack the tumors.
"What we're trying to do is close the window of escape where it's just below the radar of the T cell system but above the radar of the natural kiler system," Noble said.
It's taken more than a decade and some serious feats of bio-engineering for Noble and Immunocore co-founder and chief scientist Dr. Bent Jakobsen to reach this point. They originally embarked on developing the technology through an Oxford University spinoff company called Avidex in 1999. Avidex ran short on capital in 2006 and was sold to MediGene. Noble spun off the T cell tech again, this time from the German owner, in 2008 with the formation of Immunocore and had raised about $40 million for the new company prior to the Genentech deal, the CEO said.
Immunocore, which has 55 employees, has advanced its lead drug candidate IMCgp100 into Phase I clinical development for patients with melanoma. The deadly skin cancer has been one of the prime targets for many of the immunotherapies in development from Roche and the other major players. That program isn't included in the Genentech pact, which is the startup's first pharma deal.
- here's the release
Related Articles: ASCO confab highlights immunotherapies, 'breakthrough' drugs and small victories Genentech steps into spotlight with closely-watched cancer immunotherapy Cancer drug developers are blazing a faster, cheaper path to approval Genentech nabs FDA approval for T-DM1 cancer killer
The Smithsonian is finally set to welcome a T. rex into its hallowed halls.
In October, one of the rare near-completeskeletons of the dinosaur will be hauled from Montana to Washington, D.C., where the fossil will be displayed in the National Museum of Natural History as part of a 50-year loan agreement, the Smithsonian announced Thursday (June 27).
The specimen is known as the Wankel T. rex after Kathy Wankel, a rancher who discovered the dinosaur's arm bones in Montana's Fort Peck reservoir in 1988. [See Photos of the Wankel T. Rex]
"She brought them to the museum to be identified, and I remember our curator Jack Horner asking her 'Can you find this site again?' because what she'd brought in were the first arm bones of a T. rex ever found," Shelley McKamey, the director of the Museum of the Rockies in Montana, told Smithsonian Magazine.
Wankel's discovery was just the tip of the iceberg. In the excavations that followed at Fort Peck, Horner and a field crew found 80 to 85 percent of the dinosaur's skeleton, including the skull, making it one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rexspecimens ever found.
The skeleton, which measures 38 feet (11.5 meters) long and weighs 7 tons, was unearthed on federal land, and it belongs to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 1990 to 2011, the Army Corps loaned the fossil to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University in Bozeman, where it was prepared and put on display in its original "death pose." Under the new loan agreement,?the Smithsonian will get the Wankel T. rex for 50 years.
The T. rex will be the centerpiece of the museum's new dinosaur hall, which is scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2019 and will feature other key specimens from the Smithsonian's collection of 46 million fossils.
"We're thrilled to welcome this extraordinary fossil to the Smithsonian," Kirk Johnson, director of the National Museum of Natural History, said in a statement, adding that the move will make the Wankel T. rex will be "the most viewed T.rex fossil in the world." The museum has more than 7 million visitors annually, according to the Smithsonian.
T. rex, which roamed North America some 68 million to 66 million years ago, was one of the largest known carnivorous dinosaurs and one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Fossil hunter Barnum Brown found the first T. rex bones in Montana in 1902 at the Hell Creek Formation.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DENVER (AP) ? An appeals board is upholding the Bureau of Land Management's decision to grant the artist Christo a permit for his Over the River project, which involves temporarily suspending 5.9 miles worth of silvery fabric panels in sections over 42 miles of the Arkansas River.
The Interior Board of Land Appeals on Friday rejected arguments that the BLM didn't fully consider impacts of Over the River before granting the permit.
Meanwhile, two lawsuits challenging Over the River in state and federal courts are still pending.
"We can now move on from the agency hijinks and into federal court where we can get an unbiased review of this project," said Michael Harris, a lawyer representing the group Rags Over the Arkansas River, which is trying to block Christo's plan. "We fully expect the court to find that the OTR project approval is illegal."
New York-based Christo said in a written statement that he remains confident that state and federal permitting processes were thorough and complete. "This is one of three legal hurdles that needed to be overcome, and I am very happy with this decision," Christo said.
Even if Christo wins in the lawsuits, it would be at least 2016 before the project would be ready for public display.
He and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, got their first inkling for Over the River in 1992.
Work to set up a system of anchors and cables to suspend the fabric panels over the river would unfold over roughly two years. The project would be displayed for two weeks in the month of August, when the river would be calm enough for rafters to peer up at the fabric as they float underneath and when drivers on U.S. 50 along the river could look down.
Denver-based environmental consultant Rocky Smith, who was among those filing the administrative appeal of the BLM's permitting decision, said he still thinks Over the River is "horribly inappropriate" for the canyon Christo plans to use.
Opponents contend the project threatens bighorn sheep, public safety, traffic on U.S. 50, and businesses that depend on the scenic river to draw anglers, rafters and tourists.
Christo's team has said it plans dozens of measures to mitigate impacts.
___
Talk to Catherine Tsai on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ctsai_denver
NEW YORK (AP) ? Paula Deen's multimillion-dollar merchandise and media empire continues to unravel following revelations that she used racial slurs in the past.
Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk on Thursday became the latest companies to distance themselves from the Southern celebrity chef.
Home Depot, which sold Paula Deen-branded cookware and kitchen products only online, said it pulled the merchandise off its website on Wednesday. And Target said that it will phase out its Paula Deen-branded cookware and other items in stores and on its website.
"Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory," said Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk said it and Deen have "mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now." Deen, who specializes in Southern comfort food, had been promoting the company's drug Victoza since last year when she announced she had Type 2 diabetes.
These are the latest blows dealt to Deen since comments she made in a court deposition became public. Last week, the Food Network said that it would not renew her contract. On Monday, pork producer Smithfield Foods dropped her as a spokeswoman. Then, on Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, said it too was cutting ties with Deen following a tearful "Today" show interview in which she said she's not a racist.
On the same day, Caesars Entertainment announced that Paula Deen's name is being stripped from four buffet restaurants owned by the company. Caesars said that its decision to rebrand its restaurants in Joliet, Ill.; Tunica, Miss.; Cherokee, N.C.; and Elizabeth, Ind., was a mutual one with Deen.
The stakes are high for Deen, who Forbes magazine ranked as the fourth highest-earning celebrity chef last year, bringing in $17 million. She's behind Gordon Ramsay, Rachel Ray and Wolfgang Puck, according to Forbes.
Deen's empire, which spans from TV shows to furniture and cookware, generates total annual revenue of nearly $100 million, estimates Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group.
But Flickinger says that the controversy has cost her as much as half of that business. He also estimates that she could lose up to 80 percent by next year as suppliers extricate themselves from their agreements.
"The accelerating domino effect is commercially disastrous for Paula Deen's empire," he said.
It's a dramatic fall from a woman who overcame her humble Southern roots and personal hardships to build a merchandising and media empire.
Deen, who grew up in Albany, Ga., was grappling with a failed marriage, the death of her parents and a prolonged battle with agoraphobia when she started her home-based catering business called The Bag Lady in June 1989, according to her company website.
Then a mother of two teenage boys, Jamie and Bobby, and on the verge of homelessness, she used her last $200 to start the catering business. She describes the business as delivering "lunch-and-love-in-a-bag." Five years later, she opened her first restaurant called The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Ga. Her first cookbook, "The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook," came out in 1998.
Soon after, she had her first TV appearance on QVC. But it was when "Paula's Home Cooking," began airing on the Food Network in 2002 that she started to hit stardom, according to her site. Deen now has two shows airing on the Food Network: In addition to "Paula's Home Cooking," there's "Paula's Best Dishes," which made its debut in 2008.
Deen's empire has continued to grow over the years as her brand has blossomed.
In addition to her The Lady and Sons restaurant, Deen owns with her brother, Bubba, a seafood restaurant in Savannah called Uncle Bubba's Oyster House. Deen is the author of 14 cookbooks that have sold more than 8 million copies and her bimonthly magazine "Cooking with Paula Deen" has a circulation of nearly 1 million, according to her website. And Deen's product lines span from a full line of cookware to assorted food items to furniture.
Not every company Deen does business with has severed ties with the celebrity chef. Among other stores that sell her products, Kohl's Corp. declined to comment, while Macy's Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. said they're evaluating the situation. QVC, meanwhile, said it's reviewing its deal with Deen.
And book-buyers are so far standing by Deen. As of Thursday afternoon, "Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Recipes, All Lightened Up," remained No. 1 on Amazon.com. The book is scheduled for October. Another Deen book, "Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible," is now at No. 5, up from No. 13 earlier in the day. Several other Deen books were out of stock.
___
AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report from New York.
Follow Anne D'Innocenzio on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, makes a toast during an official dinner with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, makes a toast during an official dinner with Senegalese President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania on a week long trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama, center, takes a tour during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
USAID administrator Raj Shah, left, looks on as U.S. President Barack Obama, center, talks to Nimna Diayte, president of the Farmers Federation, front, during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Barack Obama looks out to sea through the 'Door of No Return,' at the slave house on Goree Island, in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013. Obama is calling his visit to a Senegalese island from which Africans were said to have been shipped across the Atlantic Ocean into slavery, a 'very powerful moment.' President Obama was in Dakar Thursday as part of a weeklong trip to Africa, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president's lack of personal engagement during his first term. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
U.S. President Barack Obama looks at rice crops during a food security expo on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Dakar, Senegal. Obama met with farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose new methods and technologies are improving the lives of smallholder farmers throughout West Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
CENTURION, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama is receiving the embrace you might expect for a long-lost son on his return to his father's home continent, even as he has yet to leave a lasting policy legacy for Africa on the scale of his two predecessors.
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush passed innovative Africa initiatives while in the White House and passionately continue their development work in the region in their presidential afterlife. Obama's efforts here have not been so ambitious, despite his personal ties to the continent.
His first major tour of Africa as president is coming just now, in his fifth year, while Bush and Clinton are frequent fliers to Africa. Bush even will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, next week at the same time as Obama, although they have no plans to meet. Instead, their wives plan to appear together at a summit on empowering African women organized by the George W. Bush Institute, with the former president in attendance.
For Obama, one potentially memorable aspect of this trip -- a meeting with former South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela -- remained in doubt. Mandela is hospitalized in Johannesburg in critical condition. Obama arrived in South Africa Friday after visiting Senegal.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Obama said it was uncertain whether he would get an opportunity to see the 94-year-old Mandela, a personal hero to the president.
"I don't need a photo-op, and the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela's condition," he said.
In French-speaking Senegal, Africa's westernmost country, spirited crowds greeted Obama on his visit, with revelers frequently breaking into song and dance at the sight of the first African-American president. However thrilled they were to see him, many said they wish his visits weren't so rare.
"Two visits in five years, it's not enough," said Faye Mbissine, a 30-year-old nanny who took an early morning bus to come see Obama on Thursday outside the presidential palace. "We hope that he can come more."
Manougou Nbodj, a 21-year-old student, said he hopes Obama will bring American resources like jobs and health care. "If Obama can work with Macky Sall the way that George Bush worked with Africa before him, then we will be happy," he said, referring to the Senegalese president.
One of Bush's chief foreign policy successes was his aid to Africa, including AIDS relief credited with saving millions of lives and grants to reward developing countries for good governance. Bush followed on momentum on African policy that began under Clinton, who allowed several dozen sub-Saharan countries to export to the U.S. duty-free.
Obama has continued the Bush and Clinton programs during tough economic times. But his signature Africa policy thus far has been food security, through less prominent programs designed to address hunger with policy reforms and private investment in agriculture.
On Friday, Obama toured displays in small thatched booths at his hotel grounds on a bluff overlooking the ocean, meeting with farmers and entrepreneurs who are using new methods and technologies to advance the cause of food security.
"This is a moral imperative," he said. "I believe that Africa is rising and it wants to partner with us not to be dependent but to be self-sufficient.
Witney Schneidman, former deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said Obama's efforts are not like Bush's AIDS initiative "where you put people on a medicine to save their lives ? very, extremely important. This is more of a structural change, and I think that's going to take time."
Under Clinton and Bush "you had this major funding, major attention, major initiatives going to Africa, and then President Obama came in, and there was a sense of stall, in a way," said Jennifer Cooke, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She said that's understandable as he grappled with wars and an economic crisis, and she gave Obama credit for working diplomatically with African governments in his first term.
But, she said, "they weren't big, splashy initiatives that got peoples' attention either in Africa or here at home, and no big money and no big ideas that really helped define what Obama was about in Africa."
That's a disappointed those who were expecting more from the first African-American president, especially after his speech during a brief stopover in Ghana his first summer in office, in which he spoke personally of his father's life in Kenya and declared "a new moment of great promise" in Africa. "I have the blood of Africa within me," Obama said.
Schneidman argued that Obama's personal connection may also have been an impediment to deeper engagement in his first term. "The whole birther movement here in the U.S. that was sort of questioning his place of birth to begin with ... I think it was a real constraint on dealing with Africa," Schneidman said.
Mwangi Kimenyi, a Kenyan who directs the Brookings Institutions' Africa Growth Initiative, said Obama may be a victim of misplaced sky-high expectations on the continent when he was first elected.
"Africans still consider Clinton their president," Kimenyi said. "If you go to Africa and mention Clinton ? I mean, he is a hero, even today. I don't think President Obama is going to approach the level of President Clinton at all, in terms of respect, in terms of what they feel, and it's partly because, as one whose family is from Africa, the expectations were rather high."
"There is not that feeling that, you know, we have our son there," Kimenyi said. "There's probably more reference of a prodigal son than a, you know, son."
Clinton first drew extensive attention to Africa in 1998 when he made the longest trip ever by a U.S. president, with stops in six countries that had never before been visited by any occupant of the Oval Office.
Bush's trip this week is his third in 19 months to promote his Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership to combat breast and cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. On this visit, he and his wife, Laura, plan to help renovate a cervical cancer screening and treatment clinic in Zambia before heading to Tanzania for the African First Ladies Summit advocating investment in programs for women and girls.
"Frankly, Africa is a place that we had not yet been able to devote significant presidential time and attention to," Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes said. "And there's nothing that can make an impact more in terms of our foreign policy and our economic and security interests than the president of the United States coming and demonstrating the importance of our commitment to this region."
___
Associated Press writer Robbie Corey-Boulet contributed to this report.
___
Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler
Elsevier announces the publication of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and InnovationPublic release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: James Palser j.palser@elsevier.com 44-186-584-3237 Elsevier
New York, June 27, 2013 Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the publication of the first issue of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation.
Health Care communicates cutting edge research on innovation in health care delivery, focusing specifically on payment reform, patient-centered innovation, quality and process improvement, and applied health information technology. As the United States health care system undergoes unprecedented change, Health Care aims to bridge the gap between the academic community and decision-makers, focusing on real-world implementation and disseminating important ideas that inform and improve clinical practice.
Reflecting on the context for the new journal Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD, President of the World Bank Group, writes in an opening editorial, "Failure to incorporate multidisciplinary perspectives into health care delivery has hampered progress towards the goals that we all want to reach: better health outcomes and reduced health care costsHealth Care brings the early seeds of leadership and transformation that we so urgently need." A companion editorial written by Don Berwick, MD, MPP, President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) underscores that, "To make truly meaningful change, we need to bring together the best minds across academia, medicine, government, the community, and moreHealth Care will help do just that."
The inaugural issue of the journal, edited by Melinda Buntin, PhD, Deputy Assistant Director for Health at Congressional Budget Office, and Rachel Werner, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, focuses on one of the most critical levers in health care improvement and innovation: payment reform. It features articles by Michael Chernew and colleagues, examining the impact of global payment under Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts's Alternative Quality Contract program; Kevin Volpp and colleagues describe a novel evaluative approach to accelerate the rate of learning from provider reform initiatives; and an in-depth interview with Mark B. McClellan, former Administrator of CMS, which explores his views on accountable care organizations and the priorities for CMS in leading payment reform. These articles are complemented by several other innovative, high quality, original research articles, reviews, case studies and perspectives pieces.
"Elsevier is proud to announce the first issue of HealthCare, a journal at the forefront of the rapidly developing landscape of technology and healthcare delivery in the U.S.," said Ann Gabriel, Publishing Director at Elsevier.
###
The first issue is available for free on ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22130764
For more information or to submit an article, visit the journal's website: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthcare
About Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation
Health Care is supported by a deeply talented and experienced editorial board composed of senior leaders across all dimensions of health care improvement and innovation. Senior Editors-in-Chief include Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Excellence Research Center at Stanford University, and Richard Shannon, MD., Frank Wister Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Health Care was co-founded by Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, and Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, who also serve as co-Editors-in-Chief. Navathe is a physician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital who holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jain is a physician at the Boston Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Lecturer in Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, and Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer at Merck. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthcare
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs more than 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 in North America. Reed Elsevier Group plc is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. Their shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Elsevier announces the publication of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and InnovationPublic release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: James Palser j.palser@elsevier.com 44-186-584-3237 Elsevier
New York, June 27, 2013 Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the publication of the first issue of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation.
Health Care communicates cutting edge research on innovation in health care delivery, focusing specifically on payment reform, patient-centered innovation, quality and process improvement, and applied health information technology. As the United States health care system undergoes unprecedented change, Health Care aims to bridge the gap between the academic community and decision-makers, focusing on real-world implementation and disseminating important ideas that inform and improve clinical practice.
Reflecting on the context for the new journal Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD, President of the World Bank Group, writes in an opening editorial, "Failure to incorporate multidisciplinary perspectives into health care delivery has hampered progress towards the goals that we all want to reach: better health outcomes and reduced health care costsHealth Care brings the early seeds of leadership and transformation that we so urgently need." A companion editorial written by Don Berwick, MD, MPP, President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) underscores that, "To make truly meaningful change, we need to bring together the best minds across academia, medicine, government, the community, and moreHealth Care will help do just that."
The inaugural issue of the journal, edited by Melinda Buntin, PhD, Deputy Assistant Director for Health at Congressional Budget Office, and Rachel Werner, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, focuses on one of the most critical levers in health care improvement and innovation: payment reform. It features articles by Michael Chernew and colleagues, examining the impact of global payment under Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts's Alternative Quality Contract program; Kevin Volpp and colleagues describe a novel evaluative approach to accelerate the rate of learning from provider reform initiatives; and an in-depth interview with Mark B. McClellan, former Administrator of CMS, which explores his views on accountable care organizations and the priorities for CMS in leading payment reform. These articles are complemented by several other innovative, high quality, original research articles, reviews, case studies and perspectives pieces.
"Elsevier is proud to announce the first issue of HealthCare, a journal at the forefront of the rapidly developing landscape of technology and healthcare delivery in the U.S.," said Ann Gabriel, Publishing Director at Elsevier.
###
The first issue is available for free on ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22130764
For more information or to submit an article, visit the journal's website: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthcare
About Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation
Health Care is supported by a deeply talented and experienced editorial board composed of senior leaders across all dimensions of health care improvement and innovation. Senior Editors-in-Chief include Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Clinical Excellence Research Center at Stanford University, and Richard Shannon, MD., Frank Wister Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Health Care was co-founded by Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, and Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, who also serve as co-Editors-in-Chief. Navathe is a physician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital who holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jain is a physician at the Boston Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Lecturer in Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, and Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer at Merck. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthcare
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby's Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world leading provider of professional information solutions. The group employs more than 30,000 people, including more than 15,000 in North America. Reed Elsevier Group plc is owned equally by two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. Their shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RUK and ENL.
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