Healthcare, Pharma & Life Sciences

South Carolina – October 17, 2026 -- The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) expanded its virtual nursing program from five inpatient units to 57 units across four regions in about two and a half years, and estimates $2.4 million in savings from reduced nurse turnover on early adopter units, according to research from its Telehealth Center of Excellence.

MUSC program freed capacity equal to 10.2 full-time nurses

Across more than 23,500 virtual nursing encounters, the program generated capacity equivalent to approximately 10.2 full-time nursing positions. The program runs on the ThinkAndor® platform.

Of the bedside nurses surveyed, 87% reported a decrease in overall workload. Seventy-six percent said they spent less time documenting admissions and discharges, and 68% reported more time for patient rounding.

United States – October 17, 2026 -- ThinkAndor® Remote Patient Monitoring is now available in Epic Toolbox under the Remote Patient Monitoring category, giving health systems an AI-native option that bundles connected devices, automation, workflow integration and clinical staffing.

ThinkAndor RPM prioritizes patients instead of adding to alert queues

The platform continuously analyzes incoming patient data to flag potential clinical concerns and rank patients who may need intervention. Clinicians keep responsibility for clinical judgment but no longer act as the first manual filter for every reading. The pitch targets a known failure point in RPM: more devices produce more readings, alerts and queues for already stretched teams.

United States – October 17, 2026 -- UPMC will expand its AI-native transitional care management model from UPMC Jameson to 18 hospitals this fall, working with Andor Health and Psynergy Health.

Every enrolled patient receives outreach within 48 hours of discharge

Andor Health's ThinkAndor platform uses AI to automate initial outreach, analyze clinical information, prioritize emerging needs and prepare clinicians for patient encounters. Patients who need additional support can be escalated to a care coordinator.

Across transitional care workflows, Andor reports a 63% reduction in clinician time spent on non-clinical tasks per encounter and an 82% reduction in non-actionable monitoring alerts.

Irvine – October 17, 2026 -- Masimo, a Danaher company, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection on its Radius VSM monitor. The feature showed 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity in clinical validation testing, according to the company.

The AFib capability joins the company's previously cleared, AI-enabled detection of opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) under the smartSET platform. Masimo describes smartSET as the next evolution of its Signal Extraction Technology (SET) pulse oximetry, which draws on more than 35 years of signal-processing development.

Shanghai – October 17, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to GT801, the lead in vivo CAR-T candidate of Vivacta Biotechnology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., for autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Vivacta Bio was spun out of Beijing Grit Biotherapeutics' in vivo CAR-T platform on June 25, 2025.

Designation opens tax credits, fee exemption and seven-year exclusivity

Sponsors of designated products may be eligible for tax credits on qualified clinical trial expenses and an exemption from marketing application user fees. They may also receive seven years of orphan drug market exclusivity after marketing approval, subject to applicable requirements.

North Chicago – October 17, 2026 -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) is presenting 20 new scientific abstracts from its inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) portfolio at the 2026 United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week, held October 17-20 in Barcelona, Spain. The data cover long-term and real-world outcomes for Skyrizi (risankizumab) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib) in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Risankizumab maintains remission in UC through week 96

In the COMMAND study, patients on risankizumab 180 mg reached as-observed clinical remission rates of 54.0%-73.1% at week 96. Endoscopic remission rates were 38.8%-53.5%. The ranges span advanced therapy-naïve and advanced therapy-experienced patients, and the study reports up to three years of maintenance treatment.

Griffin -- Brightmoor Hospice, LLC began mailing breach notifications on October 17, 2026, after two employee email accounts were accessed without authorization and found to contain protected health information of certain patients.

Unauthorized access lasted two days in March 2026

Brightmoor discovered suspicious activity on or around October 17, 2026. Third-party specialists determined that the two accounts were accessed between March 24 and October 17, 2026. The company secured the accounts immediately and began reviewing their contents.

Review confirmed patient data on October 17, 2026

Brightmoor determined on August 18 that protected health information was present in the accounts. It then reviewed internal records to locate addresses for potentially affected individuals. Mailing began 59 days later. The company has not stated how many individuals are affected.

Needham, Mass. – October 17, 2026 -- Evident has launched the Pramana POD, a benchtop whole slide imaging (WSI) scanner that scans at true 40X resolution at 25 slides per hour under defined conditions and targets small and medium-sized pathology laboratories.

Evident extends autonomous Pramana WSI technology to smaller laboratories

The system is built for small and medium-sized labs and for specialty applications within larger institutions. Evident is extending its existing Pramana autonomous WSI technology to this segment as laboratories expand digital workflows amid rising case volumes and operational demands.

Automated imaging aims to cut operator intervention and post-scan QA

The scanner automates imaging with a tissue finder, extensive label detection, and automated focal plane and scan-profile selection. Built-in image-quality assessment is designed to deliver pathologist-ready images and flag scans that may need further review.

Pittsburgh – October 17, 2026 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Viatris Inc.'s RYZUMVI (phentolamine ophthalmic solution 0.75%) for the treatment of presbyopia in adults, adding a second indication to a product already on the U.S. market.

RYZUMVI is currently approved in the United States for pharmacologically-induced mydriasis and is the only commercially available FDA-approved product for that use. The presbyopia approval expands its label beyond that use.

Viatris Is Exploring a U.S. Commercialization Partner for the Presbyopia Indication

Viatris said it is exploring the potential for a partner in the United States to commercialize RYZUMVI for presbyopia. The company disclosed no partner, timeline or financial terms.

New York – October 17, 2026 -- Actinium Pharmaceuticals (NYSE American: ATNM) granted new CFO Matt David, M.D., options on 250,000 shares at $0.97 each, plus 250,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) and up to 75,000 milestone-based RSUs, as inducement for joining the company.

CFO package combines options, time-based RSUs and milestone awards

The October 17, 2026 grant gives Dr. David a non-qualified stock option with a ten-year term. The $0.97 exercise price equals Actinium's closing price on the NYSE American that day.

Twenty-eight percent of the option vests on the first anniversary of the grant. The remainder vests in monthly installments of 2% over the following 36 months.

Of the 250,000 RSUs, 125,000 vest in three equal annual installments on the first, second and third anniversaries. The other 125,000 vest in full on the third anniversary. A further 75,000 RSUs, at most, vest only if specified corporate milestones are met.