An
exploration
of
the
AI
companies
in
healthcare,
the
drug
price
debate
and
the
latest
twist
in
the
Trump
Administration’s
allegation
that
Tylenol
is
linked
to
autism
were
the
hot
topics
on
the
latest
episode
of
the
Debunked
Podcast
hosted
by
Arundhati
Parmar,
editor-in-chief
of
MedCity
News,
and
Samir
Batra,
managing
partner
of
Health
Innovation
Pitch.
Part
of
the
conversation
focused
on
TrumpRx,
a
platform
the
Trump
administration
announced
this
summer
that
is
being
designed
to
reduce
drug
prices
for
Americans.
So
far,
two
drug
makers
have
committed
to
support
TrumpRx.
Pfizer
was
the
first
and
published
an
announcement
at
the
end
of
September.
“Pfizer
has
voluntarily
agreed
to
implement
measures
designed
to
ensure
Americans
receive
comparable
drug
prices
to
those
available
in
other
developed
countries
and
pricing
newly
launched
medicines
at
parity
with
other
key
developed
markets,”
the
company
said
in
a
press
release,
adding
that
“Pfizer
will
also
participate
in
a
direct
purchasing
platform,
TrumpRx.gov,
that
will
allow
American
patients
to
purchase
medicines
from
Pfizer
at
a
significant
discount.
The
large
majority
of
the
company’s
primary
care
treatments
and
some
select
specialty
brands
will
be
offered
at
savings
that
will
range
as
high
as
85%
and
on
average
50%.”
One
caveat:
“specific
terms
of
the
agreement
remain
confidential”.
AstraZeneca
also
committed
to
reducing
prices
on
many
of
its
drugs,
as
well
as
supporting
domestic
manufacturing.
Much
of
the
conversation
focused
on
the
outlook
for
companies
jockeying
for
position
in
the
race
to
adopt
AI
in
healthcare.
Ambient
AI
and
Abridge
are
major
players
that
have
raised
millions
to
advance
and
grow
their
AI
software
applications.
Nabla
has
grabbed
attention
for
streamlining
clinical
documentation
for
electronic
health
records
(EHRs).
Nvidia
is
working
with
Eli
Lilly
on
using
AI
to
identify
drug
development
targets
and
other
applications.
Arundhati
and
Samir
also
offered
their
outlook
on
AI.
Samir
said
he
expects
a
lot
of
consolidation
across
the
sector
in
the
next
12-18
months.
He
said
he
expects
70%
of
the
smaller
AI
businesses,
including
startups,
to
either
be
absorbed
by
the
larger
players
through
M&A
deals
or
fade
away.
The
conversation
also
touched
on
HHS
and
the
drama
over
HHS
Secretary
Robert
F
Kennedy
Jr’s
allegations
tying
the
active
ingredient
in
Tylenol,
acetaminophen,
to
autism
before
clarifying
he
has
no
sufficient
evidence
of
a
causal
link.
Texas
Attorney
General
Ken
Paxton
recently
filed
a
lawsuit
against
Johnson
&
Johnson,
which
owns
the
Tylenol
brand.
Watch
the
full
episode: