Weekly Roundup: 15 Health Press Releases You Need to See

A roundup of the most newsworthy healthcare press releases from PR Newswire this week, including an AI-powered Primary Care as a Service™ offering and H5N1 (Bird Flu) testing updates.

NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help healthcare journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. FDA Approves First Rapid-Acting Insulin Biosimilar Product for Treatment of Diabetes
   As a rapid-acting insulin, Merilog helps to lower mealtime blood sugar spikes to improve control of blood sugar in people with diabetes. The approval is for both a 3 milliliter (mL) single-patient-use prefilled pen and a 10 milliliter (mL) multiple-dose vial.
2. Lumeris Introduces Tom™, an AI-Powered Breakthrough to Transform Primary Care
   Lumeris addresses the imbalance between primary care demand and supply with Tom™, the industry's first AI-powered Primary Care as a Service™ designed to support overburdened physicians. Tom autonomously executes next-best actions, including scheduling appointments, monitoring medication adherence, conducting post-discharge outreach, and sharing patient education.
3. Employer-Sponsored GLP-1 Coverage Becomes Critical for Talent Retention and Acquisition, New 9amHealth Survey Finds
   Employer-sponsored coverage of these medications has more than doubled, rising from 30% to 63%. However, for the 25% of employees who want access but don't have it, affordability remains a challenge. In fact, 31% would change jobs to gain coverage (up from 21%).
4. Pretorian Labs to Test Human Patients for H5N1 (Bird Flu)
   Pretorian Labs is one of the first in the US to test human patients for H5N1 virus (Bird Flu), offering testing to all providers and facilities nationally who are existing or new clients of Pretorian Labs. "Ohio leads the nation in poultry losses as the bird flu continues to spike. It's logical for us to have the capability to test for this virus on our human patients," said Carmen Melillo, Chief Executive Officer of Pretorian Labs.
5. New ACS Study Shows Cancer Mortality Rates Among Black People Declining, but Remain Higher Than Other Racial and Ethnic Groups
   "Overall declines in cancer mortality rates in Black people largely reflect behavioral changes…as well as advances in treatment and earlier detection for some cancers," said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, and senior author of the report. "Yet, this population persistently experiences a much higher mortality burden than other racial and ethnic groups for many cancers. We must reverse course."
6. Ed DeVaney named President of CVS Caremark
   "I am honored to take on this role and to work with our dedicated colleagues who are focused on making prescription drugs more affordable and delivering better care to everyone we are privileged to serve," said DeVaney. 
7. NFL Legends Join Advocates from 49 States for 14th Annual Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill
   The EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases will welcome retired NFL legends and first-time advocates Josh Andrews and Art Still to the upcoming Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. During their time in D.C., participants – whether first timers or seasoned advocates – are educated on policy proposals impacting the rare disease community and provided opportunities to advocate for policy changes directly to their Members of Congress.
8. Bio-Techne Announces Release of GMP TcBuster Non-Viral Genome Engineering System
   The TcBuster System has been widely used by researchers to introduce large cargo genetic modifications in a range of cell types. The new GMP transposase will offer a clearer path to clinic for applications in gene edited cell therapies, such as CAR-T or TCR generation.
9. Texas Children's Hospital and UT MD Anderson Announce Joint Venture to End Childhood Cancer
   The partnership forms the nation's largest complement of pediatric subspecialty care and services to children diagnosed with all types of cancer within a single entity, with operations planned to launch in early 2026.
10. Breaking Barriers: The Black Therapy Network is Closing the Mental Health Gap for Black Americans
    Dedicated to normalizing therapy in the Black community, The Black Therapy Network (BTN) launches to ensure culturally competent therapy is accessible, affordable, and stigma-free. BTN is built for Black clients by Black professionals, ensuring a deeper understanding of cultural experiences and identity-related stressors.
11. ZERO Prostate Cancer Launches Bold $20 Million 'Blitz The Barriers' Initiative to Close Gaps in Prostate Cancer Survival in Highest-Risk Communities
    A $7.5M commitment from Novartis as Lead Founding Partner will launch Blitz the Barriers, a prostate cancer awareness initiative aimed to save lives by addressing critical disparities in prostate cancer outcomes, especially among Black men, Veterans, and rural underserved communities.
12. Illumina unveils first-of-its-kind spatial transcriptomics technology
    Illumina has announced a new spatial technology program that will empower researchers to map complex tissues and understand cellular behavior at an unprecedented scale. "With this innovation, we are setting a new bar that will drive the next wave of scientific discoveries and unlock a deeper understanding of biology," said Steve Barnard, PhD, chief technology officer of Illumina.
13. SpringWorks Therapeutics and Jewelry Designer Jennifer Fisher Team Up to Encourage People with Desmoid Tumors to Take Action Before Their Tumor Takes Over
    Desmoid tumors are aggressive and invasive tumors that can arise in any part of the body. Their tendril-like growths can wrap around nearby tissue and compress vital organs and nerves. This can cause severe and chronic pain, loss of function, reduced mobility, disfigurement, and anxiety.
14. Highmark expands virtual care access with Virtual Pelvic Health powered by Sword Health
    To help those experiencing pelvic health dysfunction, Highmark has added Virtual Pelvic Health powered by Sword Health as a benefit at no additional cost to eligible health plan members. "…Our members can now improve their pelvic strength more discreetly, safely and conveniently in the comfort of their own homes," said Karen Hanlon, EVP, chief operating officer, Highmark Health.
15. European Commission Approves CSL and Arcturus Therapeutics' KOSTAIVE^®, the First Self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine
    KOSTAIVE, the first sa-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval from the European Commission, represents significant advancement in vaccine technology and demonstrates superior immunogenicity and antibody persistence for up to 12 months post-vaccination compared to conventional mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in clinical trials.

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