On July 9, the Texas Heart Institute of Houston performed the first-ever successful implant of a BiVacor Total Artificial Heart (TAH) on a 57-year-old man—making for a heartfelt moment.

The patient, who was not named, was critically ill and in cardiogenic shock, meaning his heart couldn’t pump the amount of blood his body needed. However, finding donor organs can be difficult, as nearly 3,500 patients are currently awaiting a heart transplant, according to the public-private Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

But the patient had another option: a BiVacor TAH, which is a titanium heart that uses magnetic technology to pump blood. It is designed to replace both ventricles of a failing heart.

Heart to (other) heart

The surgery was part of an FDA early feasibility study, in which new medical devices are used on a small number of patients to assess their safety and efficacy.

In the study, the TAH functioned as a placeholder rather than a long-term solution. Daniel Timms, founder and chief technology officer at BiVacor, said the team hopes to do four more similar surgeries like this to test the TAH before Q1 next year.

On post-op day three, Joseph Rogers, president and CEO of the Texas Heart Institute, said the patient in the July 9 surgery was disconnected from a ventilator and could sit up in a chair.

“The first thing he said when the breathing tube came out was: ‘I feel great,’” Rogers told Healthcare Brew.

Keep reading here.—CM

Wanna revive your role in healthcare? Indeed’s got just the webinar to help you reach a whole new level in your healthcare career.

Join Indeed’s Job Search Academy on Aug. 14 at 12pm ET/11am CT. This live webinar includes a panel of experts who will share strategies for finding more fulfillment in your day-to-day work as well as advice for exploring new healthcare career paths within your skill set.

You’ll hear from these experts:

• Dr. Farah Laurent, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Nurse Career Coach
• Jonathan Smith, PA-C, Cardiology PA
• Dr. Travis Moore, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, The Indeed Nurse

Register here.

“Now I’m free—free fallin’!” Moderna’s earnings projections just took a Tom Petty dive, and investors are wondering when the parachute will open.

Moderna executives slashed the year’s projected net sales on Thursday from around $4 billion to between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, due in part to declining interest in the Covid-19 vaccine.

In Moderna’s Q2 earnings call, CFO Jamey Mock said the company expects lower uptake of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, low European sales of its Covid-19 vaccine, and a low Covid vaccine rate in the US around what the company saw last season when CDC data showed that only around 21% of adults had received the updated booster.

“This year is not turning out as we expected,” Mock said in the call.

Keep reading here.—CC

Inflation has hit the pharmacy shelves.

The drug price inflation rate is expected to hit 3.8% next year, thanks largely to increased use of expensive medications like GLP-1s and cell and gene therapies, according to new data from healthcare services firm Vizient’s summer Pharmacy Market Outlook report.

Spending on semaglutide, Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 (better known by its brand name, Wegovy), is up 77% this year compared to summer 2023, according to Vizient. And with the ever-expanding list of diseases GLP-1s could treat, spending on the drug class is “becoming increasingly significant for providers as they manage pharmacy spend,” the company said in a statement on July 30.

Cell and gene therapies, which treat diseases like sickle cell anemia and spinal muscular atrophy, cost anywhere from $250,000 to $4.3 million for one dose, according to Vizient. The company warned in the statement that providers should be prepared for these drugs to “significantly impact” their budgets, especially as the therapies are likely to become even more popular in the coming years, as nearly 300 are in clinical trials.

Keep reading here.—MA

Here’s to a healthy tomorrow. If you’re a leader in the healthcare industry, you won’t wanna miss HLTH’s 2024 event in Las Vegas from Oct. 20–23. This year’s theme? Boldly stepping into health’s future. Network, gain insights on cutting-edge trends, and more. Leaders in tech, pharma, consumer healthcare, and more will be there. Will you?