Hackensack University Medical Center became the latest New Jersey care provider to apply for an accountable-care organization with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today. HUMC applied for the creation of the ACO with 122 physicians, centered around five physician offices. If accepted, the ACO would begin operations on April 1. “At Hackensack UMC, ...
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Health Care
For biotech CEO, N.J. location is a must to lead turnaround
A few months after leaving his home state of New Jersey to become CEO of a small Texas biotech firm, Paul Thomas sat down with LifeCell Inc.‘s board of directors to have a frank talk. The company’s regenerative medicine technology was everything Thomas had hoped for, but to reach the technology’s commercial potential, he would ...
Read More »Packing his bags
While in talks with Chris Christie about becoming the governor-elect’s chief of staff two years ago, Richard Bagger downloaded a job description from the website of the National Governors Association. The document lists the many hats a chief of staff must wear — including chief strategist, crisis coordinator and headhunter. At the end is a ...
Read More »Celgene purchases Mass. biotech in 350M cash deal
Summit-based biotech firm Celgene Corp. announced today it will buy privately held biotechnology company Avila Therapeutics Inc., of Bedford, Mass., for $350 million in cash, plus up to $575 million more in milestone payments. Avila’s research and development platforms will complement Celgene’s work in hematology and immune inflammatory diseases, which is a growing area at ...
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Christie backs UMDNJ overhaul Barer sees research, business benefits to mergers
Gov. Chris Christie today endorsed a major overhaul of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University. The changes would improve the state’s research climate, as well as business-university ties, according to Sol Barer, chairman of the advisory committee that recommended the changes. The UMDNJ committee report recommended focusing UMDNJ in ...
Read More »Watson pays nearly 400M for Australian maker of generic drugs
Parsippany-based Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Tuesday became a major player in the southeast Asian and Australian generic drug markets with an acquisition valued at more than $393 million. Watson said Tuesday it has acquired Ascent Pharmahealth Ltd., the generic arm of Strides Arcolab Ltd. The deal instantly makes Watson the fifth-largest generic drugmaker in Australia ...
Read More »RWJ inks joint venture for outpatient center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital said Tuesday it will convert its outpatient department into a physician joint venture, in partnership with Regent Surgical Health. The new model allows local surgeons to become partners in the hospital’s ambulatory surgical pavilion, which opened in 2010. In a statement announcing the move, Paul Storiale, the hospital’s senior vice president ...
Read More »Atlantic Health applies to form regional accountable-care organization
Atlantic Health System today announced it has submitted an application to create a regional accountable-care organization, in hopes of participating in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ shared savings program. Called ACOs, accountable-care organizations represent a new approach to health care delivery that seeks to coordinate medical care, engage patients in their own wellness, ...
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Forging stronger bonds between businesses, universities
The Chris Christie administration wants to build stronger ties between higher education institutions and businesses — and observers are hoping the governor revisits a proposal to do just that. A bill Christie recently declined to sign would have required universities to create a list of their assets, including research, which would be available to the ...
Read More »Home-health care firms embrace maturing, expanding industry
As the population ages and more intense home-health care needs are required, two New Jersey firms announced Thursday they are making changes to prepare for the upcoming influx of patients. Moorestown-based Bayada Home Health Care, formerly called Bayada Nurses, updated its name to reflect the varied home-health care professionals it employs, including occupational therapists, social ...
Read More »Quest Diagnostics faces gender discrimination suit
A $100 million class-action lawsuit was announced today against Quest Diagnostics Inc. and its Ameripath Inc. subsidiary, alleging Quest systematically discriminated against female employees. The suit alleges that high-ranking Quest officials foster an environment hostile to the success and advancement of female employees and promoting an “old boys’ club” attitude, giving junior male employees disproportionate ...
Read More »UMDNJ symposium offers doctors strategies to treat obesity
Faced with an increasing number of patients struggling with unhealthy weight, medical practitioners met Wednesday in Newark at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to discuss ways to address the obesity issue from both a care and a business standpoint. “You have a condition that many insurances don’t recognize,” said Dr. Jeff ...
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