How AI rules could stifle health startups

Presented by Walmart: The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Jul 14, 2023 View in browser   By Ben Leonard, Carmen Paun, Erin Schumaker and Evan Peng Presented by Walmart TECH MAZE McClain says AI regulators should be careful not to protect the incumbents. | Courtesy of Absci Sean McClain expects artificial intelligence to dramatically speed and improve drug development. The CEO of Absci, the Washington state drug-creation firm, likens traditional drug development to finding a needle in a haystack. He told Ben he sees generative AI, which can review large data sets to respond to questions posed by humans, as a way to shift the paradigm: It’s creating the needle. McClain recently came to the capital to speak to White House officials and lawmakers about what they can do to spur innovation and stave off potential harms. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  How should health AI be regulated?  It needs to be a partnership between industry and government, and it needs to be industry-specific. The problems in each industry are extremely different. It’s also a very fine line between guardrails and stifling innovation. OpenAI and the big tech companies want regulation. That’s actually blocking smaller companies from being able to come into this space, which I don’t think is the right move at all. You need to have small startups that can get funding to innovate. I’m not a proponent of using regulation to essentially create monopolies. What was your message to the White House?  The U.S. government needs to take a leadership position. It’s about policies or funding to ensure we stay number one in this arms race. There was a recent Supreme Court case between Amgen and Sanofi, and Amgen had said they found 26 antibodies for a particular target. The justices said that’s not enough to enable a broad patent claim. But what if you had thousands of antibodies that can bind to a particular target? That’s what we’re seeing in our case, and we believe that will enable much broader claims that you haven’t seen before. If China develops technology like this or gets their hands on it, they could use it to take the most promising targets and file claims in the U.S. A message from Walmart: Nearly 133 million Americans live with a chronic condition who need accessible, affordable medication to help them stay healthy. Walmart pharmacies offer prescriptions for medications that treat heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol starting at $4 per month. With 90% of the U.S. population living within 10 miles of a Walmart store or pharmacy, Walmart is increasing the accessibility of services and medications that help millions of Americans live a little better. Learn more.   WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE San Diego | Evan Peng This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Scientists at Purdue University believe a white paint they’ve developed can keep buildings cooler – a potential mitigation for climate change. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Ben Leonard at bleonard@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp. Today on our Pulse Check podcast, host Alice Miranda Ollstein talks with Katherine Ellen Foley about the implications of the FDA's decision to approve the first over-the-counter birth control.   UNLEASH THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE WITH POLITICO, A 7/20 INTERACTIVE EVENT: Imagine a future where rare genetic diseases are not only treatable, but potentially curable. Where our approach to chronic illness takes a monumental leap forward. That future is already taking shape in the form of next-generation health care treatments such as gene therapy. Join POLITICO on Thursday, July 20 and delve into the burgeoning field of gene therapies, which hold the power to redefine our health care landscape. Are you ready to explore this new frontier in health care? Don't miss this chance to be part of the conversation. REGISTER NOW.     PANDEMIC Germany's dealing with a big surplus of Covid shots. | AP 268 The number of Covid vaccine doses administered in Germany during the week of June 5 The conventional wisdom that Americans are unusually delinquent about Covid vaccination is getting harder to support as fewer people on the Atlantic’s other side are up to date on their shots. Germany has discarded 83 million doses of coronavirus vaccines at a rough cost of $1.8 billion, reports POLITICO’s Carlo Martuscelli. The country has 120 million more doses sitting unused in stock, even as it’s set to receive more jabs at a time when vaccination has flatlined. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says that only 268 doses were administered in Germany — a country to which the U.S. was unfavorably compared early in the pandemic — during the week of June 5. And 1,462 people were jabbed in the three weeks before that. Germany’s not unusual: Vaccine uptake has plummeted across the EU. While more than half of Europeans in the 27-country bloc received a booster shot, only 14 percent have gotten a fourth shot, and 2 percent a fifth, according to the centre. By contrast, the U.S. CDC, which breaks out adults from children in its vaccine data, says about a third of adults have gotten the updated bivalent booster, and 28 percent have received all the recommended shots. Uptake for kids is far lower, with only 37 percent having had even one shot, about a third had the two-shot series and 7 percent a booster. On the hook: EU countries signed a recent deal with drugmaker Pfizer for more Covid vaccine doses. The exact number the bloc will receive isn’t public, but a participant in a confidential meeting where details of the revised contract were shared with a select group of European Parliament members and who was granted anonymity told POLITICO that the figure is 260 million doses spread out over the next four years — or 65 million doses a year.   A message from Walmart:   CHECKUP A new study finds kids still need to make up care they missed during the pandemic. | Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo The pandemic forced many to delay preventive health care. A new study published in JAMA Network Open attempts to quantify the toll on children and found that 28 percent of kids missed or postponed care. The researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis examined federal survey data from more than 50,000 U.S. children and found delays across the board, with some disparities in the amount of care delayed or lost among racial groups: — American Indian or Alaska Native children: 24.3 percent — White children: 26.3 percent — Asian or Pacific Islander children: 26.5 percent — Black children: 28.1 percent — Hispanic children: 29.2 percent — Multiracial children: 32.1 percent Older kids, those in larger families or with caregivers in ill health were more likely to have missed or postponed care. The findings demonstrate “the need for targeted outreach efforts to promote catch-up visits, particularly among high-risk groups, including Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and multiracial children,” the researchers wrote. A message from Walmart: Walmart is on a mission to transform the cost and convenience of healthcare in communities across the country. By increasing the accessibility of services and medications for customers with heart disease, diabetes and more, Walmart helps millions of Americans live a little better: ● Walmart pharmacies offer prescriptions for medications that treat heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol and more, starting at just $4 per month ● Walmart provides healthcare access to over 4,000 HRSA designated medically underserved areas ● 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of Walmart store or pharmacy With nearly 133 million Americans living with a chronic condition, Walmart’s mission is to help people save money and “live better” by committing to making healthcare more accessible, convenient and affordable for customers in the communities they serve. Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to Health & Wellness.     SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.       Follow us on Twitter Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ Ruth Reader @RuthReader Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker Evan Peng @thepngfile   Follow us

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