Why tech giants are struggling to upend healthcare

Hello,

Today in healthcare news: Why healthcare bets at big tech companies have a hard time getting off the ground, companies are hunting for pan-coronavirus drugs, and an interview with Moncef Slaoui on his latest venture after Operation Warp Speed. 

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Microsoft; Verily; Google; Amazon; Haven; Samantha Lee/Insider

Amazon and other tech giants want to upend healthcare, but time constraints, egos, and infighting are holding them back

• Big tech companies have a lot of potential to disrupt the healthcare industry.
• But companies like Alphabet and Amazon face challenges internally when standing up a health bet.
• That's largely because it creates tension with the corporate team and main products.

Read the full story from Blake Dodge and Hugh Langley here>>

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Technicians sort doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the Virginia Hospital Center on December 16, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Scientists are racing to develop coronavirus drugs that could fight the common cold and protect us from the next pandemic

• Companies like Novartis, Gritstone Oncology and VBI Vaccines are developing pan-coronavirus drugs.
• Coronaviruses cause everything from the common cold to COVID-19. 
• The effort could be critical, as experts estimate coronaviruses will affect our lives forever. 

Read the full story from Allison DeAngelis here>>

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Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020, in Washington.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Moncef Slaoui is joining Centessa, a new drug company backed with $250 million. Here's how the former head of Operation Warp Speed plans to grow it into the next pharma giant.

• Moncef Slaoui has found his next job after leading Operation Warp Speed, the US government's coronavirus vaccine initiative.
• The longtime pharma exec was named chief scientific officer for Centessa Pharmaceuticals, a newly launched drug company with major ambitions.
• Centessa was formed by merging 10 existing biotechs and has raised $250 million in a Series A round.

Read the full story from Andrew Dunn here>>

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More stories we're reading:

• What it's like to approach Year 2 of the pandemic as a COVID-19 "long-hauler" (Washington Post)
• Why the pandemic's focus on infectious diseases won't reshape the drug industry, according to 3 top life science VCs (Insider)
• Overdose deaths are rising as the pandemic carries on (Stat News)
• Tulane University suspended a Black doctor 5 months after she sued the school, alleging discrimination and a 'hostile work environment' (Insider)

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- Lydia

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