Pharmaceutical companies can use social media to craft a message for patients with cancer but they must also be prepared to fight misinformation, according to Real Chemistry's Discern researchers who have studied the issue. Theresa Schmidt, Discern's vice president of health, said pharmaceutical companies can partner with trusted sources, including patient advocacy groups and associations, to promote trust and relevance on social media.

Pfizer is recalling all lots of its antismoking drug Chantix after discovering high levels of nitrosamines, a potential carcinogen, in the tablets. The firm said there was no immediate risk to patients, but it asked distributors and wholesalers to immediately stop the use and distribution of the drug.

The NIH will invest almost $470 million to conduct a study dubbed Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery that will focus on long-haul COVID's effects, with a parent grant awarded to New York University Langone Health. "These studies will aim to determine the cause and find much needed answers to prevent this often-debilitating condition and help those who suffer move toward recovery," said NIH Director Francis Collins.

The FDA has launched the Office of Digital Transformation as part of its data modernization strategy. Vid Desai will serve as chief information officer and head of the office, which will manage the FDA's data management, cybersecurity and IT functions and will report directly to the agency commissioner.

GlaxoSmithKline and Tank Worldwide created a colorful, animated campaign reminding adults that whooping cough is not just a childhood disease and urging them to consider vaccination. "We are trying to reach people who are not constantly concerned with their health, so that when they see this message they will wonder if they have this vaccine," said Tank Worldwide creative director Bernardo Rodríguez.

Health care needs like an eye injury can often set off what Jaja Okigwe, CEO of First Choice Health, calls a "scavenger hunt" for patients trying to obtain the care they need, but he says making it easy for people to connect with the right primary care provider for them and putting that professional at the heart of the health care experience can help. Susan Beaton, vice president of health plan strategy with Wellframe, says technology is key to linking patients with their health care provider and ensuring everyone making care decisions -- including patients themselves -- has the relevant data at their fingertips.

-- Justin Kerley of Discern, commenting in a FiercePharma article on how pharmaceutical companies can use social media to reach patients while also fighting misinformation online.

A Series C financing round has raised $130 million for Caresyntax. The funds will be used to continue development of its digital surgery platform.

Medtronic has purchased intellectual property for implanted infusion pumps from the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research, and the organizations will collaborate on a next-generation implantable insulin pump for patients in Europe with hard-to-treat type 1 diabetes.

European regulators have given CE-IVD mark certification to Thermo Fisher Scientific for its TaqPath COVID-19 RNase P 2.0 kit. The tests can survey across multiple genes to provide accurate results even if there are mutations.