VCs warn of a glut of cancer startups

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• Biotech VCs are worried there are too many cancer-treatment startups getting funded right now;
• Why experts think Iceland is proof coronavirus vaccines work;
• We read through Devoted Health's first-half of 2021 financial filings so you don't have to.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

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First, some overnight breaking news: The Biden administration has a plan to get vaccinated people a coronavirus booster shot about eight months after they got their second shot, The New York Times, AP, and Washington Post reported Monday night.

That could mean some people get boosters as soon as September.

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Top VCs warn there's a glut of cancer-treatment startups, and lackluster drugs risk bogging down the field

• Cancer startups have been the drug industry's darling, nabbing the majority of VC dollars in the last couple of years.
• Now, investors from Perceptive Advisors, RTW Investments and venBio are seeing a 'glut' of companies.
• In particular, there's too much focus on therapies that are paired with blockbuster drugs like Keytruda, they told Insider.

Get the full story>>

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Iceland is proof that COVID-19 vaccines work, a leading US expert said. Infections are at record highs, but the nation hasn't recorded a single virus death since May.

• Iceland proves that COVID-19 vaccines work, a leading US infectious-disease expert said.
• Most new infections are among vaccinated people, but only a tiny number end up in the hospital.
• The country has not recorded a COVID-19 death since May 25.

Find out more>>

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Health insurance upstart Devoted Health more than doubled its revenue and membership in the first half of 2021

• Health insurer Devoted Health is on track to exceed certain growth projections it laid out in 2019.
• The upstart's revenue and membership more than doubled in the first half of 2021.
• But like its publicly traded rivals, Devoted's losses deepened in the first six months of the year.

See inside Devoted's financials>>

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More stories we're reading:

• Former Juul CEO Kevin Burns has joined Alto Pharmacy as CEO (Bloomberg)
• ICYMI: Meet the 30 young leaders forging a new future for the healthcare industry in 2021 (Insider)
• An inside look at America's COVID-19 data-tracking issues (Politico)
• Meet 4 typical unvaccinated Americans, from a Latino agriculture worker to a 12-year-old Snapchat user with Republican parents (Insider)

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- Lydia