{"author_name":"The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast","author_url":"https://art19.com/shows/the-heart-of-healthcare/episodes/691dddda-8f07-49ad-9def-45e7e9a62dbd","description":"<p>Pharma ads, biotech IPOs, $1M longevity programs, oh my!</p><p>This month's Digital Health Download skews towards biotech, which is having a moment.&nbsp;Tune in to hear Halle and Michael cover the latest headlines.</p><p><strong>We cover:</strong></p><ul><li>Why pharma ads are surging and the growing push for restrictions on D2C drug advertising</li><li>Hims &amp; Hers’ $1.15B acquisition of Eucalyptus, its global expansion strategy, and the FDA crackdown on compounded GLP‑1 drugs</li><li>The return of biotech IPOs, with Eikon Therapeutics and Generate Biomedicines signaling investor interest in platform‑based drug discovery</li><li>Vaccine makers scaling back research amid policy uncertainty, declining uptake, and tighter funding</li><li>TrumpRx’s “most favored nation” drug pricing approach, and what one STAT analysis found</li><li>Bryan Johnson’s $1M per year “Immortals” longevity program</li></ul><p>—</p><p><strong>Show notes:</strong></p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/health/drug-advertisements-consumers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Should drug companies be advertising to consumers? </a>(The New York Times)&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.pharmexec.com/view/hims-hers-enters-1-billion-agreement-acquire-eucalyptus\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Hims &amp; Hers Enters $1.15 Billion Agreement to Acquire Eucalyptus</a> (PharmExec.com)</li><li><a href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/biotech-ipos-public-offerings-eikon/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A sign biotech is back? Four drugmakers go public, raising nearly $1 billion in all</a> (STAT)</li><li><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/health/rfk-vaccine-manufacturers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs</a> (The New York Times)&nbsp;</li><li><a href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2026/02/06/trumprx-discount-drug-website-undercut-by-cheaper-generics/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">TrumpRx claims to offer the lowest prices. But many drugs have cheaper generics</a> (STAT)</li><li><a href=\"https://www.axios.com/2026/02/16/bryan-johnson-immortals-longevity-regimen\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Bryan Johnson's Immortals: $1M to try longevity regimen</a> (Axios)&nbsp;</li></ul><p>—</p><p><em>\"Halle Tecco wanted to see tech used for better medical services and getting people engaged in their own health. Now, she’s written a book on how she went about it.\" - The WSJ</em></p><p><a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Massively-Better-Healthcare-Innovators-Healthcares/dp/023122236X/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.f0t7AUsrq4mJu7QNQFkkIkNoWgDNeab1Ci7A1tQ0qxDGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.TNWucadqdV2lyMLubIlgetMgSWHdpxbCA2MoFdRxYr0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;hvadid=776837474762&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvexpln=0&amp;hvlocphy=9010543&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvocijid=18381081673887298376--&amp;hvqmt=e&amp;hvrand=18381081673887298376&amp;hvtargid=kwd-2634864679192&amp;hydadcr=22567_13821264&amp;keywords=massively+better+healthcare&amp;mcid=f365f1e6a6a43f7da48ff2e5797713fc&amp;qid=1760985593&amp;sr=8-1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Massively Better Healthcare</em></strong></a> is out now!</p><p>—</p><p>Rock Health's annual <a href=\"https://www.digitalhealthceosummit.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">CEO Summit</a> is returning to the New York Stock Exchange on March 27th! Learn more and nominate a CEO to join this invite-only event <a href=\"https://www.digitalhealthceosummit.com/nominate\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>. </p><p>—</p><p><strong>📍 Connect with us:</strong></p><p><a href=\"https://www.heartofhealthcarepodcast.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Heart of Healthcare website</em></a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-heart-of-healthcare-podcast\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>LinkedIn</em></a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/heartofhealthcarepodcast/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Instagram</em></a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@heartofhealthcarepodcast\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Youtube</em></a></p>","html":"<iframe src=\"https://art19.com/shows/the-heart-of-healthcare/episodes/691dddda-8f07-49ad-9def-45e7e9a62dbd/embed\" style=\"width: 720px; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" width=\"720\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"></iframe>","provider_name":"ART19","provider_url":"https://art19.com","title":"📣 Digital Health Download: March 2026","type":"rich","version":"1.0","width":720,"height":200}