Researchers Develop Arthritis Vaccine + Medtronic Expands Recall on Insulin Pumps – Xtalks Life Science Podcast Ep. 32

In this episode, Ayesha talks about World Arthritis Day, which is on October 12 every year, with this year’s theme being raising awareness about early diagnosis. In addition to timely diagnosis, there may soon be a preventative vaccine for inflammatory arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers at the University of Toledo have developed a vaccine against inflammatory arthritis that has shown promise in animal models. The team talked about how a vaccine for arthritis is a somewhat novel and exciting concept and whether such a vaccine would be universally available, or only administered to certain demographics based on age and other risk factors for the disease.

The editorial team also discussed Medtronic’s expanded recalls of the remote controllers for certain models of its MiniMed insulin pumps over cybersecurity concerns, as well as its 600 series insulin pumps due to a faulty retainer ring. The recalls affect almost half a million devices combined. The potential cybersecurity risk associated with the remote controllers could under- or over-deliver insulin to patients if an unauthorized user hacks into the system. The team discussed how there should be better contact methods and potentially centralized systems for drug and medical device recalls as many consumers may be left unaware that they have an affected product.