• District of Columbia: The Trump administration is planning to incinerate over $9.7 million worth of contraceptives originally funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The contraceptives include birth control pills, shots, implants, and IUDs and have been in a warehouse in Belgium after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to freeze foreign aid and shut down USAID. In a statement, the Department of State said that it had made a "preliminary decision" to destroy birth control products that induce abortions. However, the New York Times reported that none of the supplies registered for storage in the warehouse fit that description. USAID is also not allowed under the law to purchase products that induce abortions. According to The Hill, European governments and activist groups have criticized the decision to destroy the supplies, with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) saying that doing so will leave an estimated 1.4 million children and adults across Africa without access to life-saving care. "This decision to destroy ready-to-use commodities is appalling and extremely wasteful," said Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, Africa regional director of the IPPF. (O'Connell-Domenech, The Hill, 8/8)
• Massachusetts: Philips recently announced that it plans to invest over $150 million in U.S. manufacturing and research and development. The investment will be used to help expand the production of AI-enabled health technology. Currently, Philips plans to expand its Reedsville, Pennsylvania, facility, which manufactures ultrasound machines for hospitals, as well as its image-guided therapy facility in Plymouth, Minnesota. Both expansions are expected to generate over 100 new jobs. These new investments will expand Philips' existing footprint, which includes 40 facilities and almost 17,000 employees across all 50 states. The $150 million investment is also on top of the $900 million the company already invests in U.S. research and development annually. (Dyrda, Becker's Hospital Review, 8/15)
• Massachusetts: A new blood test developed by researchers at Mass General Brigham can detect HPV-associated throat cancer with 99% accuracy. Currently, there is no test to detect early-stage cases of HPV-associated throat cancer, which means most cases are detected and diagnosed after the cancer has already spread to lymph nodes in the neck. In a study, the efficacy of the blood test, called HPV-DeepSeek, was compared to that of other blood tests and tissue biopsy. Overall, HPV-DeepSeek was able to identify patients with or without throat cancer with 99% accuracy. In comparison, other methods had between 82% and 90% accuracy. Currently, the researchers are studying how well the test can detect other types of HPV-associated cancers and working to improve its sensitivity. (Gregerson, Becker's Hospital Review, 8/20)

To help oncology providers mitigate the impact of delayed cancer screenings due to the pandemic, Advisory Board hosted its first-ever Cancer Screening Innovation Showcase. This was a collaborative effort to identify and share the industry’s most creative and effective strategies to improve cancer screening. At the showcase, nine organizations presented cancer screening strategies they’ve implemented to oncology peers. Learn more about the 9 innovative stategies for increasing your cancer screening volumes.