This Sam Altman-Backed $1.8 Billion Startup Bets AI Can Get Drugs Through Clinical Trials Faster Formation Bio CEO Ben Liu is convinced that drug discovery isn’t the bottleneck in getting medicines to market—it’s going through clinical trials. Now he’s raised some $615 million from top investors ...

My latest @forbes.com feature looks at $1.8B startup Formation Bio, which is making a big bet that AI can push clinical trials faster.

“What we think the world has wrong is that drug discovery is the bottleneck,” says cofounder and CEO Ben Liu.

www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...

Connie Ballmer Gives $80 Million to NPR Amid Trump Funding Cuts A pair of donors is giving National Public Radio $113 million to invest in its long-term infrastructure as the media network grapples with funding cuts from the Trump administration.

Connie Ballmer --wife of megabillionaire and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer-- is stepping up with a big donation to NPR, @bloomberg.com reports: #billionaires #philanthropy

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

If you own Fidelity Contrafund or Blue Chip Growth Fund in your 401k, you’re making a big bet on Elon Musk’s SpaceX whether you realize it or not

This Pill May Help Pancreatic Cancer Patients Live Longer In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at the top self-made healthcare entrepreneurs, the latest 30 Under 30 Science & Healthcare list, and more.

In this week’s @forbes.com InnovationRx newsletter, @thealexknapp.bsky.social and I look at:
—RevMed’s pancreatic cancer pill
—self-made healthcare entrepreneurs
—30 Under 30 Europe science & health
—-and more!

www.forbes.com/sites/innova...

Much more interested in the buyers, Alen Mamrout & family, and their history of snapping up distressed brands than in yet another idiotic meme stock

Whistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new book Read an exclusive excerpt from Nicholas Enrich's "Into the Wood Chipper"

NEW—I got an exclusive excerpt from a USAID whistleblower's new book that made me gasp multiple times. It details Trump's dismantling of the humanitarian aid agency & his team/DOGE's shocking ignorance to public health.

'Into the Wood Chipper' by Nicholas Enrich is out tomorrow. Read excerpt here:

What The Pitt Gets Right about Health Policy Foreshadowing the deadly consequences of Trump's Medicaid policies

New with @pamherd.bsky.social: While never mentioning Trump or political parties, the show’s second season offers an almost-real time commentary on how policy changes are affecting health.
Lets take one particular example of Medicaid coverage loss. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-the-p...

Pulmonary fibrosis-focused biotech Avalyn filed to go public to fund late-stage clinical trials.

My dad had IPF so seeing any potential new drugs for this miserable disease is personal.

endpoints.news/pulmonary-fi...

Hegseth’s Divine War The U.S. defense secretary is using the military to promote Christian nationalism, experts say.

Worth reading on Hegseth’s Christian nationalism

foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/08/p...

Trump’s New Pharmaceutical Tariffs Will Hit Small Drugmakers Hardest In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at the first robotic cataract surgeries in humans, the underbelly of marketing compounded GLP-1s, and more.

In the latest edition of our healthcare newsletter, InnovationRx, @amyfeldman7.bsky.social and I look at Trump’s pharmaceutical tariffs, the first robotic cataract surgeries in humans, the underbelly of marketing compounded GLP-1s, and more.

www.forbes.com/sites/innova...

Trump’s Personnel Agency Is Asking for Federal Workers’ Medical Records - KFF Health News The administration is asking insurers that cover federal employees and retirees to hand over details about their medical visits, their pharmacy claims, and more.

The Trump admin is quietly seeking unprecedented access to federal workers’ medical records

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages A key issue is protections against layoffs from AI

New: 150 unionized ProPublica workers are on strike TODAY over AI, layoff protections, wages, and more.

They're asking readers to not visit ProPublica or engage with content on other platforms. It's the first work stoppage of its kind at the newsroom.

www.theverge.com/news/908401/...

$2 million per ship — to cross a Strait that was free six weeks ago.

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/w...

In other words:

US doesn’t attack — Iran doesn’t respond.
Iran’s military controls the strait.

This is worse than what it was before it all started, and there’s no peaceful way out of it.

“The Art of The Deal”.

Utah Lets AI Renew Psychiatric Prescriptions Autonomously Utah became the first U.S. state to authorize an AI system to independently renew psychiatric drug prescriptions, launching a one-year pilot with Legion Health.

The next test of AI prescribing in Utah: psych med renewals

neuralnetworkworld.com/utah-ai-psyc...

Medical supplies are stuck in Dubai, as clinics around the world face shortages The war in Iran has slowed down international shipping, much of which contains medical and humanitarian goods destined for Asia and Africa.

The war in Iran has slowed down international shipping, much of which contains medical and humanitarian goods destined for Asia and Africa. n.pr/4c3LUaY

Snake Bros Keep Getting Bitten by Their Lethal Pets. Only Zoos Can Save Them Your venomous serpent bites you, and the clock is ticking. America’s zookeepers—and a cooler full of rare antivenom—are your best chance of survival.

Snake bros 🤦🏻‍♀️ www.wired.com/snake-bros-a...

Why The Federal Government Wants Agentic AI To Treat Heart Failure In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look the billionaire dentist, Wegovy by subscription, Kailera’s planned IPO, and more.

In this week’s @forbes.com health newsletter, we look at ARPA-H’s plan to use agentic AI to treat heart failure, a disease where few get the right treatment

“Can it be better than the status quo? I think the answer is yes,” says program manager Dr. Haider Warraich

www.forbes.com/sites/innova...

Why These Investment Firms Bet $400 Million On A Chinese Ozempic Rival Kailera jumped the weight loss miracle-drug line by licensing four clinical-stage obesity therapies from China, which is quickly emerging as a powerhouse pharmaceutical R&D center.

As Kailera files for an IPO today, my profile of the company last year @forbes.com

www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...

They’re Rich but Not Famous—and They’re Suddenly Everywhere The number of Americans worth eight or even nine figures is up markedly. It’s transforming the U.S. economy.

430,000 US households have amassed $30M or more

www.wsj.com/economy/weal...

The Iran War Could Make Your Next MRI More Expensive In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at a serial entrepreneur’s effort to build an FDA-approved AI doctor, Pfizer’s lyme disease vaccine, and more.

In this week’s @forbes.com healthcare newsletter w/ @thealexknapp.bsky.social:
—why the Iran war may make your MRI more expensive
—an FDA-approved AI doctor?
—Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine

www.forbes.com/sites/innova...

“I want to fix the ‘I am not a doctor’ problem by building AI that is recognized by the FDA and recognized by the states.”

@forbes.com

An average of 50+ U.S. citizen kids *a day* with a parent pulled into detention

This Startup Is Building An AI Doctor To Treat Common Ailments Like UTIs And Sore Throats Certuma launched out of stealth with $10 million in funding from 8VC and a grand plan to make AI smart enough — and safe enough — to actually diagnose and prescribe treatments. Now he needs to figure ...

Serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky built North America’s largest chain of fertility clinics. Now he wants to build the first FDA-approved AI doctor

My latest @forbes.com

www.forbes.com/sites/amyfel...

👇

Amazing portraits by Malian photographer Seydou Keita @ the Brooklyn Museum

After 10 years editing the @forbes.com Next Billion-Dollar Startups list, this year @richardnieva.bsky.social is taking it on. Send him your best ideas for companies (in any industry) that could be the next unicorns!

The World’s Richest Shipper Is An Unlikely Winner From Iran War Forbes found that shipping tycoon Gianluigi Aponte is the true buyer of several tankers bought by South Korean firm Sinokor. With rates soaring, that seems a smart bet.

1/ When a little-known Korean company started buying up dozens of tankers, rumors emerged that the purchases were backed by shipping tycoon Gianluigi Aponte. A
@forbes.com investigation confirmed that Aponte is indeed the true buyer of many of those ships.
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...

Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/u...

Why The CDC's Vaccine Committee Won't Meet This Week In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at Roche’s big AI drug development bet, an E. coli outbreak in raw milk cheddar, R1 Therapeutics’ $78 million raise, and more.

In this week’s @forbes.com health newsletter, @thealexknapp.bsky.social and I look at
—the legal ruling against RFK Jr’s vaccine agenda
—Roche’s big AI drug development bet
—an E. coli outbreak in raw cheddar
—and more!

www.forbes.com/sites/innova...