Amazon wants to prevent the common cold with a vaccine

Amazon, the e-commerce giant that continues to increasingly dip its toe into the healthcare space, is reportedly working on a vaccine that could cure the common cold, according to CNBC. The work is a years-long effort with a secret name, “Project Gesundheit,” CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the project.

Amazon has dedicated more than 100 people in its research and development group within AWS called Grand Challenge, with a small subset working on curing the common cold with the goal of developing a vaccine. A vaccine for the common cold has eluded healthcare specialists, but some experts say a treatment is possible.

While Amazon hasn’t publicly acknowledged Grand Challenge, the group is focused on solving significant challenges. And a big breakthrough would mean Amazon built its next big business from within, CNBC reported.

See the full story below:

Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

Around the web

Given the precarious excitement of the moment—or is it exciting precarity?—policymakers and healthcare leaders must set directives guiding not only what to do with AI but also when to do it. 

The final list also included diabetes drugs sold by Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck. The first round of drug price negotiations reduced the Medicare prices for 10 popular drugs by up to 79%. 

HHS has thought through the ways AI can and should become an integral part of healthcare, human services and public health. Last Friday—possibly just days ahead of seating a new secretary—the agency released a detailed plan for getting there from here.