What We're Reading: Canada Sets Biologics Naming Rules; Heath Trackers and Employee Privacy; IVF and Embryos

Health Canada Announces Suffix-Free Biologic and Biosimilar Naming Convention

Connected Health Trackers May Give Data to Insurance Companies, Employers

Who Gets Donated Embryos Through Federal Funds May Leave Some Out

Health Canada announced that all biologics, including biosimilars, will be identified by their brand names and nonproprietary names without the addition of a product-specific suffix, The Center for Biosimilars^® reported. The regulator said that both the brand name and nonproprietary name of any biologic product should be used at all times so that products that share the same nonproprietary name can be differentiated by their brands.A boom in the use of connected health and fitness monitors (such as those made by Fitbit, Garmin, and Apple) that are connected to insurance plans and employers is providing an increasingly valuable source of workforce health intelligence, raising privacy concerns, and adding a new dimension to the worker-employer relationship, The Washington Post reported. The information is not covered by federal privacy rules, and when it’s combined with other data, employees are giving up more insights than they realize.As the number of spare embryos from in vitro fertilization rises, giving birth with donated embryos is becoming more popular, although many of the agencies that provide donated embryos are supported by federal funds and restrict whom they help. The New York Times reported that it's a trend among couples who oppose abortion and are struggling with infertility; many of the agencies that offer donated embryos are affiliated with anti-abortion rights or Christian organizations, leading some people to question whether single people, gay couples, and others who might be interested could be missing out.