Pharmaceutical distribution, a GLP-1 🧵, health system VCs and the HSBC report.

Healthcare through a Kentucky lens. It's niche. But neat!

Author

Andrew Steen
July 21, 2026

Y’all, my homeboy John Barker got me an Argentina kit on a trip to Argentina back when you thought Messi meant lacking neatness or precision.

 

Pharma Distribution

“For logistics providers, the changing pipeline is altering both the products moving through distribution networks and the infrastructure needed to support them.”

The New Era of Pharma Distribution: Balancing Precision and Scale

News|Articles|July 14, 2026

www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/the-new-era-of-pharma-distribution-balancing-precision-and-scale

This is a core topic for Louisville. Also, we discussed biologistics tech in the newsletter a few weeks back. Revisit it.

GLP-1 Usage

“Brand-name GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic or Wegovy comprise 68% of current usage,” according to this Gallup report.

In U.S., GLP-1 Usage Reaches New High

GLP-1 medications for weight loss continue to grow in popularity: 15% of U.S. adults have now tried them, as obesity rates continue to decline.

Gallup.com • Gallup, Inc.

If you missed our conversation with Todd Hobbs, MD, why? Anyway, he was on the launch teams for Ozempic and Wegovy. Now is your chance to listen, in context of the above and below articles.

Health Distilled with Todd Hobbs

Andy Steen talks to Russell, KY native Todd Hobbs, MD about his career in big pharma and small biotech.

Liverpool Lane

"In an odd quirk of events, Kentucky is now recognized as having the greatest use of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP 1) agonists per capita in the country," Thomas James wrote for Greater Louisville Medical Society's Louisville Medicine magazine in March 2025.

Inflammaging

Just interesting.

Dietary bioactive compounds and inflammaging: Pro-inflammatory triggers and geroprotective countermeasures - PubMed

Pro-inflammatory dietary components activate nuclear factor-kappa B pathways, while geroprotective compounds demonstrate potent anti-inflammatory properties through multiple mechanisms: polyphenols (quercetin, EGCG, resveratrol, curcumin) inhibit pro-inflammatory signaling and activate sirtuin and N …

PubMed

Durham, NC-based medical device company

410 Medical Raises $12M in Funding

By FinSMEs - July 14, 2026

www.finsmes.com/2026/07/410-medical-raises-12m-in-funding.html?ref=hypepotamus.com

Interesting because of this:

The round was led by Orlando Health Ventures, with participation from Hatteras Venture Partners, Ballad Health, OSF Healthcare, Rex Health Ventures, CU Healthcare Innovations Fund, Sarnova, Catalyst by Wellstar, Tampa General, and a new undisclosed strategic investor.

Multiple health systems participated in the round.

HSBC Venture Healthcare Report

Mid-Year Report 2026. As always there is so much good data in here. But I’ll stick to this page on most active healthtech investors—my callouts under the “Corporate” column. Why?

Memorial Hermann, UPMC and Intermountain Health are health systems.

UPMC has invested in RAAPID, Inc., which is headquartered in Louisville.

Larry Renfro, Managing Partner of Optum Ventures, received his Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University.

Marcia Eisenberg—Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President at Labcorp—received her PhD from the University of Kentucky.

C’mon. Be a part.

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