Preventive medicine hasn’t always had the backing of hard data, but research into genomics at the U.S. National Institutes of Health may soon change that. Evan Eichler of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute said on a recent NIH webinar that phased genome assembly may allow medical science to efficiently treat diseases caused by genetic disorders, but will also enable preventive medicine, the holy grail of those who seek to restrain the ever-increasing cost of medical care.

Hologic Inc. is teaming up with Google Cloud to use machine learning technologies to improve the accuracy and timeliness of cytology for cervical cancer screening. Marlborough, Mass.-based Hologic, which makes both Pap and human papillomavirus (HPV) assays, is already using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in its new digital cytology platform that is available in Europe. The multiyear collaboration with Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Cloud will start with innovating that product further by enhancing the deep learning component of the system.

The Biden administration said it will use the U.S. Defense Production Act to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic in a plan that includes a large increase in vaccine purchases. Also on tap is an increase in production of at-home test by six companies in addition to Ellume Ltd., of Perth, Australia, which will ship more than 8 million of their tests to the U.S. by the end of the year.

Suzhou Basecare Medical Corp. Ltd., a genetic test developer for assisted reproduction, raised HK$1.82 billion (US$235 million) in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Feb. 8, with shares opening nearly 10% higher. The IPO will support the company to continue to develop pre-implantation genetic (PGT) testing products for assisted reproduction.

Infectious diseases diagnostics company Lucira Health Inc. launched an IPO of 9 million shares of common stock at $17 per share, for expected gross proceeds of $153 million. Friday’s Wall Street debut was a show of confidence, upsized from an original plan to offer 7.8 million shares at $15 to $17. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to acquire up to an additional 1,350,000 shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

HONG KONG – Earlysense Ltd. has sold a contact-free continuous monitoring technology to global med-tech provider Hillrom Holdings Inc. Ramat Gan, Israel-based Earlysense will receive licensing for all intellectual property and technology sold to Chicago-based Hillrom for use outside the hospital along with $30 million in cash, commercial milestone payments and a portion of Hillrom's equity investment

PERTH, Australia – Wellington, New Zealand-headquartered Volpara Health Technologies Ltd. has acquired Boston-based CRA Health LLC for $18 million up front and an additional $4 million to be paid over the next 18 months in earnouts. Volpara’s digital health solutions use imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) for early detection of breast cancer. The company’s clinical functions for screening clinics provide feedback on breast density, compression, dose, and quality, while its enterprise-wide practice software management helps with productivity, compliance, reimbursement and patient tracking.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD) reported revenue of $4.32 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, up 25.8% on a reported basis and 24.3% on a currency neutral basis. COVID-19 testing contributed 20.5% of that growth, totaling $867 million for the period, including $688 million in Veritor Plus system sales.

In a task made more challenging by COVID-19, the EU and the World Health Organization are rolling out separate plans to take down cancer in Europe. The European Commission Feb. 3 announced its Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the first comprehensive European cancer initiative in nearly 30 years. A day later, WHO/Europe launched its United Action Against Cancer, billing it as a “pan-European cancer movement” to galvanize support and cooperation from grassroots to governments with the long-term goal of eliminating cancer as a life-threatening disease in the region.