Lev Becker spent about six years studying how to release neutrophile elastase from human neutrophils so it could select cancer cell types that need killing and ignore non-cancer cells. That research eventually led to a recent publication in Cell and the launch of Onchilles Pharma Inc.

LONDON – In a sizeable seed round for a U.K. biotech, Transine Therapeutics Ltd. has raised £9.1 million (US$12.9 million) to take forward a novel method for up-regulating endogenous protein production using a naturally occurring class of long noncoding RNAs.

PERTH, Australia – Emvision Medical Devices Ltd.’s stroke helmet could potentially transform care for stroke patients by treating them at the bedside or before they even get to the hospital. The company’s portable, non-ionizing brain scanner is capable of rapidly producing quality images to help paramedics determine if a stroke is ischemic or hemorrhagic.

Startup Aplife Biotech is tapping into the rapidly growing market for biosensors that can expand the capacity of hand-held devices to screen for thousands of pathologies from a single drop of blood. Using technology developed in Argentina to print DNA structures on microchips, the company’s goal is to screen as many as 20 million probes with the potential to convert molecular interactions into electrical signals, opening a path for med-tech developers and manufacturers to explore new solutions for personalized health care.

Veriskin Inc. has emerged from stealth mode with a noninvasive technology for skin cancer diagnosis and screening. The hand-held device, called Truscore, is designed to help nonexpert users quickly ascertain if a suspicious skin lesion is cancerous. Truscore works by detecting and interpreting force-induced hemodynamic differences between normal and malignant skin sores. It uses a proprietary artificial neural network-based artificial intelligence algorithm and protocols to differentiate skin cancers from other harmless skin conditions.

TORONTO – Startup company Stoko Inc. has raised C$6 million (US$4.74 million) in seed funding to accelerate market expansion of a device it said will give rigid knee braces a run for their money.

PERTH, Australia – Certa Therapeutics Pty Ltd. founder and CEO Darren Kelly knows a thing or two about launching biotech companies. He spun out Fibrotech Therapeutics in 2006 from the University of Melbourne, which was one of the Medical Research Commercialization Fund’s first investments.

While saying "white rabbit, white rabbit" on the first of the month may be a luck-bringing superstition, Whiterabbit.ai aims to take luck out of the equation in identifying early breast malignancies. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company emerged from stealth mode with FDA clearance for its Wrdensity tool, two other products, and more than $49 million in funding to date.

Egnite Inc. emerged from stealth mode in February 2021 with the goal of combining data analytics and digital health technology to illuminate and solve persistent issues in the diagnosis and treatment of structural heart disease. Three months later, it has added artificial intelligence (AI) to its flagship solution, Cardiocare, to drive better diagnosis of aortic stenosis and help physicians predict patient outcomes.

LONDON – In what is claimed as the largest series A for a Danish biotech, Adcendo ApS has raised €51 million (US$61.3 million) to take forward antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drugs aimed at proprietary targets that are involved in cellular recycling processes.