PARIS – Bellaseno GmbH recently completed a phase I trial of its Senella absorbable soft tissue reconstruction scaffold on an Australian patient with congenital pectus excavatum.

LONDON – A large scale population study has shown that home self-testing with low-cost lateral flow diagnostics is a valid way of tracking the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 105,651 people across the U.K. tested themselves for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with a fingerprick blood test as part of the REACT (REaltime Assessment of Community Transmission) study.

PARIS – Integragen SA and OncoDNA SA have signed a tender offer agreement anticipating a takeover bid. Gosselies, Belgium-based OncoDNA will purchase 100% of the shares of Integragen, floated on the Euronext Paris Euronext Growth Markets, at a unit price of $2.60, valuing the latter’s share capital at $17.2 million.

PARIS – France’s Medical Device and Health Technology Evaluation Committee (CNEDiMTS), has published it latest annual activity report. This committee of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) evaluates medical devices with a view to their coverage by L’Assurance Maladie, the body which manages health care in France.

PARIS – Inheart SAS completed its first funding round of $4.2 million to improve cardiac arrhythmia treatment using medical imaging, artificial intelligence and digital simulation. This fund round was led by Elvia Partners SAS, a Parisian investment fund managed by Xavier Lazarus specializing in deep tech, and Aquitaine Science Transfer, a company accelerating technology transfer, from the University of Bordeaux.

Royal Philips NV reported a 6% decline in year-to-year sales for the second quarter of 2020. While delays in elective procedures suppressed sales in the Amsterdam-based company’s diagnostics and treatment division, the virus boosted demand for connected care and minimized the impact of the coronavirus for the company compared to many competitors.

The Xpert MTB/XDR test developed by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and Cepheid Inc. quickly indicates whether a patient has a dangerous – and rapidly increasing – strain of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (TB). The new test enables clinicians to return results in 90 minutes and see immediately whether the pathogen would respond to standard first- or second-line therapies.

PARIS – Affluent Medical SA recently raised $17.8 million in new financing. This will be used to bring forward the clinical program for its minimally invasive implants, designed to restore physiological function in patients suffering from structural heart disease as well as urinary incontinence.

LONDON – An independent U.K. inquiry has found that failure to take seriously concerns raised by patients has resulted in life-threatening problems caused by medical devices and drugs being ignored for decades.