A large-scale metabolomics study of blood samples from 11,000 people has identified common biological links among a number of chronic non-communicable diseases, opening up the possibility of countering multiple diseases simultaneously.

According to the latest annual overview published by trade association France Biotech, French med-tech, biotech, and e-health companies have adapted rapidly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many French health care companies have faced real difficulties in all areas of procurement, R&D, and sales. As of February, a quarter of these French companies were redirecting their research activity towards the coronavirus.

What started with Austrian regulators suspending use of one batch of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine has expanded into precautionary holds in Denmark and other EU countries as PRAC, the EMA’s safety committee, investigates whether blood clots, which have resulted in at least two deaths in Europe, are connected to the vaccine.

LONDON – New research shows it is possible to diagnose Parkinson’s disease by mass spectrometry analysis of sebum samples taken with a simple skin swab, and that the same technique has potential to be used for diagnosing COVID-19. In a paper published in Nature Communications on March 11, 2021, scientists and clinicians in the U.K. and the Netherlands describe using high resolution mass spectrometry to profile the chemical signature of lipids and other biomarkers in sebum from Parkinson’s patients and show how these exhibit subtle but fundamental changes as the disease progresses.

LONDON – The largest study of its kind to date has identified new biomarkers of inflammation that are both indicators of severe COVID-19 infection and distinguish it from severe influenza.

Mahana Therapeutics Inc. obtained a CE mark for Parallel, a prescription digital therapeutic device to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in conjunction with other IBS treatments. Developed by a team of U.K. psychologists, the three-month program delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via a web-based application.

MIT Media Labs spinoff Empatica Inc. secured the CE mark for its Aura system, a wearable solution for the monitoring and early alert of respiratory infections, including COVID-19. For use with people 14 and older, Aura is commercially available in Europe and the U.K., and for pilot purposes in the U.S. – pending FDA authorization. Aura’s algorithm analyzes vital signs from Empatica smartwatches, comparing data against the wearer’s historical baselines. In validation studies, Aura was able to detect patients with possible H1N1 influenza, rhinovirus or SARS-CoV-2 infection with 0.94 sensitivity. Detection occurred on average two days after infection.

LONDON – The National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K. has agreed to reimburse Zolgensma, the one-off gene therapy treatment for spinal muscular atrophy billed as the most expensive drug in the world, after a confidential deal was struck with Novartis Gene Therapies.

PARIS – Median Technologies SA has unveiled a new clinical development plan for its Ibiopsy platform to provide early diagnosis of lung cancer in at-risk populations using low dose CT scans. Median executives said they hope to demonstrate the potential of deep learning in identifying lung lesions and characterizing them as malignant or benign.