PERTH, Australia – The British Standards Institute (BSI) granted Sydney-based Oncosil Medical Ltd. European CE marking approval for its brachytherapy device to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy, clearing the way for marketing in both the EU and the U.K. BSI also granted the Oncosil device breakthrough therapy designation.
Prostate cancer affects roughly 1 in 9 American men in their lifetime, with 174,650 new cases reported each year. However, current prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests lack specificity, leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of inconsequential cancers. Cleveland Diagnostics Inc. is looking to change that with its IsoPSA assay, which just received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA. In clinical studies, the noninvasive, blood-based test has been shown to have higher accuracy than standard PSA tests.
Medtronic plc, of Dublin, has had a busy week. On Tuesday, it reported that it had received breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA for its Valiant TAAA stent graft system for the minimally invasive repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA).
Chronic bronchitis affects more than 9 million people in the U.S., but current treatments fail to address the overproduction of mucus. Gala Therapeutics Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., is looking to change that.