This time a positive result for a cancer screening test brought good news, as Geneoscopy Inc. secured U.S. FDA approval for its RNA screening test for colorectal cancer. The agency based its decision on strong results from the phase III CRC-PREVENT trial in its approval of the noninvasive test for use in individuals aged 45 years and older with average risk for the disease.

Masimo Corp.’s pride and joy, the Stork baby monitor, achieved a new developmental milestone with U.S. FDA clearance for over-the-counter marketing. The agency cleared Stork, which monitors key vital signs including oxygen saturation level, pulse rate and skin temperature, for use on a prescription basis in December. It has been available in the U.S. as a health and wellness device since August 2023.

Cytovale Inc. has posted a feverish run of wins lately. The company gained U.S. FDA clearance for its Intellisep rapid test for sepsis in January 2023, raised $84 million in a series C in November and just published results showing the test has negative predictive value of 97.5%.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. and Pathai Inc. established a forward-looking deal with multiple components and room for growth. The collaboration includes Quest’s acquisition of Pathai Diagnostics – the division that provides anatomic and digital pathology laboratory services – and licensing of Pathai’s Aisight digital pathology image management system. The companies also said they may work together on development of Pathai’s algorithm products and that Quest will be a preferred provider for Pathai’s biopharmaceutical clinical laboratory services.

Epitel Inc. received U.S. FDA clearances for two epilepsy-focused technologies that simplify detection and analysis of seizures in patients with suspected epilepsy. The Remi remote electroencephalogram monitoring system is a wearable device that allows patients to continue with their daily activities for extended periods without the restrictions of wires, while still capturing intermittent seizures. The Remi Vigilenz artificial intelligence system uses machine learning to identify and note seizure events in the Remi EEG records.

Hologic Inc. moved to expand its breast surgery line with the acquisition of Endomagnetics Ltd. (Endomag) for a proposed $310 million. Endomag offers a magnetic system that allows precise localization of tumors in the breast and lymph nodes without the use of radioactive materials or wires, enabling greater preservation of healthy tissue. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024.

Abbott Laboratories received U.S. FDA approval for its Esprit below-the-knee (BTK) everolimus-eluting resorbable scaffold system for use in chronic limb-threatening ischemia well ahead of the expected second half 2024 time frame. Esprit showed clear superiority to angioplasty in the LIFE-BTK trial presented at last year’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In March, the U.S. FDA reported a major shortage of Rhogam, the anti-D immune globulin most widely used to prevent Rh factor incompatibility in pregnancy. Without treatment, second and subsequent pregnancies can be endangered by antibodies created by the mother. With the shortage, the standard treatment of two shots for all pregnant females with Rh-negative blood can be challenging, but Billiontoone Inc.’s Unity prenatal test can eliminate the need for the immune globulin treatment in 40% of these pregnancies.

Hyperfine Inc. aims to simplify monitoring of potentially dangerous adverse events associated with amyloid-targeting therapies with the launch of its Capturing ARIA Risk Equitably with Portable MR observational study. The study will evaluate the benefits of the Swoop portable brain MRI system in acquiring images needed to detect amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in Alzheimer’s patients as specified in product labeling.

Expanse Ice Inc. received U.S. FDA clearance for its Ice Aspiration system, which is designed to clear blood clots in peripheral vessels. The system uses distal cyclical aspiration to “harness the aspiration power typical of a large bore catheter, but within the slender profile of a much smaller device,” Expanse Founder and CEO Eitan Konstantino said.