Carmat SA said its total artificial heart received the CE mark, and the company plans to ramp up production to enable the launch of the device in the second quarter of 2021. The artificial heart offers a bridge to transplant in patients with end-stage biventricular heart failure. It provides an alternative for individuals for whom maximal medical therapy and left ventricular assist device are insufficient or contraindicated. Read More
Clinical-stage oncology company Nuview Life Sciences Inc. is developing a cancer diagnostic test and treatment delivery system that could reduce the need for costly, less accurate tests and surgical biopsies. The binary – yes/no – test employs a proprietary peptide construct, NV-VPAC1, that targets a specific receptor, called vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor type 1 (VPAC1), that is overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells. Read More
In an exclusive interview with BioWorld on the challenges facing a deeply divided Congress and some of the highlights of his years in the U.S. House, retiring Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said that once the COVID- 19 pandemic is over, federal policymakers should hold a summit with officials from states and major cities to look at a new preparedness partnership that would ensure the availability of strategic medical supplies. Read More
TORONTO – Waterloo, Ontario-based health startup Kenota Inc. has raised $9 million in series A funding to develop an in-clinic allergy test that takes less than 30 minutes and requires only a few drops of blood from a mild finger prick. This brings the total investment to $11 million for a point-of-care system that detects antibodies signaling allergies to egg, milk and peanuts and that will eventually search out environmental allergies to bee stings and shellfish. Read More
HONG KONG – A research team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed a fully automated, low-cost and rapid microrobotic diagnostic system that can be used with multiple pathogens, including COVID-19. The system works by integrating fluorescent microrobots with an external magnetic actuation system to detect pathogens in patient samples. Read More
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Agilent, Carmat, Interscope, Quidel. Read More
Keeping you up to date on recent developments in orthopedics, including: Remote monitoring leads to fourfold decline in returns to hospital after joint surgery; Researchers identify rare genetic bone disorder through massive sequencing methods; Orthogrid Systems says data support the use of its technology for orthopedic surgery; Exercise may protect bone health after weight loss surgery. Read More