Other news to note for Sept. 24, 2020
Apteryx Imaging Inc., a subsidiary of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Planet DDS, entered an agreement with Germany-based Trestle GmbH to co-develop a set of software modules using artificial intelligence and deep machine learning designed to address diagnostic use cases in the dental imaging space.
Irvine, Calif.-based Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc. said that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has decided to institute a review regarding the validity of six patents from Dublin-based Medtronic plc that Axonics is contesting.
Bay Area Health Trust, of Hamilton, Ontario, reported an exclusive licensing agreement for the McMaster Molecular Medium (MMM) with McMaster University. Developed by researchers from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Disease Diagnostics and Development Group, MMM will aim to enable labs to safely increase their COVID testing capacity.
San Diego-based Bionano Genomics Inc. said that Mvz Martinsried, a clinical diagnostics service provider in Germany, received accreditation for the use of Bionano’s digital cytogenetics platform, Saphyr, for laboratory-developed tests as a component of testing services moving forward. Approval was awarded by Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH, the national accreditation body for the Federal Republic of Germany.
Sydney-based Cardiex Ltd. has entered a commercial partnership agreement with Beijing-based consumer electronics and artificial intelligence (AI) company Mobvoi, expanding an existing joint development agreement from 2019. Under the agreement, the two will launch a new consumer smartwatch with heart and arterial health management features. Under the agreement, Mobvoi will develop the hardware and firmware for the new smartwatch, while Cardiex will integrate a proprietary algorithm feature set based on the company’s Arty health analytics platform. The new smartwatch, targeted for release in the first quarter of 2021, will feature heart stress, arterial age, exercise capacity and Arty Score, together with active community and AI-powered health coaching services.
Clinifusion, of Phoenix, has formed a strategic partnership with Charlottesville, Va.-based Caretaker Medical Inc., a wireless patient monitoring company that has said it has transformed bulky, spot-check monitoring with continuous blood pressure and vital signs from a finger cuff. The partnership aims to streamline the capture of real-time patient data into a scalable IOS and Windows platform, according to the companies.
Co-Diagnostics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based molecular diagnostics company, said that its Logix Smart ABC Test (Influenza A/Influenza B/COVID-19) is anticipated to be ready for launch to U.S. CLIA laboratory customers the first week of October.
Waltham, Mass.-based Cytel Inc. has widened the geographical scope of the TOGETHER trial, which is aiming to identify early COVID-19 interventions in underserved low- and middle-income country populations. The expansion consists of two new sites in South Africa to complement those actively recruiting in Brazil and the U.S.
Electrocore Inc., of Basking Ridge, N.J., has entered an exclusive agreement with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Upscript LLC, through which the latter will serve as the exclusive online telehealth provider for Gammacore Sapphire Cv.
Houston-based testing and screening provider Imaware is partnering with Halo Diagnostics LLC, of Indian Wells, Calif., to promote early detection and connect patients to the latest advances in prostate cancer diagnostics and treatment solutions.
Innovheart srl, which has a presence in Milan, Italy, and Newton, Mass., reported the successful first-in-human implantation of its Saturn transcatheter mitral valve, along with excellent results at the 30-day follow-up for the patient, a 72-year-old male suffering from severe functional mitral regurgitation.
Integumen, of York, U.K., reported progress for its COVID-19 wastewater detection system, Microtox Pd, in collaboration with Modern Water plc, Avacta Group plc and Aptamer Group Ltd., all of which are based in the U.K. The company also unveiled a new personalized COVID-19 breath test, Microtox Bt, and its complementary Digital Health Pass platform.
Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA) received the first payment of €20 million (US$23.3 million) from Cgn Dasheng Electron Accelerator Technology Co. Ltd., of Suzhou, China. The payment follows the Aug. 26 signing of a strategic licensing deal with Cgn Nuclear Technology Development Co. Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary Cgn Dasheng, for the exclusive rights to IBA’s Proteus Plus technology in China. The overall minimum deal value to IBA is €100 million.
Austin-based Luminex Corp. has received a $683,500 award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to support the enhancement of its Xmap SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen IgG assay. The company plans to submit the enhanced serology assay for emergency use authorization by the U.S. FDA once the project is completed. The company also said it had received almost $5.4 million from BARDA to conduct product development work and complete a 510(k) filing for Luminex’s expanded Nxtag respiratory pathogen panel, which includes the SARS-CoV-2 virus for high-throughput COVID-19 testing.
Montage Health, of Monterey, Calif., revealed a medical surgical distribution agreement with Northfield, Ill.-based Medline Industries Inc., which will exclusively provide a portfolio of essential medical supplies and solutions to the Monterey Peninsula region to help enhance patient outcomes and streamline supply chain operations. Montage Health returned to Medline after partnering with another distributor for the past three years. The new agreement is valued at $20 million.
Oncotracker Inc., of West Hollywood, Calif., and The Binding Site Group Ltd., of Birmingham, U.K., have entered a global license and collaboration agreement to develop a clinical laboratory test for measuring solubilized B-cell maturation antigen (sBCMA), which has shown promise in monitoring and predicting outcomes for patients with common blood-based cancers. Under the agreement, The Binding Site Group gains exclusive rights to develop and commercialize an sBCMA test for multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other conditions. Oncotracker, which holds patented technology regarding the testing of this biomarker for multiple myeloma patients, will continue to support The Binding Site’s sBCMA research and medical affairs efforts.
Pharmaseal International Ltd., of Nottingham, U.K., hit the £1 million (US$1.3 million) milestone in a crowdfunding campaign to raise capital aimed at advancing next-generation technology to improve the efficiency of clinical trials on a global scale. The company will use the funds toward commercialization and product development of its Engility platform.
Procept Biorobotics Corp., of Redwood City, Calif., reported that National Government Services (NGS) is the first Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) to establish a final coverage policy for aquablation therapy delivered by its Aquabeam Robotic System for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The final policy from NGS, effective Nov. 1, follows recently issued proposed positive coverage polices from five additional MACs that, once final, will allow Medicare patients access to aquablation therapy across the U.S.
Oakland, Calif.-based Riffyn Inc. is partnering with the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology and Synbicite’s London Biofoundry to bring Riffyn’s cloud-based process data system, Riffyn Nexus, to the public synthetic biology research community in the U.K. The multigroup collaboration will establish process-driven research methodologies at Imperial College through doctoral education and by equipping the school’s biofabrication facilities with a digital framework for laboratory automation and data analytics.
SAP SE (Systems, Applications, Products), of Waldorf, Germany, reported that Terumo America Holding, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Terumo Corp., successfully implemented SAP S/4Hana and several other solutions across multiple sites. Terumo initiated the project as part of a digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swiss Medical Group Holding SA, of Vaud, Switzerland, reported the acquisition of Geneva-based Coremedica Europe, with an eye toward expanding into Europe and the rest of the world. No financial details were disclosed.
South San Francisco-based Veracyte Inc. said that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory Test status for its Envisia Genomic Classifier. The test helps to improve diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases.
Published at Thu, 24 Sep 2020 22:52:30 +0000