Israel Active

Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a targeted method of delivering locked nucleic acids (LNAs) using lipid nanoparticles, achieving therapeutic effect against inflammatory bowel disease in preclinical models - without side effects. It could also be used for heart diseases, and Parkinson’s.

Prof. Abd Al-Roof Higazi of Hadassah Medical Center has developed ClearPlasma, a device that removes clot-dissolving proteins from donated plasma to quickly stop bleeding, His startup Plas-Free is now marketing ClearPlasma in Israel. Blood loss is the leading cause of death in under-45s.   

Israel’s NeuroKaire (previously Genetika+ see ) has launched BrightKaire, the world’s first blood test to personalize depression treatment. It uses AI and stem cell tech to match patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to effective medications. Approved in US and Israel.

Members and supporters of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, pledged $23 million for Hadassah Medical Organization, its Jerusalem medical center, as well as programs in Israel and the US. It includes $5 million for a neurorehabilitation center and $3 million for IVF.

Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute, and Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, have discovered the cause of cachexia – deadly weight loss responsible for roughly one-third of global cancer deaths. Targeted blockade of the right vagus nerve could prevent onset of cachexia.

Israel’s MediWound (see previously) has successfully completed a Phase III trial that shows its EscharEx topical, non-surgical treatment to wound bed preparation ensures a much quicker recovery for venous leg ulcers. Trials on diabetic foot ulcers are being planned.

Surgeons at Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center performed Israel's first-ever minimally invasive brain surgery through the eye socket. Surgeons successfully removed a rare skull base tumor without the need to open the skull.

24 years ago, Prof Simcha Yagel delivered premature baby Ruhama, weighing just 495 grams, at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital. Ruhama has just returned to the same hospital – to give birth to her first child – a boy.  And Prof Yagel was present at that delivery too.

Israel’s OncoHost (see previously) has been selected as the Top Precision Oncology Solution for 2025 by Life Sciences Review. OncoHost’s PROphet® predicts how a specific immunotherapy treatment will perform on a cancer patient, from a single blood sample.

The US FDA has approved generic liraglutide injection from Israel’s Teva. It copies Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Saxenda, which costs over $1,300 per month. Liraglutide mimics the body’s glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, suppressing appetite and triggering insulin release for up to 24 hours.