Israel Active

ProSpecBio has launched its latest product: CHO cell–derived recombinant Activin-A, now available for immediate delivery worldwide.  Activin-A is increasingly recognized as a potential therapeutic agent for conditions such as brain injury and inflammatory diseases.

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University are working on Project HepaModulatoR with the University of Tübingen, Germany to correct damaged RNA causing chronic liver diseases. They have been awarded a multi-million Euro grant from the European Research Council.

Israeli researchers have discovered that ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) patients produce less microRNA-126 than normal individuals. This allows the protein TDP-43 to build up and destroy motor neurons. When microRNA-126 is added, the process reverses. Jon Medved now has ALS.

Doctors at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center have performed the world's first robotic-assisted keyhole intestinal surgery on a woman in advanced (32nd week of) pregnancy, saving having to open her abdomen. The baby went to full term and was delivered naturally.

Teva is opening a call for startups in Israel and abroad as part of its new Rise program, offering full funding for pilots, rapid integration and support, in a move to accelerate therapy development and supply-chain efficiency.

Nefesh B’Nefesh, in partnership with other Agencies, hosted the first-ever MedEx (Aliyah preparation for medics) events in Canada, alongside the Nefesh B’Nefesh’s signature “NBN On Tour” programming. The events attracted 500 participants.

Doctors at Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus solved a puzzling case of two 16-year- old Israelis who arrived with deteriorating vision and recurring fever. They had rappelled into a cave infested with ticks carrying Borrelia persica. Both are now recovering with antibiotic and steroid therapy.

Israel’s Precise Bio (see previously) has reported the first successful human implantation of its 3D-printed cornea implant, constructed of functional human eye cells cultured in a laboratory. Israel’s Corneat has previously implanted synthetic corneas (see previously).

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have tracked how sandflies spread the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis (see previously).  Their HRM-PCR DNA test identifies the animals and humans that the insect has infected and can help control or prevent epidemics.

Despite the Iranians destroying their lab, an international team of Weizmann scientists have built MiTEs, or natural killer/T-cell Enhancers, to combat cancers. The MiTEs contain special antibiotics and cytokine to block the activity of harmful TREM2 macrophages