Israel Active

Israeli biotech Wize Pharma markets Israeli-developed LO2A eye drops for the treatment of ophthalmic disorders, including Dry Eye Syndrome. Wize is now to develop and trial the WP-REP1 gene therapy from Cleveland’s Copernicus for treating the rare eye disease Choroideremia.

Israeli startup Filterlex Medical has received 2.1 million euros from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Filterlex develops an embolic protection device to reduce the risk of stroke and other complications during catheter-based heart procedures.

I reported previously on Israel’s Body Vision Medical when it was producing hi-res maps of the lungs to aid tumor removal. Since then it has developed LungVision - a disposable lung navigation catheter which recently received US FDA approval. The company has also raised $20 million.

I recently reported that Israel’s SofWave had received CE certification for its non-invasive ultrasound technology for skin tightening. It has now also received FDA approval. 86% of a recent trial demonstrated improvement in wrinkle appearance.

I’ve reported previously on Israel’s Healthy.io and its smartphone-based urinalysis for Chronic Kidney Disease. It is now US and EU approved and some 100,000 kits have been sold. Healthy.io has just raised $60 million of funds. (UK Financial Times video)

I’ve reported previously on the diabetes monitors from Israel’s DreaMed. The US FDA has just given approval to DreaMed’s Advisor Pro, to add to its EU approval. The software tells Type 1 diabetics how much insulin to use, without having to contact a physician.

I’ve reported previously about Israel’s UPnRIDE robotic standing wheelchair that allows wheelchair users to travel upright. The US FDA has just cleared the UPnRIDE for marketing and use in the US. Cofounder Dr Amit Goffer is a quadriplegic who uses the UPnRIDE himself.

I reported previously on the twisted spine treatment from Israel’s Apifix. The U.S. FDA has given Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) to Apifix to market its MID-C system. Apifix addresses the unmet clinical need for an alternative to spinal fusion.

Israel’s Kahr Medical plans to begin human trials of its DSP107 treatment on lung cancer patients. It will be tested both standalone and in combination with Roche’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab). DSP107 finds and marks cancer cells, then alerts the immune system and blocks the cancer.

The European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program has awarded a 2.4 million euros grant to Israel’s Tarsius. Tarsius’s new molecule “re-engineers” the immune system to treat autoimmune and inflammatory ocular diseases that can eventually cause blindness.