Israel Active

The US FDA has granted clearance to Israel’s Ossio for its OSSIOfiber family of bio-integrative bone pins, which secure broken bones during the healing process while leaving no permanent hardware behind.  

Tel Aviv University researchers have uncovered a new pathway that can speed up the search for cures for hundreds of metabolic disorders that are fatal to infants. They have modified yeast cells to generate a toxic build-up of metabolites in the lab, for testing possible therapies.

I’ve reported previously on Israeli medical innovations to boost the immune system to fight diseases. Israeli biotech Biond Biologics is developing a platform to enable antibodies to enter cells, destroy tumors or treat autoimmune diseases. Biond just raised $17 million of funds.

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that the white blood cells called Eosinophils secrete powerfully destructive proteins that can kill tumors. When activated by the protein IFN-gamma, they induced an even greater immunotherapy response and a new anti-cancer pathway.

I reported previously on the innovative NexoBrid treatment for severe burns from Israel’s MediWound. MediWound has just announced positive top line results of its pivotal U.S. Phase 3 clinical study. Dead skin was completely removed from 93% of trial patients.

The therapeutic benefits of medical clowns in Israeli hospitals is undisputed. Last year, Israel’s Education Ministry sanctioned an Educational Clown pilot at three Israeli high schools. It was so successful that this year the project has expanded to six high schools and one primary school.

Israel’s SleepRate uses off-the-shelf sensors such as fitness belts and smartwatches to track sleep patterns and detect sleep problems, offering users personalized coaching for improved sleep. It is partnering with Dutch multinational Philips who will integrate SleepRate into its Better Sleep mobile app.

Israel’s RenalSense is conducting a study using its Clarity RMS critical care renal monitoring system at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The first study stage with 200 patients is complete. Now data will be collected and analyzed from an additional 2000 patients.

Israeli doctors performed a record 592 organ transplants in 2018 - 13% more than in 2017. 258 were from live donors - mostly kidneys, including 106 from non-relatives for altruistic reasons. Dvora Ben Dror, who founded the Adi organ donation card system, passed away recently, aged 93.

The Israeli-developed CAR-T cancer treatment is one of NIS 460 million worth of new treatments added to Israel’s 2019 Health Basket. CAR-T has over 80% success rate, even in terminal cases. The new treatments will benefit an estimated 70,000 Israelis.