Israel Active

This article describes the life-saving work of the charity Belev Echad (see previously).  It facilitates the recovery of wounded men and women of the IDF through physical, medical, legal, emotional and financial support. And sometimes it requires a miracle.

This article features medical clowns alleviating both physical and mental suffering - for children and adults. (Aside, I went to see a friend in hospital recently who was visited by clowns while he was on a video call to his work office. “You’re at the circus!” his colleagues exclaimed.)

Israel’s Omnix Medical (see previously) has completed Phase 1 trials of its lead antimicrobial, nature-derived, peptide OMN6 on 80 patients to show its safety. It is now starting Phase 2 FDA-approved clinical trials to establish its efficacy, especially on superbugs.

Israel’s Raphael announced positive proof-of-concept clinical study results of its HPC1 non-psychoactive cannabinoid-based formula developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. 12 adult participants reported lower pain levels and better sleep quality.

Israel’s Brain.Q (see previously) has received the CE-Mark for its BQ 2.0 system, designed to reduce disability following ischemic stroke, the number one cause of disability worldwide. Brain.Q is also enrolling in the EMAGINE II pivotal study to seek US-FDA clearance.

The US FDA has granted Fast Track Designation to Israel’s BioGenCell (see previously) for the development of BGC101 – its lead candidate for treating severe Critical Limb Threatening Ischemia (CLTI).

Israel recently held the 2024 conference on innovation in interventional cardiology (ICI) for the 29th year in Tel Aviv. Levron Medical won the $200,000 Jon de Haan Innovation award for its Cardio-Respiratory Physiological Assist  (CRPA) Treatment..

The new Mor Institute's Be'er Sheva branch allows residents to get cancer screening, low-radiation CT scans, virtual colonoscopies, eye care services such as retina consultations and OCT exams, cardiac tests like Holter monitoring and vascular ultrasounds, bone density tests, and more.

With medicine being so complicated, all major medical centers are establishing programs to help junior doctors improve the quality of treatment and research. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center has established its “Elite Residency and Training Center” for 100+ doctors learning a specialty annually.

Israel Prize winner, Weizmann Institute’s Prof. Michal Schwartz and her research team are working on a groundbreaking treatment to boost immune cells relevant to the brain, cure brain diseases, and slow the aging process. Schwartz founded Israel’s ImmunoBrain (see previously).