Israel Active

Israel’s Teva has signed an agreement with Galena Biopharma to take its NeuVax early stage breast cancer treatment through its last stage trials and through to sales. Israel will be the location of at least four clinical trial sites for the NeuVax Phase III trials.

Doctors at Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical Center have saved the arm of a man wounded in the Grad missile attack in Kiryat Malachi by Gaza terrorists. Boris Chomeh’s arm had been severed in the explosion in which three Israelis were killed and a baby seriously injured.

The annual Innovations in Cardiovascular Interventions conference in Tel Aviv brought together 1100 participants from 40 countries to hear about the latest in ground breaking medical technology. Israeli companies produce 50% of the innovations that address the most vital organ in the human body.

Researchers from Israel’s Weizmann have uncovered the process that bacteria deploys to remove antibiotics from cells. The discovery sheds new light on the ability of bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance.

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered how the malaria infection works. The deadly Plasmodium falciparum strain only reveals its 60 destructive genes to the body’s immune system one at a time. Uncovering its mask may lead to new treatments.

In the past week, eight patients received organs from people aged 70 to 80. Israel Transplant reported that since January, eight elderly Israelis, some of whom are over 75 and nearing 80, were the source of life-saving organs. With improved lifestyles and hi-tech scanners, fewer organs are rejected.

(Thanks to NoCamels) Ben Gurion University researchers have discovered that the leaves and roots of the yellow water-lily (nuphar lutea) have an inhibitory effect on a protein that causes inflammation. This could lead to Inflammatory Bowel Disease medication and cancer prevention.

During trials by Israel’s Can-Fite BioPharma of its anti-inflammatory CF101 medication, the company discovered that the active ingredient is suitable for treating impotence. Can-Fite only found this out when they noticed that patients were not returning all the drugs at the end of the trial.

The US Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is funding five Israeli researchers up to $130,000 per year each for up to three years toward investigations into Type 1 diabetes (T1D), which affects an estimated three million individuals in the United States alone.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have isolated rare replicating cells from the livers of mice. This may eventually help develop treatments to increase the cells that produce insulin for diabetics and reduce cell proliferation in cancerous tumours.