Israel Active

(Thanks to Israel21c and Globes) Elelyso – a new treatment for Gaucher’s disease, from Israel’s Protalix BioTherapeutics, is set to hit pharmacies around the globe, following approval by the American Food and Drug Administration. The drug has been licensed to Pfizer.

In a 48-hour operation, doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital saved the life of a 30-year old woman from Cyprus suffering from an ectopic pregnancy. Her non-viable foetus was discovered behind a kidney and had already damaged blood vessels, causing major bleeding.

25-year-old yeshiva student, Aharon Alexander Goncharov, had been in a coma after he was beaten up in Kiev on the second night of Passover. Following surgery, Goncharov defied all odds and regained consciousness two weeks later, in Tel Aviv’s Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Centre. "I got my life back only because you all prayed for me," he said to his many well-wishers.

Tel Aviv’s MEDinISRAEL June summit will focus on the Asia-Pacific region. It will feature hospital care equipment, diagnostics, monitoring, rehabilitation solutions and technologies for personalised medicine of the future.

ALEH is Israel’s largest network of residential facilities for children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities. It provides over 650 children from around Israel with high-level medical and rehabilitative care to help them reach their greatest potentials. ALEH is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Israel’s Redhill Biopharma announced success in Phase III trials of RHB-102 – a once-a-day pill for the prevention of nausea in cancer patients. Redhill now plans to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for a pre-New Drug Application (NDA) hearing for marketing approval for RHB-102.

Brainsway’s Deep TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) device can make a significant improvement to those suffering from severe depression. In trials on 250 patients, 30.4% of the patients treated with Deep TMS achieved remission, compared with 14.5% of the control group.

Israel’s Prolor Biotech announced positive results in a pre-clinical trial of MOD-6030, its long-acting obesity/Type II diabetes drug. In the laboratory, the drug reduced blood glucose levels, increased insulin sensitivity, and reduced cholesterol levels compared to a placebo.

Israel’s ITGI Medical has obtained EU CE Mark for its latest stent - the AneuGraftNx. The new stent is partially covered by living tissue, greatly reducing the risk of blockages.

A team of researchers, led by Prof. Eli Sprecher of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, has discovered the genetic basis for the serious and sometimes fatal autoimmune skin disease – pemphigus vulgaris. The symptoms of the disease are blistering and sores on the skin and mucus membranes. The team worked together with Egyptian Professor Ibrahim Saleh of the University of Luebeck in Germany.