Israel Active

When asked what skills he possessed he once said “Other than driving a tractor, none.” Eli Hurvitz went on to found Israel’s Teva Pharmaceuticals – the largest generic drug company in the world. Eli passed away last week, aged 79.

Medical errors are the fifth leading cause of death and exact a greater toll on human life than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. Israel’s Pro-IV has developed a computerized medical management system that ensures that caregivers must meticulously follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) when administering drugs. Any deviation from the plan, and the system that administers infusions of medications won't work.

ActiView’s Israeli-developed ActiSight CT-navigation system guides a surgical needle to the precise location for pulmonary biopsies and tumour procedures. ActiView is apparently in advanced talks about a joint development, marketing and distribution deal with a major US medical devices company. Watch the video in this clip to see “cutting-edge” technology for keyhole surgery. (No blood).

Israeli biotech Intec Pharma has reported successful final results of its Phase II clinical trial for the Zaleplon accordion pill, for the treatment of chronic insomnia.

Israel’s Andromeda Biotech has reported success in the Phase III clinical trial of its Diapep277 drug for the treatment of Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. The trial met its primary and secondary endpoints, and was found to be effective and safe.

Israeli biotech TACount has developed a fast new test for harmful bacteria in food. The old method using petri-plates takes up to several days. TACount’s five-minute test would save the lives of many of the hundreds of millions of people who get sick from contaminated food every year.

Britain and Israel are establishing a new, joint fellowship exchange scheme to find breakthroughs in treating severe diseases using cell therapy, stem cell biology and gene therapy. Israel and Britain are both world leaders in regenerative medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Krystexxa (pegloticase) for the treatment of gout patients. The drug was developed using Israel’s Bio-Technology General’s expertise in production and purification of recombinant proteins for parenteral use.

The University of Haifa is developing an integrated system to allow patients to lead normal lives, yet still receive updates and medical advice in real time outside clinically controlled environments. The EU has granted the project 6 million Euros over four years - which beat sixty other proposals for funding.

Israel’s Arineta Ltd has 18 patents for its development of a CT-scanner that can quickly image the entire cardiac space in a single 3D image. It emits far less radiation than full body scanners and can capture much higher quality images of the heart.