Israel Active

BARDA, part of the US department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, is funding development by Israel’s Redhill of Opaganib (see previously) for the treatment of the Ebola virus.

Israel’s TechnoPulm is developing a handheld device capable of performing full lung function tests. The tool will replace large, expensive machines with a compact, portable device that weighs just 400 grams. It can be operated in the physician's office and complete the entire test in under three minutes.

Italy’s Menarini Diagnostics is to distribute the EpiCheck non-invasive bladder cancer urine test from Israel’s Nucleix (see previously) in Europe. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer as there are approximately 760,000 people in Europe with the disease.

Israeli startups Collplant and Stratasys have commenced a pre-clinical study to test the ability of their 3D-printed implants (see previously) to promote the growth of natural tissue and completely degrade over time. It may be an alternative to reconstructive surgery after cancer surgery.

Israel’s Metabolize is testing two molecules that reduce both appetite and weight, helping to treat diabetics and the obese. The phenylalanine metabolite X-Phe and N-acetyltaurine (NAT) don’t have the side effects of existing medications and can be ingested rather than injected.

The Pioneering Israeli Medicine Conference in New York City (Sep 22) highlighted new technologies, innovating hospitals, physical & mental rehabilitation, innovation in emergency medicine. The lessons learned from Oct 7 helped medical professionals prepare for the escalation with Hezbollah.

A team of researchers led by Hebrew University has mapped millions of brain cells in 437 patients, discovering molecular markers that indicate future onset of Alzheimer’s disease some 20 years in advance of symptoms. The discovery will help development of early treatments.

100 doctors attended London’s first MedEx event to support UK medical professionals considering or intending to make Aliyah. They met representatives of the Health Ministry, hospitals, and the Health Management Organizations, to discuss licensing requirements, employment options and benefits.

Medical coding is at the heart of the American medical record system. It usually requires a trained coder to analyze and convert patient records into US-recognized codes. Israel’s Nym Health does this automatically, saving time and costs, while improving accuracy, and achieving compliance.  

Israel’s Sequentify (see previously) has partnered with Romanian distributor Dexter bring Sequentify's InfiniSeq™ library preparation solutions to Romania. InfiniSeq reduces time from DNA extraction to sequencing to 3.5 hours to enable fast diagnosis of genetic diseases.