Israel Active

Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute, and Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, have discovered the cause of cachexia – deadly weight loss responsible for roughly one-third of global cancer deaths. Targeted blockade of the right vagus nerve could prevent onset of cachexia.

Israel’s MediWound (see previously) has successfully completed a Phase III trial that shows its EscharEx topical, non-surgical treatment to wound bed preparation ensures a much quicker recovery for venous leg ulcers. Trials on diabetic foot ulcers are being planned.

Surgeons at Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center performed Israel's first-ever minimally invasive brain surgery through the eye socket. Surgeons successfully removed a rare skull base tumor without the need to open the skull.

24 years ago, Prof Simcha Yagel delivered premature baby Ruhama, weighing just 495 grams, at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital. Ruhama has just returned to the same hospital – to give birth to her first child – a boy.  And Prof Yagel was present at that delivery too.

Israel’s OncoHost (see previously) has been selected as the Top Precision Oncology Solution for 2025 by Life Sciences Review. OncoHost’s PROphet® predicts how a specific immunotherapy treatment will perform on a cancer patient, from a single blood sample.

The US FDA has approved generic liraglutide injection from Israel’s Teva. It copies Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Saxenda, which costs over $1,300 per month. Liraglutide mimics the body’s glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone, suppressing appetite and triggering insulin release for up to 24 hours.

Israel’s QuantHealth.ai (see previously) has successfully simulated 350+ clinical trials, with 90% predictive accuracy. Its 23 therapeutic areas, include oncology, immunology, cardio-metabolic diseases, and gastroenterology. It saved one top 10 customer $31.4 million.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists have developed a technique that distinguishes the precise subgroup of a bacteria strain that is causing infection. It explains why antibiotics and vaccines sometimes fail. The discovery can lead to more precise treatments.

Doctors at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center successfully performed an emergency mitral valve repair on a heart transplant patient. The procedure has been performed only twice in patients after heart transplantation worldwide - and never before attempted on a patient in cardiogenic shock.

Israelis Shmuel and Anat Harlap have donated $180 million to Israel’s Rabin Medical Center for the construction of the largest cardiological and neurological center in the Middle East. It is the largest-ever single gift to an Israeli hospital and the new center is to be named “Hope Tower”.