Medical Device Daily Contributing Writer

ZICHRON YAAKOV – It is spring in Israel, and the life sciences are blooming – with medical devices the flower and the root, realizing a well-founded optimism in bloom.

This follows mega-financial wizard Warren Buffett's $4 billion purchase of private Israeli machining company Iscar, owned by the Wertheimer family, with hints in the media that other companies are being considered.

Some say that this is an invitation for Israel into the major leagues. Others say that Israel already is in the major leagues, but with its bright lights shining on skin treatments – Syneron (Yokneam), Alma Lasers (Caesaria), Qray (Haifa) – and cameras bringing medical vision – Given Imaging (Yokneam) – rather than public glory.

One could say that medical devices are being recognized as the infrastructure ”propping up” development in the industry and hybridizing with their more delicate biotech sibling.

In 2005, medical devices captured 70% of the $200 million capital investments in Israeli life sciences, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Israel/Kesselman & Kesselman's Money Tree survey on the life sciences.

Celebrating these developments in medical technology was Biomed 2006, which ran through Wednesday, the star in the 5th Bio- and Medical Technology Week, renamed from Biotech and Biotechnology Week in recognition of the full partnership of bio- and med-tech.

BioMed 2006, held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem after four years in Tel Aviv, had close to 5,000 registrants and an exhibition involving more than 150 companies.

Aaron Schwartz, of Teva Pharmaceuticals (Jerusalem), Biomed organizing committee co-chair with Rafi Hofstein of Hadasit Holdings (also Jerusalem), told Medical Device Daily, ”We decided to integrate the vibrant and successful Israeli medical device sector into the annual conference, to indicate our commitment to showcase of the entire Israeli life sciences industry, and to encourage further interactions for local industry and for visitors from abroad.”

An entire day was dedicated to cardiology, with simultaneous sessions in device and pharmacology registration and reimbursement in the future of medicine.

”Beyond 2010” included a business forum sponsored by Reinhold Cohn & Partners to deal with the financial aspects of life sciences, including face-to-face meetings between scientists, entrepreneurs, VC fund managers and start-ups to enable networking and new venture formation.

”This is an event at the highest level with a fascinating agenda, with attendance by key industry figures from both Israel and abroad,” said Schwartz.

One of the initiators of Biomed was David Haselkorn, who also was instrumental in founding Clal Biotechnology Industries in 1998 as the life science investment arm of Clal Industries, with Leon Recanati, then owner of parent company IDB (Israel Discount Bank), which manages $200 million of financing in the life sciences.

Today, Arison Technologies (ARTE) President and CEO Ruben Krupik directs one of Israel's single largest sources of capital for life science ventures, which is looking to hold larger stakes in its portfolio companies, focusing on a few companies and investing substantial management resources in them, recognizing the value of the med-tech connection,

Krupik said he learned from experience in Biomedical, ARTE and Teva's joint life science investment arm founded by Benad Goldwasser four years ago, with $30 million, now invested in a portfolio of five managed companies.

The portfolio includes BioControl Medical (Yehud), which recently sold part of its activities to American Medical Systems (Minnetonka, Minnesota) for $50 million, and continues development of its product for cardiac arrest and other new generations of active implantable devices.

Two other companies in the portfolio are Transpharma Medical (Lod), which recently signed a cooperation agreement for tens of millions of dollars with Teva Pharmaceuticals to develop its RF-MicroChannel technology; and Remon Medical Technologies (Caesaria), which is developing a broad platform technology for noninvasive exchange of energy and data to and from the human body.

Not all of the investments pan out. The fund closed its interest in MTRE Advanced Technologies , which failed to make significant market penetration.

Savyon highlights vaginal infection test

At Biomed, a diagnostic self-test, Savvycheck Rapid Vaginal Yeast Infection Test, was presented by Savyon Diagnostics (Ashdod), designed to detect vulvovaginal candidiasis, ”known to be one of the most common causes of vaginal infections,” said Martin Lee, Savyon's owner and director. He told MDD, ”The test is intended for laboratory, point-of-care and over-the-counter use, because vaginal secretion samples may be obtained by physician or patient self-swabbing.”

This low-cost and disposable detection device houses two separated compartments containing ready-to-use buffer and test strip, functioning as a lateral flow immuno-chromatographic-based assay.

”A clear, reliable and unchangeable result is obtained within five to 20 minutes in one step, detecting Candida albicans [the most abundant species], as well as C. glabrata and several other species,” said Lee, emphasizing that the test is specific for Candida, and does not detect an array of bacterial strains typical to the bacterial vaginosis family, the most common cause of vaginal infections.

Clinical studies involving 70 symptomatic patients provided 88% sensitivity, 90% specificity and 88% accuracy when compared to yeast culture results. Users reported ease in use, reading and understanding of results.

Lee said, ”This novel test is an important advance in improving the diagnosis of women with vaginal yeast infections, concomitantly with filling a widely desired need for a rapid and reliable diagnostic tool for this type of etiology. We expect it will focus prescription, avoid misuse of anti-fungal medications, and save significant healthcare costs.”

Another patient-controlled device featured was CoaguChek XS system, developed by Roche Diagnostics , a division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Basel, Switzerland), that confirms in more than 300 patients in a four-center study, the usefulness of the amperometric measurement to show thrombin activity initiated by the coagulation cascade.