Dialysis technology, which continues to dominate the current treatment of end-stage renal disease patients, dates back to the early 1940s. It also typically proves unable to maintain these patients sufficiently long enough to get them to kidney transplant, which is only available for a fraction of those who need it. Roseville, Calif.-based US Kidney Research Corp., formerly Curion Research Corp., has been working on its waterless renal replacement technology since its inception in June 2015. Its latest research efforts using its novel blood purifying technology have led to the production of the first ‘synthetic urine,’ which mimics the body’s natural production and the kidney’s filtration capability.

Advamed argues device-specific guidances suffer from overly narrow scope

The U.S. FDA’s attempt to use objective performance criteria for class II devices offers several advantages for device makers. However, the Advanced Medical Technology Association said in comments to the docket for two such sub-guidances that the documents are too narrowly scoped to be of much use in many instances.

South Korea’s Recens Medical secures $6M in series B funding

HONG KONG – South Korean med-tech venture Recens Medical Inc. has secured ₩7 billion (US$6 million) in series B funding. Lb Investment Inc., Kb Securities Co. Ltd., Bnk Securities Co. Ltd., Hyundai Venture Investment Corp. and Lighthouse Combined Investment Co. Ltd. participated in the investment.

Large datasets, good statistics allow disease-agnostic SNP discoveries

LONDON – While large-scale biobanks that link genomics to longitudinal health records of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes promise to revolutionize understanding of the genetics of complex disease, the detailed statistical analysis of those high-dimensional data is still very much in its infancy. Now, researchers in the U.K. have devised a method for mapping genetic risk across different disorders and applied it to identify risk factors that are common to multiple diseases, using UK Biobank data. They said that will make it easier to track down underlying molecular mechanisms and biological pathways, increasing the value of genome-wide association studies in target identification and validation.

Pentax Medical gets CE mark for AI-based polyp detector Discovery

HONG KONG – Pentax Medical Company, of Tokyo, has gained CE marking for its artificial intelligence-based polyp detector Discovery. The detector assists endoscopists in finding potential polyps during a colorectal examination.

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Becton, Dickinson and Co., Codexis, Edgepoint AI, Ibio, Ieso, Lumibird, Motor Neurone Disease Association