Becton, Dickinson and Co. agreed to sell its Surgical Instrumentation platform to Steris Corp. for $540 million in keeping with the company’s corporate strategy to simplify its product portfolio by 2025. The divestiture includes the V. Mueller, Snowden-Pencer and Genesis products as well as manufacturing facilities in St. Louis, Cleveland, and Tuttlingen, Germany. Steris will also pick up about 360 employees with the platform. The companies expect the transaction to close by Sept. 30, 2023.

Energenx to develop pulsed electric field therapies for COPD

After a licensing deal with Galvanize Therapeutics Inc., Energenx Medical Ltd. will develop and commercialize pulsed electric field therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, where there is a significant need. The deal could also be the basis for future exports out of China as Energenx develops its own products. “This collaboration is truly bilateral and more unique than a usual license,” Jonathan Waldstreicher, the CEO of Galvanize, told BioWorld.

UK’s NICE says radiotherapy dosing can be decreased for some breast cancers

Radiotherapy fractionation has had a big impact on the morbidity associated with the procedure across a number of cancer types, and the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says it may be time to fractionate further for some breast cancer patients. The agency has endorsed a reduction from 40 Gray delivered via 15 sessions over three weeks to a regimen that delivers only 26 Gray via five sessions in a week for some patients, which will not only reduce needless health care spending, but will also deliver both health benefits and a greater measure of convenience to these patients.

Paragraf biosensor detects both protein and RNA biosignal

A graphene-based electronic biosensor platform from Paragraf Ltd. simultaneously detected both protein antigen and RNA biosignals from samples in real time, according to a study published in Advanced Materials Technology. Paragraf claimed that the achievement is a world first, and the development of the platform, which can be quickly adapted for multi-omics and multiplexed diagnosis of continuously evolving biothreats and global pandemics, is a major breakthrough.

Failure to protect data lands 1Health in hot water with US FTC

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced a settlement with San Francisco-based 1Health.io for allegations that the consumer gene testing company failed to properly secure customers’ data, an oversight that will cost the company only $75,000 in fines. However, 1Health is also tasked with making corrective actions and instituting a compliance program that will likely prove far more expensive to implement retroactively than would have been the case in a proactive compliance scenario, an outcome that highlights the hazards of regulatory procrastination.

Also in the news

Avanos Medical, Becton, Dickinson and Co., Bellaseno, Bioclinica, Cardio Flow Design, Corwave, Diros Technology, Exo, Fresenius Medical Care, Gradient Health, Intelligent Bio Solutions, Mainz Biomed, Millar, Owlet, Pathnostics, Quipt Home Medical, Relievant Medsystems, Sana Kliniken, Serac Imaging Systems, Steris, Surgalign, Surmodics, Suvoda, Titan Medical, Transonic Scisense Systems, Zynex