Sparrow Bioacoustics Inc. closed a C$10 million (US$7.15 million) financing round to support continued adoption of its U.S. FDA-cleared Stethophone platform, which allows bioacoustics detection of structural and rhythmic heart anomalies using a smartphone. Killick Capital and Klister Credit led the round with participation from Pelorus VA, 99927 Newfoundland & Labrador Inc. and Brinex Capital.

Is US ready to cede biotech leadership role?

John Crowley doesn’t worry about where his kids’ toys are made, but he told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee that he does care where their medicines are made. His concerns, as a father and as president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, are becoming more urgent, he testified yesterday at a HELP hearing on the future of biotech in the U.S. Although America has been the global leader in the biotech sector since its birth in the U.S. nearly 50 years ago, China is positioned to seize that title within two to three years, he warned.

Customed raises funds for platform to transform orthopedic surgery

Customed Ltd., an Israeli startup, has completed its seed funding round bringing the total capital raised to $6 million. The company has developed a platform which provides orthopedic surgeons with personalized pre-surgical planning and 3D printed surgical tools. The funds will be used to support regulatory approvals in the U.S. and EU, as well as expansion into additional automated orthopedic indications.

Genetic code governing how mutations affect mRNA uncovered

Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have uncovered the hidden code governing how genetic mutations affect RNA splicing and result in disease. The researchers were able to identify the specific mutations that cause changes in RNA splicing, Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, the lead researcher at Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences, told BioWorld. Published in Nature Communications, the study paves the way for mRNA therapeutics that could address serious disease, particularly under-researched conditions that are rare or population-specific.

Also in the news

Aditxt, Biocare Medical, Biostate AI, Braincheck, Co-Diagnostics, Hamamatsu, Harrison.ai, Humacyte, Medline, Narayana Health, Nexalin Technology, Organox, Recor Medical, Sirona Medical, Surmodics, Surgical Automations, Tactile Systems Technology, Terumo, Turn Therapeutics, Venturemed