One way to strike fear into patients and cardiologists alike is to merely mention the abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), an event that claims more than 10,000 lives per year in the U.S. alone. That death count might fall substantially going forward thanks to the U.S. FDA’s award of a 510(k) for the AAA algorithm by Viz.ai Inc., a new algorithm which may help clinicians address imminent rupture quickly enough to save the lives of thousands of American patients each year.

Brainomix Ltd. received U.S. FDA clearance for its Brainomix 360 E-aspects tool, a fully automated AI-imaging solution for stroke assessment. Powered by explainable AI, the Brainomix 360 E-aspects tool, which is already CE-marked, assesses non-contrast CT scans to automatically generate a score and measures the volume of ischemic signs. It also features an overlaid heatmap to visually assist clinicians when treating stroke patients.

Spectrawave Inc. said U.S. FDA clearance of its flagship intravascular Hypervue imaging system will help physicians optimize coronary stenting in the cardiac catheterization lab.

The U.S. FDA’s surveillance of duodenoscopes and other endoscopes was initially driven by concerns about device sterility, but recent inspections of manufacturing sites operated by Olympus Medical Systems Corp., in Japan have fed warning letters for lapses from various regulations. In the latest warning letter, the agency cited one of the company’s sites in Tokyo for both quality system and medical device reporting lapses, the second warning letter issued to the company in roughly three months.

Citing clinical trial data backed by real-world data, members of the U.S. FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly, 16-1, March 16 that the overall benefit-risk assessment is favorable for the use of Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

Woven Orthopedic Technologies LLC, received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for its Ogmend implant enhancement system for use in spine surgery. Ogmend is expected to give surgeons more confidence in using surgical screws when operating in compromised fixation scenarios.

The U.S. FDA reported that Baxter International Inc. issued an Urgent Medical Device Correction for its Life2000 ventilation systems in response to reports of potential patient oxygen desaturation events when connected to a third-party oxygen concentrator.

Vivasure Medical Ltd. received a €30 million (US$32 million)  strategic investment from Haemonetics Corp. to help develop its Perqseal closure device system which manages bleeding complications associated with large-bore arterial vessel closure. Haemonetics has an option to buy Vivasure upon the completion of the company achieving certain milestones.

The Biden administration released a blueprint for the U.S. federal government’s fiscal 2024 budget year on March 9, which includes additional funding for pandemic preparedness. However, the White House has signaled its intent to drill down on drug prices with an increase in the scope of the number of drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations along with a 67% increase in the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Health (ARPA-H) to $2.5 billion, a boost that is sure to draw cheers from companies in the life sciences.

The FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA) program for rapid antigen tests for the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end, but few rapid antigen test makers have laid out clear plans regarding the post-public health emergency world. Quidelortho Corp. managed to beat the competition to the non-EUA market for these tests with a grant of de novo petition for its Sofia rapid antigen test, which now provides other tests with a predicate device, thus ensuring that this will not be the last such test to reach the U.S. market.