Samsara Vision Inc. signed a deal with China’s Lansheng Medical Corp. (Myvision) to bring Samsara’s next-generation visual prosthetic devices to mainland China, Macau, the Hanain Province, and Hong Kong.
Numerous life sciences firms are targeting digital health and diagnostic companies for take-outs and licensing deals, placing the med-tech industry in a strong position in 2022.
Healiva SA, a Swiss wound care specialist, emerged from stealth mode having acquired two cell therapy assets from Smith & Nephew plc. Financial terms were not disclosed, but they included an up-front payment as well as “deferred benefits,” Healiva CEO and founder Priyanka Dutta-Passecker told BioWorld. The deal means that the Lugano-based company – which was formed in 2020 – could be booking revenues as early as 2023.
Advanced manufacturing company Linamar Corp. has created Linamar Medtech to leverage its skills in precision manufacturing in the medical device and components space. The new venture, which will operate as a separate division under the Linamar umbrella, builds on recent programs producing a range of products, including ventilator systems and parts, part of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Ai-Brainscience Inc. signed an exclusive sales agreement for Japan that will see Otsuka market Ai-Brainscience’s eye-tracking application to test for cognitive function. The eye-tracking app, AiBS-01, could become the first dementia diagnosis application to receive regulatory approval in Japan. Ibaraki, Japan-based Ai-Brainscience (AiBS) is developing devices that use the eye-tracking based cognitive assessment test to detect early dementia beyond the conventional assessment methods performed by specialists.
Futura Medical plc has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with over the counter (OTC) distributor Cooper Consumer Health SAS to commercialize its topical, gel-based erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment Med3000, in the U.K. and Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Cooper will pay an undisclosed price to Futura to manufacture and supply the product for five years, in compliance with EU competition law.
Sidekick Health AB expanded its partnership with Pfizer Inc., adding an atopic dermatitis offering to its integrated digital therapeutics solution. The app will roll out first in the U.K., followed by Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Ireland and Japan this year.
Evotec AG and Sernova Corp. are joining forces in a bid to develop a functional cure for type 1 diabetes. The companies plan to file an IND early in 2024 for a combined cell therapy and medical device product comprising Evotec’s human beta cells, derived from the company’s induced pluripotent stem cell platform, and Sernova’s Cell Pouch delivery system, which provides transplanted cells with a vascularized, physiologically appropriate environment that enables them to secrete insulin and other hormones involved in regulating blood glucose levels.
Beacon Biosignals Inc. has teamed up with Stratus Inc., a provider of electroencephalogram (EEG) services, to improve at-home brain monitoring and neurodiagnostics using Beacon’s machine learning-driven neuroanalytics platform. The collaboration will increase opportunities for home-based studies of Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
Getinge AB is acquiring 100% of the equity in fluorescence imaging company Fluoptics SAS, a company using the technology as an aid to surgery. Getinge will, through its subsidiary Getinge Infection Control SAS, acquire all outstanding shares in Fluoptics and will pay around $27 million in cash on closing the deal.