Diagnostic imaging group Bracco Imaging SpA signed a licensing and collaboration agreement with Philochem AG. The companies will focus on developing and commercializing a small molecule for diagnostic imaging applications that can detect metastatic solid tumors in cancer patients.

Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd.’s subsidiary Beijing Meiyan Kongjian Biology Medicine Co. Ltd. has acquired an 80% equity stake in Shenzhen Yimei Medical Technology Co. The deal is to be completed via a mix of capital and equity transfers. Sihuan Pharmaceutical is interested in Shenzhen Yimei’s two-in-one patented technology of collimated ultrasound and superficial focused ultrasound.

Medications are available to treat many mental disorders, but they’re only effective if patients adhere to the treatment. A distribution agreement between Beckman Coulter Inc. and Saladax Biomedical Inc. aims to improve patient outcomes by providing health care professionals with tests to assess treatment compliance and individual patient drug response.

As interest in digital health increases and pandemic efforts decline, both med-tech deals and mergers and acquisitions this year continue to climb.

Sophia Genetics SA and Realm Idx Inc. established a collaboration for co-development of new genomic applications and their commercialization. The companies hope to expand next-generation sequencing research and multimodal data streams to improve cancer diagnostics and treatment outcomes.

Oculogica Inc. has signed an agreement with Minnetronix Inc. to launch a diagnostic device that tracks eye movements to detect possible brain concussion, this after receiving FDA clearance in December for its fourth iteration of the artificial intelligence-driven, battery-operated Eyebox.

Google Health is expanding the reach of its Care Studio technology to clinical software company Medical Information Technology Inc. (Meditech). The companies reported a partnership at HIMSS 2022 to integrate search functionalities from the Google product suite within Westwood, Mass.-based Meditech's web-based Expanse electronic health record (EHR). The aim is to combine data from different sources into a standard format and offer clinicians a full ‘holistic’ view of patient records.

Interrad Medical Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Eloquest Healthcare Inc. to accelerate sales growth of what is described as the only subcutaneous catheter securement device in the world.

The FDA has cleared a plasma collection device developed by Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies (Terumo BCT) and plasma collection network CSL Plasma. The companies, which are subsidiaries of Terumo Corp. and CSL Ltd., signed a collaboration deal in 2021 to develop the new Rika device for CSL Plasma collection centers. The automated technology is designed to reduce plasma collection time to 35 minutes or less. According to the Red Cross, plasma donations currently take on average about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Brightinsight Inc. and UCB SA struck a deal to jointly develop a digital disease management solution for patients with rare diseases. The companies will start with a mobile app for myasthenia gravis (MG) built on Brightinsight’s platform. UCB joins CSL Behring, Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi SA and Roche AG in partnering with Brightinsight on digital disease management.