PARIS – Magnetic fields can be used to stimulate blood vessel growth, according to a new study published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. The discovery, by researchers from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, could lead to new treatments for cancer and help regenerate tissues that have lost their blood supply.

Illumina Inc.’s acquisition of cancer diagnostic specialist Grail Inc. is on go in a $7.1 billion transaction that is structured so that it can be unwound with limited impact on Illumina. However, a number of regulatory entities are closely scrutinizing the deal for a potential regulatory challenge, a fact of life that shaved nearly 10% off the value of the company’s shares in early Aug. 19 trading, and which could ultimately scuttle the transaction altogether.

Scientists at Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify biomarkers contained in naturally occurring collagen that could predict whether breast cancer will return after treatment. Identified from standard tissue biopsy slides of early-stage breast cancer, collagen-based assays could also be less expensive than gene expression-based assays typically conducted at highly specialized labs in California.

PARIS – Screenpoint Medical BV has just closed $28 million in series C funding to scale its latest generation of the Transpara system, which uses fusion AI for 2D and 3D mammography.

The FDA has granted Anchordx Medical Co. Ltd.’s Urifind, an early detection test for bladder cancer, a breakthrough device designation (BTD). This marks the first BTD given to a liquid biopsy test for bladder cancer detection in China, putting it in good stead as it gears up for an IPO.

It's a good news, bad news scenario for exhausted T cells in chronic infections. Multiple groups of investigators reported in the July 26, 2021, online issue of Nature Immunology that even after a chronic hepatitis C virus infection was cured, T cells that had become dysfunctional during the infection retained epigenetic "scars" that prevented them from becoming fully functional memory T cells.

Burning Rock Biotech Ltd. has formed a global strategic partnership with Impact Therapeutics Inc. to develop companion diagnostics for a pipeline of drugs in the field of synthetic lethality.

Intervenn Biosciences raised $201 million in a series C financing led by new investors Softbank Group, Heritage Provider Network, Irving Investors and Highside Capital Management. The proceeds are earmarked to speed development and commercialization of Dawn, a liquid biopsy assay for immune checkpoint inhibitor prediction, and to expand the network of partnerships on the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven glycoproteomics platform.

Around 100,000 medical professionals have registered to learn breast cancer related information through Zhongchao Inc.’s Breast Cancer Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Improvement Platform in the first half of 2021. It marks one of the earliest efforts conducted for the Healthy China 2030 Guidelines, which aims to increase the overall five-year cancer survival rate by 15% by 2030.

PERTH, Australia – After raising A$10 million (US$7.36 million) in its initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange, BCAL Diagnostics Ltd. is racing to commercialize its noninvasive, blood-based in vitro diagnostic to detect breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Associated Lipids (BCAL) test is taken via a blood sample and analyzed for lipid biomarkers.