The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is calling for unified standards to harmonize microbiome research, after revealing major inconsistencies in the results when labs around the world analyzed identical reference samples of gut bacteria.

Cornerstone Robotics Ltd. raised an oversubscribed $200 million series D round to accelerate commercialization of its flagship product, the Sentire Endoscopic Surgical System.

South Korean researchers led by Lee In-suk of Yonsei University have reported the most complete oral microbiome catalog to date, with more than 72,000 genomes. Detailed in Cell Host & Microbe on Nov. 12, 2025, the database is expected to serve as a universal platform for academia and enable “precision microbiome medicine” for the industry, Lee told BioWorld.

The largest study ever conducted on light therapy for Parkinson’s disease has found that long-term use of Symbyx Biome Pty Ltd.’s non-invasive, at-home photobiomodulation (PBM) devices significantly improved mobility, anxiety, and overall symptom severity.

Merit Medical Systems Inc. looks to ingest Pentax Medical’s C2 cryoballoon through a $22 million asset purchase expected to close Nov. 1. The C2 treats Barrett’s esophagus, which can be a precursor to esophageal cancer, as well as gastric antral vascular ectasia syndrome. The deal includes a $19 million cash payment at closing and up to $3 million in contingent milestone payments.

A research team from Pusan National University has developed a novel deep learning model coined Moglo-Net, designed to enable three-dimensional reconstruction of images from hand-held ultrasound procedures.

Cryofocus Medtech (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. received U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation on July 24 for its cryoablation system for asthma. The Chinese med-tech’s stock (HKEX:6922) rose near 20% over two consecutive days on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with the news, increasing from HK$5.00 ($.64) July 23 to HK$5.98 nearing the close of trading on July 25.

Researchers from IMEC, the Netherlands’ OnePlanet Research Center in Wageningen, filed for protection of an inexpensive, highly miniaturized ingestible device that may be used for remotely activatable sampling, gut health monitoring and drug delivery.

Despite raising the price of its IPO twice, Caris Life Sciences Inc. left money on the table with a 33% increase in price as soon as trading commenced on the Nasdaq, though no one is squawking about raising nearly $500 million. The cancer diagnostics company initially priced its IPO at $16 to $18, then raised it to $19 to $20, before closing on a price of $21 per share. As management rang the bell for the start of trade on June 18, shares began trading at $28.

Researchers have identified KpsM as a virulence factor in Escherichia coli that was responsible for liver damage in alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH). A small-molecule inhibitor of KpsM reduced liver damage in animal models of AH.