The FDA’s pre-IND response to Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s MMS-019, a molecular masking spray being developed as an over-the-counter product to limit transmission of SARS and influenza, has the company breathing easier and ready to chase an NDA. Virpax is in a crowded field of 43 COVID-19 intranasal therapeutics and vaccine programs.

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.

PARIS – At some point, scientists reported, it may be possible to quarantine viruses rather than humans. For the last two years, European research consortium Virofight has been working on a form of nanotechnology intended to neutralize viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV, influenza and hepatitis viruses.

Nanodx Inc. entered into a license agreement with IBM Research to use IBM’s nanoscale sensor technology and develop diagnostic platforms for rapid and cost-effective detection of various diseases, including COVID-19 and traumatic brain injury, among others. This marks IBM’s first collaboration to allow a medical device company to use its nanoscale technology.

Mindup, an Israeli digital health incubator, added Phenofast Ltd. to its portfolio this week, banking on the startup’s ability to resolve a critical, ongoing problem for hospitals and community physicians treating patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs). Phenofast hopes to bring clarity to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and relief to patients in record time.

Startup Aplife Biotech is tapping into the rapidly growing market for biosensors that can expand the capacity of hand-held devices to screen for thousands of pathologies from a single drop of blood. Using technology developed in Argentina to print DNA structures on microchips, the company’s goal is to screen as many as 20 million probes with the potential to convert molecular interactions into electrical signals, opening a path for med-tech developers and manufacturers to explore new solutions for personalized health care.

Emitbio Inc., a life science company developing light-based therapies, is seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. FDA for its investigational device to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 infection at home. The portable, hand-held device works by directing precise wavelengths of visible light to the back of the throat and surrounding tissues. It is not yet available for sale in the U.S.

Opticyte Inc., a medical device startup, is planning the first clinical trial of its cellular oxygen monitor, a new device that could help emergency physicians diagnose sepsis faster and prevent organ failure. The prospective, observational trial is set to launch in mid-2021.

Cognitoss, a resorbable bone graft in development by Locate Bio Ltd., received U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for treating chronic osteomyelitis, a progressive, inflammatory bone infection. The graft uses a new class of composite collagen product combined with a dual-phasic release of antibiotics to prevent reinfection.