The Asia Pacific med-tech industry is expected to grow to $225 billion by 2030. Despite that rosy outlook, the landscape become increasingly challenging as med-tech investment saw a notable downturn since its peak in 2021, with venture financing and M&A deals decreasing by 22% and 37%, respectively, over the past two years.

A new method to diagnose skin cancer was validated for the first time in clinical trials that show Dermr Health Solutions Pty Ltd.’s non-invasive microneedle patch collects near-equivalent genetic information compared to a skin biopsy without pain or cutting.

The first patenting to emerge from Filtro Medical Inc. describes the development of blood filtration devices designed to reduce systemic exposure to chemotherapy or other therapeutic agents that have been delivered into a target treatment location.

Edap TMS SA recently published data showing that its Focal One high intensity focused ultrasound technology is non-inferior to radical prostatectomy as a first-line treatment for localized prostate cancer. The company is also working towards gaining approval for the technology as a therapy for endometriosis.

Bring your dog to work day looks a little different at Spotitearly. The Tel Aviv-based company asks its canine workers to bring their whole selves to the job – particularly their finely trained noses – to help suss out cancer in breath samples. The dogs’ unique capabilities are interpreted by AI to capture canine indicators humans might miss and the combo has remarkably high accuracy, 93% or better in three of the four common cancers tested.

Mica AI Medical Ltd. is looking to transform the early diagnosis of breast cancer with its software which helps radiologists analyze mammograms more effectively. The company recently signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with Baptist Health South Florida in a bid to bring its technology to the U.S. market.

Artificial intelligence-powered rare disease diagnostics firm 3billion Inc. debuted on the tech-heavy Kosdaq board of the Korea Exchange Nov. 14 with its IPO raising about ₩14.4 billion (US$10.25 million) via an offering of about 3.2 million shares at ₩4,500 per share, the low end of its offering price range.

Zap Surgical Systems Inc. reported closing a $78 million series E funding round led by Qingdao Baheal Medical Inc., with participation from other strategic investors. The new funds will be used to commercialize the company’s Zap-X gyroscopic radiosurgery platform for the non-invasive treatment of brain tumors.

Early-stage breast cancer patients in the U.S. may soon be able to access another treatment regime based on the result of a Nov. 7 FDA advisory committee for the Prosense cryoablation system by Icecure Medical Ltd. The advisory committee voted 9-5 that the benefits of Prosense outweigh the risks, although the FDA has yet to decide on the application.

Prognomiq Inc. secured $34 million in a series D funding round to advance development of an early detection test for lung cancer based on its multiomics platform. The blood-based test could provide an alternative to the underutilized low-dose CT scans currently recommended for individuals at high-risk of lung cancer.