Natera Inc. added its Prospera assessment for lung transplant patients to its portfolio, joining the company’s tests for rejection of kidney and heart transplants. The test uses donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) to detect acute rejection as well as chronic rejection and infection in stable patients. Results of the VALID study presented at CHEST 2021 demonstrated that the Prospera Lung test had a negative predictive value of 97.33%, sensitivity of 89.06% and area under the curve of 0.91.

After nearly two years of waiting, Withings SA won FDA clearance for its Scanwatch, a smartwatch that can take an electrocardiogram and monitor for sleep disturbances indicative of sleep apnea or respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The FDA action makes the watch the first cleared for both functions.

TORONTO – Smart Biomedical Inc. has developed a tool it said will vastly improve the chances of recovery for patients suffering from a collapsed lung.

In the year’s second biggest M&A deal, Merck & Co. Inc. will take over pulmonary and hematologic specialist Acceleron Pharma Inc. for $11.5 billion. The acquisition brings Merck a pair of potential blockbuster drugs, one of them already marketed. There is sotatercept, in development for treating pulmonary hypertension (PH), and also Reblozyl (luspatercept-aamt), the first and only erythroid maturation agent approved in the U.S., Europe and Canada for treating anemia in certain blood disorders.