Lifetech Scientific Corp.’s fully degradable iron-based absorbable coronary scaffold showed its safety and efficacy to treat non-complex coronary lesions that have not been previously treated with an interventional device during a three-year, first-in-humans trial.
Awak Technologies Pte Ltd. and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) plan to launch a pre-pivotal clinical trial for their automated wearable artificial kidney peritoneal dialysis (Awak PD) device. Awak PD is a wearable and portable PD device designed for patients with end-stage kidney disease to have dialysis on the go. The research team is now recruiting subjects for the single-site, prospective, single-arm study.
South Korea is making progress towards incorporating digital medical devices into its health care system and facilitating reimbursements, but these efforts may require giving up some entrenched practices. “Digital medical devices” covers a broad range of products, including software and technologies used in therapeutic interventions. They are usually supported by technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, machine learning, sensors and wearables, data analytics and others that can facilitate the shift from traditional health care into the digital world.
Adicon Holdings Ltd. raised HK$409 million (US$52 million) in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock market. Its shares opened at HK$12.32, jumped 12% and closed at HK$13.8 on the first trading day. Hangzhou, China-based Adicon is among the top three independent clinical laboratory (ICL) service providers in China by total revenues. It offers testing services to hospitals and health check centres through a network of 33 self-operated laboratories across China.
A non-invasive retinal exam may soon enable clinicians to visualize the future for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). When combined with an artificial intelligence algorithm, an exam accurately predicted CKD prior to symptom onset in a study published in Digital Medicine.
Cerevasc Inc. has formed a partnership with Lianmedical Co. Ltd. to introduce Cerevasc’s medical devices for neurological diseases in the Asian market. Shanghai-based Lianmedical will help market Cerevasc's eshunt system and related products in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. It’s eshunt system provides percutaneous transvenous-transdural access to the central nervous system.
Precision diagnostics company Inoviq Ltd.’s stock soared 44% on the news that its breast cancer diagnostic, SubB2M/CA15-3, detected all stages of breast cancer with 87% accuracy, 81% sensitivity and 93% specificity. The clinical validation study that included 483 samples outperformed the standard of care CAS15-3 test, demonstrating an area under the curve (AUC) of .93 compared to .70.
With a new medical device policy, India is laying the groundwork for a spurt in domestic manufacturing and to emerge as an innovative and globally competitive in the space, which is currently heavily reliant on imports. The new National Medical Devices Policy 2023, approved by the government at the end of April and notified in May, aims to place the Indian medical devices sector on an accelerated growth path.
After a licensing deal with Galvanize Therapeutics Inc., Energenx Medical Ltd. will develop and commercialize pulsed electric field therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, where there is a significant need. The deal could also be the basis for future exports out of China as Energenx develops its own products.