LONDON – Biofidelity Ltd. has raised US$12 million in a series A, enabling it to start commercialization of a novel, low-cost, chemistry-based diagnostic for detecting all actionable lung cancer mutations. The Cambridge, U.K.-based company claims the test can detect a single molecule of mutated DNA against the background of billions of healthy molecules in a patient sample, without the need for DNA sequencing.

LONDON – European scale-up of an artificial intelligence tool for stratifying and personalizing treatment of COVID-19 patients according to the type of complications they are likely to experience will get underway in September, following initial validation. The tool, developed by researchers at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain, was ‘trained’ on more than a trillion anonymized data points retrieved from the clinic’s electronic health records system.

Alcon AG released second-quarter results Aug. 18, reporting worldwide sales of $1.2 billion. That figure represented a decrease of 36%, or 34% on a constant currency basis, vs. the same period last year as COVID-19 hit all business categories. As Wells Fargo’s Larry Biegelsen noted, the Geneva-based company, which held its call Aug. 19, saw net loss per share coming in worse than expected due to higher selling, general and administrative expenses.

PARIS – Bellaseno GmbH recently completed a phase I trial of its Senella absorbable soft tissue reconstruction scaffold on an Australian patient with congenital pectus excavatum.

LONDON – A large scale population study has shown that home self-testing with low-cost lateral flow diagnostics is a valid way of tracking the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 105,651 people across the U.K. tested themselves for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with a fingerprick blood test as part of the REACT (REaltime Assessment of Community Transmission) study.

PARIS – Integragen SA and OncoDNA SA have signed a tender offer agreement anticipating a takeover bid. Gosselies, Belgium-based OncoDNA will purchase 100% of the shares of Integragen, floated on the Euronext Paris Euronext Growth Markets, at a unit price of $2.60, valuing the latter’s share capital at $17.2 million.

PARIS – France’s Medical Device and Health Technology Evaluation Committee (CNEDiMTS), has published it latest annual activity report. This committee of the French National Authority for Health (HAS) evaluates medical devices with a view to their coverage by L’Assurance Maladie, the body which manages health care in France.

PARIS – Inheart SAS completed its first funding round of $4.2 million to improve cardiac arrhythmia treatment using medical imaging, artificial intelligence and digital simulation. This fund round was led by Elvia Partners SAS, a Parisian investment fund managed by Xavier Lazarus specializing in deep tech, and Aquitaine Science Transfer, a company accelerating technology transfer, from the University of Bordeaux.

Royal Philips NV reported a 6% decline in year-to-year sales for the second quarter of 2020. While delays in elective procedures suppressed sales in the Amsterdam-based company’s diagnostics and treatment division, the virus boosted demand for connected care and minimized the impact of the coronavirus for the company compared to many competitors.