Medtronic plc reported second quarter worldwide revenue of $7.647 billion, a decrease of 0.8% as reported and 1.5% on an organic basis. Analysts noted, however, that the figure beat the consensus of $7.08 billion. It also exceeded Wells Fargo’s $7.12 billion estimate. With the continued uncertainty related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Dublin-based company did not provide formal annual or quarterly financial guidance. Still, the need for ventilators pushed the company ahead.

PARIS – Carmat SA has closed an $11.8 million loan in the form of a government-backed loan from a French banking syndicate. In an environment made uncertain by the COVID-19 crisis, Carmat will be able to continue its clinical development program on its total artificial heart, undisturbed. “This financing facility contributes to securing our cash position and extends our financial visibility through to the third quarter of 2021,” Stéphane Piat, CEO of Carmat, told BioWorld.

PARIS – Ganymed Robotics SAS reported the successful completion of functional prototype testing for its surgical robotic assistant used in total knee arthroplasty. According to a systematic review of the literature, published in the Journal of Arthroplasty, more than 2 million patients undergo knee arthroplasty each year after suffering arthritis of the knee.

DUBLIN – Synox Therapeutics Ltd., a spin-out from Celleron Therapeutics Ltd., has raised €37 million (US$43.7 million) in a series A round to conduct a pivotal trial of emactuzumab, an antibody its parent company in-licensed from Roche Holding AG in August.

The European Commission has awarded the CE mark to Hologic Inc. for its Genius Digital Diagnostics system for cervical cancer screening. According to the company, it is the first digital cytology platform to combine a new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm with advanced digital imaging to assist cytotechnologists and pathologists in detecting precancerous lesions and malignant cells in women.

PARIS – Esight Corp. is starting distribution of its newest low-vision assistive technology in France, Germany and the U.K. The latest version of the technology, the Esight 4, was designed to be more versatile and mobile than before, has double the display brightness and has improved the auto-focus function, according to the company.

LONDON – A second phase III trial of Johnson & Johnson’s adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccine is starting in the U.K. this week, amid concerns the positive news from the Pfizer Inc./Biontech SE vaccine study will deter volunteers from coming forward to take part.

Novocure Ltd. has scored another win, this time gaining the CE mark for the NovoTTF-100L system. As a result, Novocure plans to commercialize the device as a first-line treatment in combination with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy for unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

LONDON – Clinical genomics specialist Congenica Ltd. has raised $50 million in a series C round that will enable it to extend beyond its roots in rare disease diagnosis to personalized medicine in cancer, and health and wellness, while expanding its geographical reach.

PARIS – Med-El Elektromedizinische Geräte GmbH has reported the first successful procedure in Europe for a totally implantable cochlear implant (TICI). The surgery was performed at Liège University Hospital in Belgium. “This TICI is a major step in cochlear implant technology. It has been the aim since the beginning of cochlear implants to be able to integrate all the components into a single internal device,” Philippe Lefebvre, head of the otorhinolaryngology department at Liège University Hospital, told BioWorld.