In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems around the world are looking to digital technologies to support health delivery but where exactly can these technologies have the most impact? At the Medtech Forum in Barcelona, European leaders gathered to discuss practical examples of how digital tools can help make health systems more efficient.

When it comes to innovation, Europe has a thing or two it can learn from the U.S. according to European leaders. Speaking at the Medtech Forum meeting in Barcelona, Medtech Europe CEO Serge Bernasconi said Europe’s focus on safety issues is stifling innovation across the continent.

A lack of funding for combination therapies in the U.K. could hold back investment in the country’s biopharma sector – but there are moves afoot to find ways around the issue, pinned by industry on the way the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assesses the value of drugs.

Xeltis BV plans to expedite an international pivotal trial investigating its restorative hemodialysis access graft Axess following encouraging preliminary data. The company released results from a clinical trial investigating the graft at CX 2022, the Charing Cross International Symposium on Vascular and Endovascular Challenges, in London. Data showed the graft had 100% functional patency and safety in a patient cohort of 11, with a median follow-up of 6.5 months.

Not satisfied with the findings of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel, Turkey informed the WTO April 28 that it has initiated arbitration proceedings to review those findings, which involve an EU complaint about measures Turkey employs concerning the production, importation and marketing of prescription drugs.

Switzerland’s biotechnology sector maintained its strong investment performance in 2021. The final tally for the year came to CHF3.33 billion (US$3.4 billion), which is almost equivalent to its record-breaking total of CHF3.4 billion for 2020.

The Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, has just been awarded funding from the European Research Council to establish proof of concept for new type of flat-plate positron emission tomography scanner (PET) that can be attached to the patient’s body to accurately monitor cancer proton therapy results in real time.

Not satisfied with the findings of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel, Turkey informed the WTO April 28 that it has initiated arbitration proceedings to review those findings, which involve an EU complaint about measures Turkey employs concerning the production, importation and marketing of prescription drugs.

Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) Inc.’s Venusp-Valve, a transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement (TPVR) system, has gained the CE mark in Europe. The system is used to treat moderate to severe pulmonary regurgitation with or without right ventricular outflow tract stenosis. The TPVR provides an alternative for those not eligible for open-chest operations because of the risks such as large trauma, and slow recovery, a spokesperson of Venus Medtech told BioWorld.