With a round of conference presentations and a new marketing program launched this week, Sight Sciences Inc. kicked off a focused effort to increase awareness of its Omni surgical system’s FDA clearance for glaucoma procedures performed independently of cataract surgery. The coordinated push aims to further boost revenues, which saw an estimated 65% increase compared to 2020 and 12% increase quarter-on-quarter, based on preliminary fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021 results.

A needle-free injection system for patients with diabetes developed by Nugen Medical Devices Inc. has been approved for use in 40 countries but until now has yet to crack the North American market. Nugen said it is now gearing up for FDA and Mexican approval of the Nugen MD needle-free injector following Health Canada’s approval of the system less than a month after the Toronto med tech went public in late 2021.

Oxford Biodynamics plc is launching its clinical assay Episwitch CIRT in the U.S. following clinical validation that demonstrated the 3D genomic eight biomarker panel can predict a cancer patient’s response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy at up to 93% sensitivity, 82% specificity and 85% accuracy. ICIs are currently used against more than 15 types of cancer but less than one in three patients show any benefit from the treatment.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has signed off on an amendment to the divestiture plan for Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), of Marlborough, Mass., related to the acquisition of British Technology Group plc (BTG).

Neurosigma Inc. has received FDA breakthrough device designation for its Monarch ETNS system to treat drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). The neuromodulation therapy uses noninvasive external trigeminal nerve stimulation (ETNS) to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric indications. The technology is currently commercialized for pediatric ADHD treatment.

Chinese investment in U.S. companies is dropping, but Chinese biopharma firms are increasingly eyeing licensing deals on early stage inventions patented by U.S. universities, Lin Sun-Hoffman, founding partner at Liu, Chen & Hoffman LLP, said during a Feb. 24 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office webinar on biopharma patents in China.

Noninvasix Inc. received a breakthrough device designation from the FDA for its noninvasive Livox central venous oxygenation monitor, which allows real-time monitoring of central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) in patients at risk of septic shock. The Noninvasix optoacoustic platform consists of a disposable patient interface with a reusable probe, data display and hardware.

John-Michael Havrilla, formerly the director of investor relations at Pavmed, has agreed to pay $160,000 in civil penalties over allegations he used inside knowledge of an impending earnings report to help himself to $80,000 in ill-gained profits, a sure sign the SEC is not ignoring med-tech firms in its pursuit of insider trading charges.

The U.S. SEC reported a settlement Feb. 23 with Baxter International Inc. and its former treasurer, Scott Bohaboy, and former assistant treasurer, Jeffrey Schaible, resolving charges involving years of improper intra-company foreign exchange transactions that resulted in the misstatement of Baxter’s net income.

Tariffs applied to goods imported for China were imposed by the Trump administration as part of a larger effort to reset the U.S. trade deficit, but there were several exclusions for medical devices in the interest of maintaining access.