LONDON – Heart disease is now known to be both a cause and an effect of serious COVID-19 infection, with more than 1 in 10 patients who have underlying cardiac conditions being killed by the virus, while others with no previous record of cardiovascular problems are suffering significant COVID-19 induced weakening of their hearts.

BEIJING – Shandong, China-based Luoxin Pharmaceuticals Group Stock Co. Ltd. said its PIK3α inhibitor, LX-086, has been approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter clinical trials for advanced solid tumors.

HONG KONG –Shanghai-based Zai Lab Ltd. has won an approval for the first innovative treatment for glioblastoma approved by China in more than 15 years, with the National Medical Products Administration’s nod for Optune in combination with temozolomide for use in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Two judges with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in a patent dispute between Oticon Medical and Cochlear, but the third judge, Pauline Newman took issue with the decision. Newman said the majority applied “an improper analytical technique” to determine that the preamble to a patent does not limit the related claims, despite that prior art cited to dispute the patent had been “disavowed by the preamble.”

Waltham, Mass.-based Thermedical Inc. has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA for its saline enhanced radiofrequency (SERF) ablation system and Durablate catheter in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT). The system uses a new means of biological heat to precisely deliver ablation therapy to the heart.

Quidel Corp., of San Diego, has scored another win at the U.S. FDA, receiving emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Lyra Direct SARS-CoV-2 Assay to allow direct sample processing. What’s special about this assay is that it does not require an up-front sample extraction. Instead, it uses a reformulated buffer that replaces that process with a simple 10-minute heat step, saving about 50 minutes in processing time.