In March, the U.S. FDA reported a major shortage of Rhogam, the anti-D immune globulin most widely used to prevent Rh factor incompatibility in pregnancy. Without treatment, second and subsequent pregnancies can be endangered by antibodies created by the mother. With the shortage, the standard treatment of two shots for all pregnant females with Rh-negative blood can be challenging, but Billiontoone Inc.’s Unity prenatal test can eliminate the need for the immune globulin treatment in 40% of these pregnancies.

Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have linked the risk of heart failure during pregnancy and senescence proteins produced by placental aging, which could clarify how peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is triggered and opens the door to the development of cardiac function therapies in late pregnancy.

Butterfly Network Inc. expanded its collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Global Ultrasound Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase access to maternal/fetal ultrasound technology. The program will bring 500 IQ+ systems and ultrasound training to six provinces in South Africa, following a successful introduction in late 2022 in Kenya.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Inc. agreed to purchase select assets of Bioreference Health from Opko Health Inc. for $237.5 million in a deal slated to close in the second half of 2024. The transaction could be the start of a buying spree for the country’s second-largest independent laboratory testing service provider, as Labcorp management has laid out an acquisition strategy that focuses on higher-growth areas, particularly reproductive and women’s health.

Serac Healthcare Ltd.’s imaging agent, 99m Tc-maraciclatide, enables visualization of early-stage endometriosis, preliminary data from a study presented last week at the Society for Reproductive Investigation conference in Vancouver demonstrated. With millions of women suffering from the debilitating condition globally, maraciclatide has the potential to not only help with diagnosis but also with the development of new therapeutics, David Hail, CEO of Serac, told BioWorld.

Asieris Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd plans to submit a China NDA in the second quarter following positive phase III data for its cold light photodynamic drug-device combination product, Cevira, which is used as nonsurgical therapy for treating high-grade cervical dysplasia.

Aska Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Aska Pharmaceutical Holdings Co. Ltd., and Red Arrow Therapeutics Inc. have signed a joint research agreement to develop a new treatment for preeclampsia using advanced nanotechnology.

The U.S. FDA granted Edap Tms SA breakthrough device designation for its Focal One system to treat deep infiltrating rectal endometriosis. The company believes that the Focal One high intensity focused ultrasound technology can offer relief to the thousands of women suffering from the debilitating condition.

Claudin-6 (CLDN6) is highly expressed in several cancer types, including ovarian and endometrial cancers, while very low or no expression is found in normal tissues.

Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) are seeking patent protection for a transcervical delivery device that may provide clinicians with a simple, inexpensive office-based procedure for the assessment of tubal patency or delivery of a permanent contraceptive agent to the fallopian tube.