The word “niche” implies a specialized environment. But to Fiona Doetsch, the stem cell niche is anything but. For brain stem cells, “the whole organism is the niche,” Doetsch told the audience at the third plenary session of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg this week.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said it has exercised its option to buy Innovalve Bio Medical Ltd., an early stage transcatheter mitral valve replacemen company, for $300 million in cash following its initial investment in 2017. Since that time, Edwards said Innovalve has demonstrated progress in its program with promising early clinical experience.

A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives proposed an FDA discretionary spending bill of less than $26 billion in appropriated taxpayer dollars for fiscal year 2025.

Lunglife AI Inc. is looking for a strategic partner to help get Lunglb — its non-invasive test for the early detection of lung cancer — into the market and to the patients who need it. The company’s artificial intelligence-supported blood-based test, which identifies indeterminate lung nodules, will be game changing for early lung cancer diagnosis, Paul Pagano, Lunglife CEO, told BioWorld.

The U.S. FDA’s final guidance for device-based treatments for opioid use disorder breaks little new ground relative to the 2023 draft, including a call for the use of a randomized, controlled clinical trial that retains blinding of not just enrollees, but also of the clinicians taking part in these studies.

In June, med-tech deal values saw a modest rise to $93.07 million, up from May's $85.78 million but still lagging behind April's $172.37 million. The monthly average deal value for 2024 has now reached $139.85 million, marking an 84% drop from the 2023 monthly average of $886.13 million.