HONG KONG – Olive Healthcare Inc., a South Korean biotech startup, said its abdominal fat scanner Bello has received an FDA approval to sell the device in the U.S. The company said it plans to launch the scanner in the country this December, after a market test. The miniature device is portable with a weight of 3.8 oz (107 g), measuring 3.9 inches (10 centimeters) long, 3.1 inches wide and 1.9 inches high.

Dialysis is a grueling ordeal, tethering patients with kidney failure to machines for hours on end while their blood is cleansed of waste and toxins. Imagine now that a tiny implant could purify the blood on a continual basis without the need for complex equipment, catheters and solutions. That's the idea behind new technology being developed by U.S. Kidney Research Corp. The Roseville, Calif., company's computer-assisted artificial kidney prototype is set to begin animal studies the last week of August.

In late June, when Pfizer Inc. unveiled the first phase Ib data, mixed safety signal and all, for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene therapy, PF-06939926, investors in Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. as well as Solid Biosciences Inc. watched with particular interest. The latter firm seems none the worse for wear, though, raising $60 million in a private placement.