Brain.space Ltd. raised $11 million in a series A funding round for its technologies which uses brain data and AI to understand and predict human behavior. The round was led by Toyota Ventures, with significant participation from Mangrove Capital Partners and The Group Ventures. The funding included a $3.5 million non-dilutive grant from the Israel Innovation Authority.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a serious disorder that develops after SARS-CoV-2 infection, could arise from latent infection of another pathogen, the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Researchers at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the German Rheumatology Research Center (DRFZ) have linked the inflammatory effect of this co-infection with transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), ruling out the possibility that MIS-C is caused by an autoimmune reaction, or persistence of the coronavirus in the body.
The politicization of the U.S. FTC continued March 18 with President Donald Trump firing the two remaining Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. The action leaves what’s supposed to be a five-member bipartisan panel with just two members, both of whom are Republicans. The commission already was down one member, as former Chair Lina Khan’s term expired last year and Trump’s appointee, Mark Meador, is awaiting Senate confirmation with a vote expected yet this month.
The U.S. FDA has posted several class I recalls in recent days, including a removal of one model of the Medtronic Vascular’s Pipeline Vantage embolization device due to insufficient apposition to the vessel wall.
The U.S. FDA warning letter to Q’Apel Medical Inc., of Fremont, Calif., lists several deviations from the regulation, but the agency said the company’s Hippo device for is misbranded because Q’Apel had failed to file with the agency for changes to the device design.
New Zealand med-tech startup Avasa Ltd. has developed an arterial coupler that could save surgeons 30 minutes in the operating room to better connect arteries.
Tandem Diabetes Care Inc.’s Control-IQ+ automated insulin delivery system improved multiple measures of glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes who use insulin, a study presented March 19 at the 18th International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes and published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Biomeriux, Guerbet, Magstim, Moon Surgical, Nvidia, Orthofix, Welcony.