Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Agendia, Airs Medical, Beigene, Beone, Bostongene, Brainbox Solutions, Cellview Imaging, Charles River, Deciphex, Essilorluxottica, Firefly, Incepto, Life Link III, Molecular Instruments, Nvidia, Oragenics, Pathai, Playback Health.
The Biosecure Act may have died with the 118th U.S. Congress, but efforts to stop U.S. government funding of R&D in China are alive and well. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., introduced the Stop Funding our Adversaries Act in the House Feb. 7 to prohibit direct and indirect federal funding of research in China or entities owned by China.
From Feb. 10, the U.S. NIH is to cut the amount of its grants that go to indirect costs, in a move it says will save $4 billion per annum, but which scientists say will hit breakthrough biomedical research. The NIH announced the cut on Friday, Feb. 7, saying there would be a flat rate of 15% for indirect costs, such as running laboratories, buying and maintaining equipment, data processing and storage, across all of its grants. That compares to an average rate historically of between 27% and 28%, the NIH said.
A 1,000-person study using Heartflow Inc. technology demonstrated that findings of coronary plaque on heart CT scans could indicate which patients were at risk of cardiovascular events up to seven years in the future – potentially providing a road map toward screening for heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. and worldwide.
Skin Analytics Ltd. received CE mark for its AI-based tool Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy (DERM), which can assess images of lesions and detect skin cancer autonomously. The technology has an accuracy rate of 99.8% compared to 98.9% for dermatologists.
The U.S. national coverage analysis for transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement drew support from cardiologists and device makers alike, but the Medical Device Manufacturers Association is urging CMS to plan ahead in its final coverage memo and consider the coverage needs outside the confines of the existing U.S. FDA-approved device.
The med tech patent wars conscripted another two companies via a patent infringement lawsuit between Inari Medical Inc. and Imperative Care Inc. — a struggle that is playing out in a California district court.
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