Partners Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp., which is based in Seattle, and Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. have started sharing an open database that details the immune response in COVID-19 patients with researchers and public health officials. The project is analyzing thousands of de-identified patient blood samples submitted from institutions around the world and is dubbed ImmuneCODE.
Whole genome sequencing is not part of treating patients in practice – or even involved in most clinical trials of drug candidates. But C2i Genomics Inc. is working to make that a reality. It applies pattern recognition to whole genome sequencing to create an individualized fingerprint for a given patient’s tumor. The New York-based startup has raised a $12 million series A round to back the development of its technology, which came out of Cornell and the New York Genome Center.
Dead cancer cells in the body are thought to help trigger an active immune response in oncology patients, particularly in combination with immunotherapy drugs. Some technologies, such as radiation and laser therapy, that kill cancer cells are being investigated for use in combination with immunotherapies. Well-regarded oncology specialist The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has partnered with Rakuten Medical Inc. to further advance one such technology, the latter’s photoimmunotherapy platform Illuminox.
A long-term clinical trial comparing minimally invasive cryoablation to surgery to treat early stage kidney cancer patients has found that the former offers comparable rates of survival and fewer complications. Johns Hopkins researchers published the 10-year survival data for 134 patients in the June 9, 2020, issue of Radiology.
Hydrocephalus involves the buildup of excess fluid in the brain. It affects more than 1 million people in the U.S. – most of them children – and can result in brain damage and related neurological impairments. Shunt implants are the standard treatment to drain that fluid, but more than half of them fail within the first couple of years of placement.
Investigators are working to develop electrogenetic devices that use remote-controlled electrical stimulation to elicit specific behaviors in engineered cells. They are following in the footsteps of optogenetics, which use specific wavelengths of light to control cell function remotely. A new study published in Science used such a device paired with encapsulated, engineered human pancreatic beta cells to express enough insulin to restore normal glycemic levels in mice models of diabetes.
Investigators are working to develop electrogenetic devices that use remote-controlled electrical stimulation to elicit specific behaviors in engineered cells.
Amsterdam-based Royal Philips NV has launched a five-day, wearable biosensor patch that monitors respiratory and heart rates once every minute, as well as assesses contextual information such as posture, activity level and ambulation. The wearable, disposable patch, dubbed the Philips Biosensor BX100, has received FDA clearance and a CE mark and is intended for use in lower acuity hospital care.
Wall Street has stabilized enough after the recent pandemic-induced volatility to offer enthusiastic support to a med tech generating significant revenue that already reached breakeven during the first quarter. Inari Medical Inc. priced its IPO at the top of an already upwardly revised range to raise $156 million. It sold 8.2 million shares at $19, above the prior range of $17 to $18. Shares of the Irvine, Calif.-based company (NASDAQ:NARI) then more than doubled to hit about $43 on its first day of trading.
Vancouver-based Artms Inc. has raised a $19 million series A round to develop its approach to the production of many of the most commonly used diagnostic imaging isotopes. Its Quantm Irradiation System enables the inexpensive production of medical isotopes using hospital-based cyclotrons.
