Med-tech approaches to treating obesity-related diseases have gained limited traction beyond bariatric surgery. That's in part because obesity itself is not considered a disease by the U.S. FDA and payers, so the focus is typically on ameliorating each of a series of associated disorders as they arise. Lexington, Mass.-based startup Fractyl Laboratories Inc. is developing a duodenal mucosal resurfacing system known as Revita. It resurfaces this uppermost part of the small intestine in an effort to mimic some of the benefits of bariatric surgery via a minimally invasive, endoscopic ablation procedure. Read More
LONDON – Nanobiotix SA has won European marketing approval for NBTXR3, a first-in-class nanoparticle device that boosts the effectiveness of standard radiotherapy in killing cancer cells. The product, now christened Hensify, is a nanoparticle formulation of hafnium oxide, a material that absorbs X-rays, increasing the effective dose of radiation in a tumor. It is administered as a one-time injection into a tumor, given the day before conventional radiotherapy treatment. Read More
