Ben-Gurion University, the Negev Development Authority and the Municipality of Beer Sheva are also members of the Bio-Negev Cluster.
Six service companies representing, among other things, the milestones in biotechnological development, announced their joining the BioNegev association. Center for the Biotechnology and Life Sciences Industry in the Negev, in collaboration with Ben Gurion University, the Negev Development Authority and the Municipality of B.S. The association, which was officially inaugurated this week, at an event in Be'er Sheva, was established to serve as a framework for the development of the biotechnology and life sciences industry in the Negev region. It was built as an industrial "cluster" regional, in the format of the European clusters (Bioclusters), and is currently the only full member from Israel in the super-European framework - the Council European Regional Biotechnology Centers - CEBR.
As part of the meeting, which was held in the University Kiryat, at Ben Gurion University, the first 6 entities that have already joined the association were revealed, among them: Procogenia, the stock exchange, which deals with the research, development, production and sale of technological products for the biological pharmaceutical and life sciences industries (the company operates in the field of analyzing and monitoring sugar structures using a variety of complementary methods each other and offer a comprehensive solution to the needs of the biopharma and biosimilar market for testing the sugars of biological and biogeneric drugs), the company Bioanalytics, which offers the possibility of renting or leasing laboratory equipment as well as the sale of second-hand equipment, tailored to the customer's needs, Daren Laboratories, A scientific consulting company specializing in chemistry, materials, polymers, syntheses and industrial processes, GC Group specializing in the development of drugs with high added value, the quality assurance and validation department at Loden Engineering, which provides quality assurance services, GMP, which deals with validations for facilities and equipment, and the CRO blade, one of the leading research bodies in Israel, in its territory Studies are conducted in large animal models in a variety of fields. Among the center's clients are universities, research institutes and companies engaged in the development of innovative procedures, medicines and medical devices. Ben-Gurion University, the Negev Development Authority and the Municipality of Beer Sheva are also members of the cluster.
"We are big believers in the idea of bio-wiping and want to take part in it," says Yoram Sela, CEO of GC Group, a young company founded in 2010 by a group of veterans of the pharmaceutical industry. "I believe that we will be able to establish contact through the cluster with many more companies and thus create additional collaborations that will help us better deal with the challenges of the future."
According to Dr. Inbar Freeman, CEO of Bio-Negev, the joining of the first 6 bodies to the association is only part of the ongoing activity to integrate existing resources and capabilities (academic, clinical and industrial) in the region. "We will continue to work to establish industrial infrastructures in favor of establishing a center for attracting financial, organizational, managerial and human resources to the Negev."
According to Sylvan Shalom, the Minister of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water, and the Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee and Regional Cooperation, who accompanies the Bio-Negev activity, the ministry encourages strategic collaborations and positioning the Negev as an international center of excellence, for the purpose of establishing new Israeli companies and attracting multinational companies to the region. "As a framework for the development of the biotechnology and life sciences industry in Israel, we definitely see here as a marker and a catalyst for moving the center of gravity of the biotechnology and life sciences industry to the Negev. The association is also a continuation of our activity and support for the National Institute of Biotechnology, which was also established in the B.S. at Ben Gurion University," said the Minister peace.
The Israeli-Belgian Nixoa received approval from the US Patent Office for 11 patents protecting the technology it developed for the treatment of sleep apnea
Nixoa, the Israeli-Belgian start-up company, which developed a tiny implant to treat sleep apnea and snoring, announced today that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) has granted it 11 patents protecting the innovative technology it has developed. The first eight patents granted to Nixoa have been officially published on the USPTO website Last week. Three more patents will be published in the coming weeks.
Nixoa has developed an extremely flexible and small implant that stimulates the tongue muscle during the night using an electric current, with the aim of preventing airway obstruction during sleep. The implant is inserted under the patient's chin in a short non-hospitalization procedure. The innovative implant is the size of a coin and is thinner than several sheets of paper. In order to activate the implant, the patient attaches a disposable battery sticker under the chin before going to sleep, which wirelessly transmits energy to the implant during the night. The implant transmits an electric current to the nerves around the tongue and thereby causes a slight movement of the tongue which prevents the airway from being blocked during sleep.
Sleep apnea syndrome occurs when the muscles of the pharynx and tongue become relaxed during sleep, in a way that sometimes leads to a complete blockage of air flow from the lungs to the outside. One in five adults over the age of 40 suffers from some level of the syndrome. The syndrome is accompanied by side effects such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart failure and stroke.
Robert Taub, Chairman of the Nixoa Board of Directors and one of the co-founders, said after the approval of the patents that "the company has already started clinical trials to test the technology in humans, and the fact that we were able to protect the technology so quickly with a broad portfolio of patents adds significantly to the promising future of society".
Dr. Adi Mashiach, co-founder, CEO of Nixoa and one of the inventors of the technology it developed, added that "there are many revolutionary aspects to our solution. The ability to stimulate the tongue muscle throughout the night using a disposable battery patch is a significant innovation. In addition, Our ability to insert the implant in a quick procedure and without hospitalization, makes the technology more accessible for a significant percentage of the population suffering from sleep apnea That the 11 patents were approved less than a year after they were submitted is evidence of the uniqueness of our solution."
Attorney Gershon Penich, a partner at the Finnigan law firm from the US, who developed Nixoa's intellectual property strategy, agrees. "Through strategic and careful planning, we isolated dozens of critical characteristics, and then strived to protect those strategies that would provide the protection of the company's value," Panich explained. "The patents are designed to work together, to provide a protection network for Nixoa. Approval of 11 patents at the same time is undoubtedly impressive, but there are many more that are currently in the work processes and will be approved in the future," Panich added.
Another recruitment for the Israeli company LapSpace Medical, which develops medical equipment for laparoscopic surgeries
LapSpace Medical raised NIS 2 million as part of a second fundraising round. The company, which operates under the Trendlines Medical incubator (Mashgav), is developing a balloon-based retractor intended for laparoscopic surgeries. The device helps in separating the small intestine from the operated organ and allows the operating room staff to save time, personnel and resources. The company received a license for a patent that was developed and approved at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland and so far about four million shekels have been invested in it.
The company LapSpace Medical from the technology incubator Trendlines Medical (Mashgav) announced the end of a fundraising round from private investors in the total amount of NIS 2 million, in addition to investments from the Trendlines Group and the chief scientist that the company received upon its entry into the technology incubator. In total, about four million NIS have been invested in the company so far. The company is developing a retractor (retractor) for the small intestine, intended for laparoscopic (minimally-invasive) surgeries. The uniqueness of the retractor is that it is a disposable device, while the part that comes into contact with the patient is made of a balloon and therefore constitutes A non-traumatic treatment. Today, the way to divert the small intestine from pelvic surgery is by turning the operating bed at a sharp angle, while the patient is lying down. With his head down and his legs up. Due to the force of gravity, the small intestine is "spilled" and exposed. This position causes many complications, including shortness of breath, increased intracranial pressure, and more Using a device called a grasper, which consists of clamps for aproscopes with which they try to separate the small intestine from the operated organ A more traumatic and less effective procedure, because it takes away precious and long minutes from the operation and may lead to the conversion of the operation from minimally invasive to invasive.
The key to the idea is Dr. Hin Nguyen, a senior laparoscopic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, USA, in response to a need and a daily challenge he encounters in the operating room. LapSpace Medical received a patent license from the hospital, which chose to develop the technology in the Trendlines Medical Incubator in Israel , and since then there has been a close relationship between the entities, in which Dr. Nguyen serves as a clinical consultant to the company.
Today, more than 8 million aproscopic surgeries are performed in the world per year, and the forecast for the coming years predicts that the numbers will increase, due to the fact that minimally invasive surgeries are replacing invasive surgeries. For example, gallbladder surgery, which is one of the most common of the abdominal surgeries, is currently performed exclusively with an aproscopic approach (also in Israel). The potential market for the retractor is estimated at about 500 million dollars a year.
In addition to the patent, the company LapSpace Medical has FDA approval from the beginning of 2013 and in March 2014 it will start marketing and selling the product in the USA. Also, the company has begun the process of obtaining the CE standard for sales in Europe.
Assaf Livna, CEO of LapSpace Medical: The retractor helps the surgeon to divert the small intestine from the target organ in seconds, without the need to move the bed and significantly reduces the level of risk of trauma during surgery. During the research and development phase, we saw before our eyes the effectiveness of the treatment and the quality of the results, we went through pre-clinical trials successful and we are happy that we met the expectations we set, among them a significant shortening of the surgery time and a reduction in the risk of complications." Livna notes that the company is developing new retractors in order to expand its product portfolio.
Dr. Eran Faldehi, CEO of the Trendlines Medical Technology Incubator (Mashgav): "LapSpace Medical began its activities in the incubator in 2011 and has so far raised capital totaling approximately NIS 4 million. I have no doubt that the current round of fundraising combined with the FDA standard And the patent registration from Johns Hopkins reflects an expression of confidence in the high quality standard that the company operates in. This quality is extremely important to a company developing a product Revolutionary at the forefront of medical technology and intended for a market of hundreds of millions of dollars. In the future, we intend to expand the collaboration between the incubator and Johns Hopkins Hospital to other projects."
Neuroderm raised $5.4 million to accelerate clinical trials
NeuroDerm, which develops drugs for dermal insertion in diseases of the central nervous system, raised a total of 5.4 million dollars from all existing investors, including Robert Taub, Prof. Shmuel Kabili, Capital Point, Eva Washer and Der Jürgen Hambrecht and new investors from abroad. The money will be used to accelerate clinical trials Based on the positive results obtained in the clinical trials and conversations with the FDA Neuroderm plans to continue clinical development of ND0612 and begin an advanced clinical trial in the coming months.
The company's product for Parkinson's which has completed phase 2 trials is ND0612, a drug based on a liquid formulation of levodopa and carbidopa for continuous subcutaneous administration designed to maintain a constant and stable level of levodopa 24 hours a day. Achieving constant and stable levels of levodopa in the blood has been the main challenge in the development of drugs for Parkinson's disease for several decades), improving its availability and thus reducing movement disorders. The experiment shows that ND0612 is safe and achieved high and stable levodopa levels in both healthy volunteers and advanced patients. ND0612 is in development as a drug for convenient subcutaneous administration that will set a new and significantly higher bar in the ability to treat Parkinson's disease.
Dr. Oded Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of Neuroderm, said: "This is another shot of encouragement that all our existing investors believe in the ability of Neuroderm to bring to the market innovative drugs that will change the way central nervous system diseases are treated, and more importantly - will bring significant relief to their lifestyle of the patients, in the various stages of the disease". "I believe and hope that we will bring value to the new investors as well."
Also, as previously announced, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the largest in the world in the field of Parkinson's, awarded, for the second time, $0612 million to Neuroderm to support the clinical development of NDXNUMX
The drug market for Parkinson's disease is currently estimated at approximately three billion dollars per year. A large number of leading pharmaceutical companies sell products in the field of drug therapy for Parkinson's, including Novartis, Abbott, Teva and UCB. The number of Parkinson's patients in the world is estimated at about 6 million patients, of which, according to the American Parkinson's Association, about 1.5 million are in the USA.
The Israeli development that will improve the life of poultry in coops all over the world
The company Metabolic Robots (Metabolic Robots) from the technology incubator Trendlines Agtech (Moft) has developed a robot, known as Kai Zen 5, which controls the feeding systems that exist in every modern chicken coop in the world. The robot enables conditioning on the part of the animals and creates cooperation between the requirements of the poultry flock and the feed system, so that the quality of life of the poultry can be significantly improved and, as a result, the profitability of the agricultural sector. The scope of the initial market is estimated at 300 million dollars per year. In the coming months, the company will install advanced BETA systems in Israel, Germany and Ecuador.
The robot, which operates with constant repeated feeding from the animals and without human intervention, is driven by a unique algorithm that is protected by a patent and allows the system to control the existing feeding program and adapt it to desired patterns and genetic patterns inherent in each breed and species, all with the aim of enabling a normal lifestyle for the flock as a whole and for each individual chicken in its subgroup he belongs Today, industrial agriculture uses equipment that does not allow flexibility in the feeding program and requires repeated manual adjustment of the feeding patterns in accordance with the changes that apply in the flock and so far not many studies have been conducted for the purpose of improving the feeding interfaces in chicken coops. The flocks staying in the chicken coops are characterized by many differences such as breed, sex, the season of the year and different eating habits and behavior throughout the day. The difference between the manufacturers of the equipment and the standard of the equipment in the market creates an imbalance between the animals' requirements for feed and the output of the systems, these lead to hardships and stress among the members of the herd and ultimately create social pressure and even violence. Kai Zen 5 solves these common problems and enables appropriate feeding, for all types of meat poultry and in all conditions.
Experiments conducted by Metabolic Robots show that the birds respond well to the conditions and quickly learn new eating patterns that allow for the correct distribution and optimal distribution of the food, and as a result, the migration of the giant flocks within the closed structure and their optimal distribution. The advantages of the new robot are evident in a sharp 30% decrease in chicken coop mortality during the growing months, while consuming a smaller amount of expensive plant mixture. The technology even allows the birds a sense of satiety and abundance throughout the day, uniformity in the distribution of food among the individuals and regular behavioral habits. Acquiring regular eating habits stimulate a better metabolism and the increased movement encourages social activities and these significantly improve the physical and mental strength and vitality of the animals. Finally, the system precisely monitors the eating habits of the herd and the subgroups throughout the hours of the day and night, processes it and for the first time ever makes it possible to identify infections and diseases in every chicken coop in the world at very early stages and thus react quickly to prevent the potential infection of additional chicken coops.
