My instinctive reaction to Monday’s tragic
news was to not write a positive news blog this week. But why let the terrorists win? Dry Bones’ cartoon included the line “... we
find joy in remembering their lives ...” and Israelis’ love for human life
needs to be emphasized even more at this time.
There was positive news recently for three
Israeli organizations producing devices to detect early-stage cancer. First, Israeli biotech Nucleix raised more
than $5 million to finance its diagnostic test for early
detection of bladder cancer and possibly also colon, lung and prostate
cancers. Secondly, the NaNose
cancer detector invented by Israel Technion Institute’s Dr Hossam Haick
is now ready to be marketed and has been licensed to Boston’s Alpha
Szenszor. NaNose diagnoses early-stage malignant tumors
by analyzing exhaled breath. Finally, the
numbers of tests performed by the MarginProbe breast cancer scanner,
developed by Israel’s Dune Medical, have now passed the 1000 mark since the
device was launched in 2013.
MarginProbe confirms that the entire malignant tumor has been removed, before
the surgeon finishes the operation.
Haifa’s Technion Institute is also one of
Israel’s centers for development of treatments to eradicate cancer
altogether. Technion researchers
recently discovered that visible
and UV light destroys cancer’s resistance to chemotherapy. Almost simultaneously, a parallel group of
Technion researchers teamed up with others at Germany’s Max Planck Institute to
develop minute propellers, with the potential to deliver
cancer-killing chemicals directly to tumors without harming healthy
cells.
Israel’s cardiologists continue to save
lives – and not just Jewish lives. Two
Druse brothers from the village of Hurfeish contracted the same genetic
disease that weakens the cardiac muscle.
Doctors at Israel’s Schneider Children’s Medical Center transplanted a
new heart into Rani in 2011 and have just successfully completed another heart
transplant for his brother Dani. And
since the time that Israel’s three teenagers were abducted, Israeli doctors at
Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) have saved
five Palestinian Arab children at the Wolfson Medical Center in
Holon. Dr. Lior Sasson, SACH chief
surgeon said, “children from both sides, shouldn’t be a part of the conflict.”
Israeli cardiovascular devices are an
essential component of today’s life-saving medical technology. Israel’s Itamar Medical manufactures the
EndoPAT diagnostic device that measures how well your arteries are
working. Japan’s Nihon Kohden has just
announced that it will market EndoPAT to
100,000 doctors in Japan as its flagship product for monitoring the
heart and blood vessels.
It is also imperative to have a decent
quality of life. Israel’s D-Pharm has obtained fast track status from the
China's Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) for its DP-VPA epilepsy
treatment. Israeli biotech
Intec has announced that its Accordion Levodopa treatment for Parkinson’s
disease has met all its safety trial endpoints so that Phase 3 trials
on Parkinson’s sufferers can now commence.
Israel’s BrainStorm reported positive interim results of Phase IIa
trials of its “NurOwn” stem cell ALS
therapy. And two wound clinics at Israeli health organization Maccabi
will treat patients with chronic
leg ulcers using Vergenix gel developed by Israel’s CollPlant. Vergenix
is based on CollPlant’s plant-based collagen.
Financial
assistance and expert advice is available to Israeli start-ups if they are
saving or improving lives. Jerusalem
NGO Pretense’s A3i (Accelerating Inclusion In Israel) is the world’s first
support incubator, exclusively for startups developing products and services for
people with special needs. A3i currently supports 13 Israeli companies.
Philips and Teva’s new joint support incubator Inspire
Healthcare Innovations Ltd will invest in start-ups developing
treatments and medical devices. US
pharmaceutical giant Merck will work with Israeli companies on projects
researching into life-saving
medicines and will match Israel’s financial support to those
companies. Finally, Israel’s Trendlines
received the “Best Incubator” award from Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist.
One of Trendlines supported companies, MitrAssist, received Best Start-Up of
the Year for its device
to treat faulty heart valves.
To conclude, here are two recent news items
that should be an inspiration to everyone that loves life. Two scientists at Israel’s Weizmann
Institute have been selected by the prestigious medical journal Cell for their
“40 under 40” list of young world-leading scientists in their field. One of
them, Jacob
Hanna, is an Israeli-Arab. His
breakthroughs will advance the possibility of the future medical use of stem
cells as “spare parts” for damaged cells and tissues. Jacob comes from a family of doctors. His role model is his uncle
Dr Nabil Hanna who developed Rituxan, the first monoclonal antibody approved for
the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Finally, it’s not the $25 million donation
that Sheldon and Miriam Adelson donated to
develop the medical school at Ariel University that attracted my
attention. It is the fact that the
Adelsons were inspired to action after the abduction of the three Israeli
teenagers. As Sheldon poignantly
stated, “the medical studies at Ariel University underscore humanity, the
desire for life and the value of human life wherever they are.”
I wish the families of the three boys
Long Life.
Michael Ordman writes a free weekly
newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.
For a free subscription, email a request to
michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com
