The global medical technology industry’s market size is currently valued around USD $400 billion and according to a PwC report, over the next three years is forecast to hit USD $495 billion. The term medical technology covers a broad range of products, including drugs, devices and software. The advancements in the sector assist to save lives by improving treatments and the overall approach to healthcare, while boosting excitement in the market.
With an aging population rising and the occurrence of chronic diseases increasing, the demand for quality healthcare is predicted further advance. From promising new drug candidates to data-based approaches, advancements in healthcare could catalyze opportunities in the sector to those looking to healthcare stocks.
Premier Health Group (PHGRF) (PHGI.CN) focuses on innovative healthcare approaches that combine human skill-based expertise with emerging technologies, announced it has initiated integration of CB2 Insights’ (CBII.CN) medical cannabis Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tool. This agreement provides the more than 4600 physicians using Premier’s Juno EMR platform access to the industry’s sole medical cannabis-specific CDS tool. The cannabis-specific tool is designed to include medical cannabis into patient treatment plans and overcome barriers from a lack of access to education, qualification factors, risks and benefits of cannabinoid therapy while remaining on a patient-centered basis using clinically-validated data.
“We are dedicated to finding new ways to create value for our physician network,” said Dr. Essam Hamza, CEO. “We continue to receive multiple requests from physicians who ask about how best to incorporate medical cannabis into their clinics. This agreement with CB2 will provide us a robust, validated tool to give our physicians and healthcare practitioners a safe and secure way to qualify, educate and where appropriate, prescribe medical cannabis to their patients in a compliant manner.”
This news followed the company’s announcement partnering Bio Conscious Technologies (BCT) to bring their artificial intelligence (AI) technology to Premier Health’s user base for improved monitoring and management of chronic conditions, such as diabetes. The integration of BCT’s algorithm DiaBits into Premier Health’s patient-centric app can learn an individual’s physiology and with machine learning technology predict where their blood sugar will trend over time based on their past trend, behavior, and activity.
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (AXSM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced that the U.S. FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for its novel AXS-05 for the treatment of major depressive disorder.
“This Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for AXS-05 in major depressive disorder exemplifies Axsome’s commitment to developing novel medicines that have the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients living with serious CNS disorders,” said Herriot Tabuteau, MD, CEO. “There is a significant unmet medical need for new and mechanistically differentiated treatments for depression. We look forward to working closely with the FDA over the coming months to expedite the development of AXS-05 for the treatment of major depressive disorder.”
The designation for AXS-05 in MDD was supported by the recently reported positive results from the Phase 2 ASCEND study. The study confirmed that treatment with AXS-05 resulted in a statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms as compared to the active comparator bupropion. Furthermore, AXS-05 demonstrated a statistically significant average mean reduction from baseline in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale total score over the treatment period of 13.7 points for AXS-05, compared to 8.8 for bupropion.
Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (APOP), developer of a novel stem cell production technology, announced positive mid-study data from its Phase I/II study of its ApoGraft™ technology. The first half of patients planned for the study have completed the 180 day follow up, and 8 out of 12 planned subjects have been enrolled. The staggered 4-cohort clinical study is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of ApoGraft™ in patients with haemato-oncology disorders undergoing allogenic HLA-matched hematopoietic stem cell transplant with a primary endpoint to evaluate the overall incidence, frequency, and severity of adverse events potentially related to ApoGraft™ at 180-days post-transplant.
The company reported that to date, there have not been any safety concerns during the study and patient enrollment is continuing. Both, the principal investigator and independent data safety monitoring board agreed that no serious adverse events reported during the course of the study were related to the ApoGraft™ process.
“We are encouraged that the data for the Phase I/II study continues to validate our ApoGraft technology – and the data at this point fully met our expectations,” commented Dr. Shai Yarkoni, CEO. “As we enroll the remaining patients, we believe the results strengthen our plans to initiate the next trial in the U.S. during the first half of the year and begin to monetize Cellect’s proof of concept as we seek partnerships and collaborations with academics and corporate customers.”
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