Pennsylvania-based health company Orchestra BioMed has obtained FDA breakthrough device designation for its Virtue sirolimus-eluting balloon (SEB), according to a statement issued April 24. Virtue SEB, a drug/device combination product that delivers sustained-released bioabsorbable nanoparticle-encapsulated sirolimus directly to a patient’s artery during balloon angioplasty, works without the need for a drug coating, Orchestra said. It’s intended for use in individuals with coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR), a complication that comprises more than 10% of total interventional cardiology procedures.

We spoke with Robert Geho, CEO of Diasome Pharmaceuticals, Inc. — www.diasome.com — about its nanotechnology additive that delivers insulin to the liver where it can substantially improve T1D glucose control.

Repairing a damaged organ in order to allow an individual to have a healthier life, as well as a greater quality of life, could soon be a reality as New York-based Angion Biomedica Corp.moves toward completing clinical trials of its lead asset.

Nurix is flipping the concept of targeted protein degradation on its head. In addition to the usual approach of inducing target destruction, the company has technology that can block E3 ligase activity and increase a protein’s levels. The latter is the basis of its preclinical immuno-oncology partnership with Celgene Corp.

Earlier this month, several people took a pill that might have the ability to prevent colorectal cancer. These individuals are participants of a new pilot study launched by Check-Cap, a medical diagnostics company intent on developing the world’s first ingestible imaging capsule for colorectal cancer screening.