In Vitro Diagnostics

Guardant Health introduces a new germline panel test to help guide cancer treatment, assess the risk of secondary cancers in patients and identify family members at risk of cancer.

A Texas court's decision against US FDA regulation of lab-developed tests (LDTs) has introduced new uncertainties for clinical labs. Industry stakeholders are now worried about potential future regulations while also managing existing compliance requirements. Recent conference discussions underscored the complexities of FDA oversight.

A study from Babson Diagnostics published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine showed that capillary blood sample volume issues can overcome historical challenges, such as poor quality, through a technique called assay miniaturization.

Fujirebio Diagnostics' Alzheimer's disease test, Lumipulse G pTau217/ß-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio, has been cleared by the US FDA.

Mirvie launched Encompass, a blood test to help identify women over age 35 who are at moderate risk for preeclampsia, and will conduct additional studies to support reimbursements from payers.

Israeli-based SpotitEarly hopes to bring an early cancer-detection test, which uses dogs’ noses to detect compounds in exhaled breath and AI analysis, to US homes in 2026.

The US FDA has approved the Teal Wand, the first at-home cervical cancer screening device. Capable of detecting preclinical cancer with 96% accuracy, it will launch in California in June and expand nationwide soon after.

“It’s quite likely [consumer wearable manufacturers] are changing the sensitivity and specificity based on consumer feedback, but not for medical reasons,” said Dipak Kotecha, a University of Birmingham professor of cardiology. Often, self-reported performance evidence from manufacturers is “low quality and biased.”

Peerbridge Health is preparing to submit its next-generation ECG patch, CorMDx, for US FDA clearance this quarter, with plans to launch in the second half of 2025. The rechargeable device is designed for continuous, real-time heart monitoring from the hospital to home, aiming to detect early signs of heart failure and reduce emergency room visits.

Global investment in consumer healthtech increased by 9% year-over-year in 2024, totaling $4.5bn, with significant interest in mental health solutions, according to Galen Growth. While the first quarter of 2025 saw raised confidence and investments, the Trump administration’s new tariffs and sweeping changes to healthcare have introduced new uncertainties.

Back-to-back meetings at LSX? No time to attend the innovator showcase? Here is what you might have missed from medtech innovators at the LSX World Congress Europe on 29 April.

The FDA's final LDT ruling was struck down in federal court last month. For now, diagnostic companies can commercialize under CLIA regulations or apply for FDA approval. McDermott and Tribun Health have shared insights on the risks, pros and cons of both regulatory routes.

Cambridge-based startup Mursla Bio's liquid biopsy test EvoLiver uses extracellular vesicles to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk cirrhotic patients. Medtech Insight sat down with with Mursla Bio CEO Pierre Arsène.

OneCell Diagnostics, the Mumbai-based startup backed with $16m in series A funding, is rebranding to 1Cell.Ai to represent the firm's focus on combining deep science with AI-powered capabilities.

Biotech and pharma are increasingly clear about one thing: They need diagnostics. But with prices suppressed, how have diagnostics companies proven their utility without going under?

Now that a federal judge has ruled the US FDA exceeded its authority by unilaterally assuming regulatory oversight of lab-developed tests, what’s the agency’s next move? And does it really have one?

In this week’s Digital Health Roundup, Medtech Insight’s Marion Webb highlights her conference coverage from CES, HIMSS, AAOS and LSI including Exec Chats with Gary Guthart, CEO of Intuitive Surgical, and Arcadia’s chief strategy officer Aneesh Chopra. Brian Bossetta highlights a recently FDA-cleared alert system that sends vital signs to clinicians. Elizabeth Orr discusses FDA warning letters sent to Exer Labs for exceeding marketing claims under what is allowed under the device’s 510(k) clearance. Shubham Singh discusses how Roche's unveiling of its next-generation sequencing (NGS) prototype challenges Illumina. The SBX technology is set to compete directly with Illumina’s NovaSeq and NextSeq platforms.

The Cologuard Plus test has a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 94% for the detection of colorectal cancer; “unmatched accuracy,” according to Exact Sciences.

A federal judge in Texas delivered what is most likely a fatal blow to the US FDA’s final rule, which would have regulated lab-developed tests as medical devices.

The urine-based GAGome test showed promise in the first clinical results from the international AURORAX-0087A, in the largest study conducted on clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.