ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The Vaccination Nation. Nearly 3 million Israelis have now received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 1.7 million have now received the second. Covid infections and serious illnesses of Israelis over the age of 60 are now 60% lower than before vaccinating started. An inspiring video.
Pfizer Learning About New Coronavirus Vaccine Side Effects from Its Use in Israel. Israel has offered a wealth of information to Pfizer about its Coronavirus vaccine, from its efficacy to side effects as they appear in different demographic segments of the population. This according to Professor Galia Rahav, the director of the infectious disease prevention unit at Sheba Medical Center.
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From coffee to vaccines. Israel’s Youtiligent has developed an IoT (Internet of Things) solution for checking that a vaccine has been kept at the correct temperature. Youtiligent is piloting the system with two of Israel’s four Health Management Organizations. Before Covid, Youtiligent monitored coffee machines and ice cream!
Israeli Scientists Create Hearing Robot Using Locust Ears. Tel Aviv University researchers at its Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology have developed a new technology that can give hearing to robots. The new device which is called “Ear-On-A-Chip” uses the ears of a locust to work.
New pathway for targeting cancer. Normal cells have 23 chromosomes from each parent. But cancer cells do not, and scientists have been trying for years to exploit that fact. Now Tel Aviv University scientists have deciphered the phenomena and can guide oncologists to the therapies most appropriate for each type of cancer.
Hope for Parkinson’s treatment. Ben Gurion University researchers have discovered that proteins called BMP5/7 are new promising potential therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease. In lab tests, the proteins prevented the accumulation of toxic alpha-synuclein clumps and loss of vital dopamine-producing brain cells.
Trial success for kidney monitor. Israel’s Serreno reported over 96% accuracy in the trials of its Sentinel monitoring system for Acute Kidney Injury in three Israeli Intensive Care Units. The devices will now be manufactured by Israel’s Elcam Medical, which has also invested $1.5 million in Serreno.
AI to improve IV. Israel’s Embrionics is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the success rates of fertility treatments. Founded by Haredi female entrepreneur Dr.Yael Gold-Zamir, Embrionics is breaking new ground in embryo selection, genetic analysis and utilizing Big Data to help bring happiness to childless couples.
Tel Aviv is world’s 6th healthiest city. Tel Aviv, known for its vegan scene and vibrant culture, was ranked the 6th healthiest city in the world, according to a new report from UK’s Money.co.uk. It compared life expectancy, obesity levels, pollution levels, safety score, sunlight hours, and cost to be healthy.
EU funding for antibiotic alternative. Israel’s Omnix has been awarded €10.8 million in EU funding under the EIC Accelerator Programme, part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research funding program. Omnix’s OMN6 peptide destroys the bacteria’s membrane, regardless of its resistance.
Europe approves skin tightening device. Israel’s Sofwave has received Europe’s CE Mark plus Israeli approval for its revolutionary skin tightening and wrinkle reduction device. Sofware’s SUPERB (Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam) has already received US FDA approval.
Working to prevent pre-cancerous colon polyps. Israel’s Digestix Bioscience is in the early stage of developing a medical device and treatment to prevent recurrence of certain colorectal polyps. These polyps occur in at least 25% of people over 50 and if not removed can develop into colon cancer.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Young scientist awards. Tel Aviv Uni’s Professor Yossi Yovel, Technion Professor Ido Kaminer and Weizmann Professor Rafal Klajn have won international Blavatnik Young Scientist awards and $100,000 each for their breakthrough research in neuro-ecology, quantum physics and nanomaterials respectively.
Israel’s City Transformer Is Taking Its Electric Folding Car Public. City Transformer, an Israeli startup that has developed a car that is not only electric but can also be folded, is looking to its exit with an IPO. The IPO is planned for the second quarter 2021 on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).
Technology Emmy. Israel’s Beamr Imaging has won the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Beamr has developed a technology which compresses video broadcasts on networks.
AI construction. Israel’s Swapp provides real estate developers and construction companies with a single platform to build their entire construction planning project. It says it simplifies the fragmented planning process, allowing developers to create architectural plans within weeks instead of up to 12 months.
Saving 50% of the tomato crop. The Israeli Vegetable Seeds R&D center of multinational Syngenta has developed a new tomato variety. It is the first to be resistant to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBFRV), which over the past six years has ruined more than 50% of the tomato crop in Israel and globally.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
3 baby Unicorns. In just one week, three Israeli startups raised funds, to push their market value over $1 billion and gain the financial status of a “Unicorn”. They are Melio, OwnBackup, and Drivenets.
Israeli firm files for $220 million SPAC on Wall Street, days after Taboola deal
ION Asset Management sets up new company aimed at taking another Israeli tech company public in US after closing $2.6 billion agreement earlier this week.
Walmart teams with Israel’s Fabric on logistics centers bots. Fabric already works in this manner with at least two retail chains in Israel.
Technology dominates Israel’s exports more than ever
According to the Israel Export Institute’s estimates, despite the difficulties of the past year and the scary predictions, Israel’s exports fell only moderately in 2020, by 3% in US dollar terms, totaling $107 billion, which compares with $111 billion in 2019.
Innoviz Technologies, Leading LiDAR Company, Announces Partnership with Macnica for Mass Adoption of InnovizOne in the Japanese Market
Taboola signs deal to go public on NYSE via a SPAC at $2.5-3 billion valuation
Four months after the planned merger with Outbrain fell through, the Israeli content recommendation platform is heading to Wall Street.
New post-accelerator for Arab entrepreneurs in Israel launched by The British Embassy in Israel and PresenTense
MoveUp will assist 10-12 Arab entrepreneurs for two months, advance their levels of product development and provide guidance for projects.
UAE-Israel tech fund. Israel’s Liquidity Capital and Dubai’s Vault Investments have formed a joint Venture Debt Investment fund with more than $100 million based in Dubai. It will finance tech companies across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe to create new growth in the region.
New gas pipeline to Egypt. Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd. is to lay a new subsea pipeline to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt. The $228 million route will send as much as 7 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Egypt. Gas is expected to begin flowing down the pipeline by April 2023 at the latest.
A $5 billion travel company. Israeli-founded TripActions has just raised $155 million, giving it a market value of $5 billion – despite the coronavirus pandemic! During the past year, TripActions has launched 40 new products, including a Covid-19 focused dashboard.
A bridge so far. Israel’s Dynamic Infrastructure has won its first contract on the Australasia continent. It will deploy its AI-driven technology to maintain dozens of bridges and infrastructure assets in Horsham Rural City Council in the Australian state of Victoria.
Investment in Israeli startups: DriveNets raised $208 million; OwnBackup raised $167.5 million; TripActions raised $155 million; Melio raised $110 million; DarioHealth raised $70 million; Run.AI raised $30 million; Swapp raised $7 million; CardinalOps raised $6.5 million;
IVC contributed to this report
