July 2016

Abbott announced that Health Canada has approved the company's Absorb bioresorbable heart stent, making the first-of-its-kind medical device commercially available to treat people in Canada with coronary artery disease.

Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a women's health specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new prescription contraceptive products, announced that preparations are underway for an initial Phase 2 clinical trial of a novel contraceptive regimen, which will begin the development of its pipeline beyond its current lead product candidate, Twirla®, a once weekly contraceptive patch currently in phase 3 development. The planned Phase 2 clinical trial will examine the use of Twirla in an innovative regimen designed to allow women to experience shorter, lighter periods.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first intraocular lens (IOL) that provides cataract patients with an extended depth-of-focus, which helps improve their sharpness of vision (visual acuity) at near, intermediate and far distances. The Tecnis Symfony Extended Range of Vision IOL is manufactured by Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. of Santa Ana, California.

Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class therapies for rare and common malignancies, announced that TK216 has received Orphan Drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Ewing sarcoma.