US Patent Innovations, LLC, filed for patent protection (United States Patent and Trademark Office) on the Canady RoboTM Surgical Systems with robotic surgical mini-invasive accessories. The new robotic system does not require a large console in an adjacent room or bedside within the OR, such as those required by the current Surgical Robots on the US market.

The system may be used with flexible and rigid mini-invasive instruments. The surgical instruments will have 7 degrees of freedom, 360 degrees of articulation, and Canady Flex Lapo WristTM motion and finger tip control. Surgical instruments for use with the System will be compatible with any single port system on the market. This innovation will allow surgeons to operate the robotic surgical system at the operating table, leveraging an approach common to current laparoscopic products on the market. The robotic system will also integrate 3-D optic technologies via the new Canady PanOptesTM systems.

3D Medical Limited is pleased to announce it has entered into a binding Heads of Agreement to merge with Mach7 Technologies Pte. Ltd. (Mach7) through acquisition of 100% of the issued capital of Mach7. Mach7 is the parent company of Mach7 group. Mach7 and 3DM enjoy a strong working relationship in 3DM’s capacity as exclusive reseller of the Mach7 image management solutions for hospitals and radiology clinics in Australia and New Zealand.

Mach7 is a global provider of enterprise image management systems that allow healthcare enterprises to easily identify, connect, and share diagnostic image and patient care intelligence where and when needed. The solutions improve patient care, compliance and clinician satisfaction. In October, Frost & Sullivan named Mach7 the Medical Imaging Informatics Company of the Year in the Asia Pacific region.

Mach7’s global customer base includes leading healthcare organisations such as Penn Medicine, Raffles Hospital and Massachusetts General and has operations in 10 countries. Mach7 has 43 employees with the majority located in Burlington, Vermont USA, and generates strong contractual cash flow from software licenses and support agreements with the majority denominated in US dollars. For the 9 months ending September 2015, Mach7 generated revenue of US$4.1 million and is nearing cash flow breakeven.

In June this year, 3DM announced an agreement with Telstra Health, a division of Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLS) (Telstra Health), whereby Telstra Health became a reseller of the Mach7 image management software, integrating the technology to create new products for the Australian healthcare market and also allowed for the supply of specific Telstra Health products to 3DM’s new and existing customers.

The proposed merger is subject to certain closing conditions including 3DM obtaining shareholder approval, 3DM raising a minimum of $10 million as well as other customary conditions. The proposed merger is expected to complete in January 2016 after a general meeting of 3DM's shareholders convened for the purpose of obtaining approval of the proposed merger.

The merger with Mach7 will involve the issue of 459.5m shares to the owners of Mach7 in return for 100% of the shares in Mach7, giving 3DM ownership of Mach7's assets and intellectual property. Four separate tranches totaling 300,000 performance related shares will also be made available to the owners of Mach7 subject to achievement of agreed financial milestones relating to a combination of revenue targets and share price performance.

Under the Heads of Agreement, 3DM will undertake a series of capital raisings to raise a minimum of AUD$10 million in new capital to provide working capital to support further research and development, 

sales and marketing activities for Mach7, build out 3DM’s value-added data offerings, retire the debt in Mach7 (~USD$2 million) and pay for the costs of the transaction and capital raisings.

As part of this capital raising, 3DM intends to raise up to $4 million with the issue of 53 million shares under a share placement to institutional investors. The placement will be made within 3DM's existing placement capacity under Listing Rule 7.1 and, accordingly, will not require shareholder approval. 3DM will also undertake a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) to enable existing shareholders to subscribe on the same terms as the institutional placement. The SPP will not be underwritten. 3DM has also received indications that existing holders of options in 3DM intend to exercise their options, which would raise further funds.

Subject to approval by Shareholders, and upon completion of the acquisition, 3DM will propose to change the name of the company to "Mach7 Technologies Ltd" and appoint Albert Liong as Managing Director of the group. Currently, Mr. Liong is the chief executive officer of Mach7 Technologies.

Details of the proposed transaction, capital raising and proposed Board changes are included in the accompanying presentation.

Dr. Nigel Finch, chairman of 3DM commented, “We are delighted to have secured an agreement to bring our companies together. We have enjoyed a close working relationship with Mach7 and have seen their outstanding success in the USA and Asia. This transaction delivers a material revenue boost to 3DM and importantly allows 3DM shareholders to benefit from the ownership of best-in-breed healthcare imaging intellectual property. The transaction will drive earnings and transform 3DM into a global operation, allowing significant opportunities to scale 3DM’s valueadding data activities to leading healthcare institutions globally.”

Mr. Albert Liong, chief executive officer of Mach7 stated, “We are thrilled to be deepening our relationship with our valued partner 3DM. Mach7 has enjoyed substantial growth in recent times and we feel this will be enhanced as part of 3DM. Australian investors appreciate world leading healthcare technology and we look forward to this new phase as we continue to build our impressive global customer base.”

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Iranian health ministry, and Tehran municipality signed an agreement for the construction of Iran’s first nuclear hospital here in the capital city.

In a ceremony held in Tehran’s Velayat Park, AEOI Chief Ali Akbar Salehi, Health Minister Seyed Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, and Tehran’s Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the nuclear hospital.

The first nuclear hospital of Iran, which Salehi says will be the only one in West Asia, is scheduled to be constructed within 48 months.

During the ceremony, Salehi announced that some $250 million will be needed for equipping the hospital.

“The nuclear hospital will operate with research, diagnostic, and therapeutic plans,” Salehi noted.

He also expressed the hope that the hospital would be able to produce nuclear medicine and build new nuclear equipment.

The MoU was signed a couple of months after Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany – also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a 159-page nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.

The agreement was officially adopted on October 18, and is going to take effect within the next two months.

Under the nuclear deal dubbed as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic will be lifted.

TeamHealth Holdings Inc., a leading physician services organization, announced the acquisition of the operations of three affiliated medical groups: Fremont Emergency Services, Advanced Care Emergency Services and Advanced Care Emergency Specialists, which collectively manage and staff eight hospital emergency departments in the Las Vegas, Nevada, market. These groups work with more than 120 physicians and advanced practice clinicians to provide care for approximately 370,000 patients annually. In conjunction with this transaction, TeamHealth will assist Fremont Emergency Services with starting a new hospital medicine contract at an existing emergency department client hospital.

"In the changing healthcare landscape, we continue to value innovation, efficiency and quality as we deliver exceptional care to our patients and their families," said Wade Sears, MD, chief medical officer of Fremont Emergency Services, Advanced Care Emergency Services and Advanced Care Emergency Specialists. "We are excited to partner with TeamHealth—an organization that offers a like-minded, physician-centric culture."

"Partnering with TeamHealth allows us to continue to hold the same values while obtaining the benefit of expanded clinical service lines and access to extensive emergency medicine resources for our hospital clients and excellent support for our physicians and clinicians," said John Henner, DO, chief operating officer of Fremont Emergency Services, Advanced Care Emergency Services and Advanced Care Emergency Specialists.

"Fremont Emergency Services, Advanced Care Emergency Services and Advanced Care Emergency Specialists have strong reputations of delivering high-quality care to patients and their families," said Michael D. Snow, president and CEO of TeamHealth. "We are excited to expand our emergency medicine presence in the west and welcome these physicians and advanced practice clinicians to TeamHealth."

This wasn’t any ordinary groundbreaking ceremony.

The symbolic construction kickoff for a new six-story outpatient center at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland was a 90-minute affair Monday featuring one of the Bay Area’s richest power couples, the governor and more than a few local elected officials.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf joined Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and his wife, Lynne, to shovel the ceremonial dirt, officially starting the construction of the $50 million, 89,000-square-foot building that will eventually adjoin the current outpatient center.

The new center will house neurology, rehabilitation, cardiology and other services currently located in the hospital, opening up space to expand the number of patient beds and patient care facilities in the main building.

“This is a confluence of so many different minds and investment streams and imaginations, and that’s what it takes,” Gov. Jerry Brown said in brief remarks.

The project, located at 52nd Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, required overcoming several significant hurdles, including addressing neighbor concerns, funding, design changes and the relocation of the 1930s house on the site, a sentimental place with a backstory similar to Pixar’s “Up” house.

“I have to hand it to Children’s Hospital for working with nearby neighbors and community organizations,” said North Oakland City Councilman Dan Kalb, “to do what they needed to do to have an important expansion and still be a part of the neighborhood.”

Several in attendance noted that the project was personal — many of them had been patients or had brought their sick children to the hospital on more than one occasion.

“Probably like everybody in this room, we’ve used this hospital at one time or another,” said Steven Douglas, co-owner of Douglas Parking, and vocal supporter of the expansion. “I’ve seen it firsthand the treatment and care the kids get.”

The project is also a boon for San Francisco’s East Bay sibling, one more example of how people are “discovering the awesomeness of Oakland,” Schaaf said.

“We now have the brains, the brawn, the heart, the passion and the resources to do something truly miraculous,” she said. “This will be the best institution on the planet for helping children.”

SRI International has been awarded a Biological Testing Facility (BTF) contract of up to $40 million from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to conduct preclinical development of potential new contraceptive and therapeutic products. Under the contract, SRI Biosciences, a division of SRI International, will conduct all research and testing necessary to submit Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for promising drugs and devices.

NICHD conducts and supports laboratory research, clinical trials, and epidemiological studies that explore health processes; examines the impact of disabilities, diseases, and variations on the lives of individuals; and sponsors training programs to ensure that NICHD research can continue. The NICHD’s BTF funds research to move contraceptive targets into development and, as appropriate, approval.

“We are pleased to continue supporting this important research on behalf of NICHD, which requires both state-of-the-art facilities and a broad range of preclinical research capabilities,” said Toufan Parman, Ph.D., D.A.B.T, director, General Toxicology, SRI Biosciences, and principal investigator for the NICHD contract.

Over the next five years, SRI will be responsible for providing all support services necessary to advance high quality, safe, effective male and female contraceptive products to human clinical trials.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN275201500002I.

Nipro Corporation, announced it has signed a definitive purchase agreement with Sinocare Group (SHE 300298), under which Sinocare Group will acquire Nipro Diagnostics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nipro Corporation for approximately $273 million in cash.

Nipro Diagnostics is a global consumer health and wellness company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced performance products for people with diabetes, including a broad portfolio of blood glucose monitoring supplies and technologies. The company’s manufacturing facilities are principally located in Florida, New Hampshire and Taiwan. Under the terms of the agreement, Nipro Corporation will continue to purchase certain products in agreed upon markets from Sinocare Group.

“This transaction combines one of the fastest growing blood glucose monitoring companies in the United States with the fastest growing blood glucose monitoring company in China,” said Scott Verner, Nipro Diagnostics chairman, president and CEO. “We have a shared vision and a singular focus to provide innovative and affordable solutions so patients can live healthier lives. Together, we will offer a strong portfolio of solutions to our global customers.”

Shaobo Li, Chairman and CEO of Sinocare Group said, “Diabetes has become one of the biggest challenges to our public healthcare system and society. We welcome Nipro Diagnostics to this joint effort with Sinocare Group: we will continue to innovate in our products and services and improve the quality of life for people with diabetes.”

Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed within ninety days.

Saratoga Hospital and Albany Medical Center have signed a letter of intent to affiliate, paving the way for a more comprehensive, cost-effective and integrated health care system. Leaders of both hospitals announced plans for the partnership today and expect to finalize the affiliation during 2016.

In a news conference, Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Angelo G. Calbone and Albany Medical Center President and CEO James J. Barba said the planned collaboration builds on partnerships already in place. A prime example is the highly successful joint venture, Malta Med Emergent Care, in Malta. Physicians and medical teams from Saratoga Hospital and Albany Medical Center have been working there together since June 2013, providing comprehensive 24/7 urgent care and higher-level services. Another example is a collaboration, launched in 2009, to enhance stroke care by enabling real-time sharing of diagnostic information. Dozens of lives have been saved as a result.

"For over a century our goal has been to provide the best possible medical care to residents of the Saratoga region. Partnering with Albany Medical Center allows us to continue elevating the level of care and offering increasingly sophisticated diagnostic and treatment procedures for our growing community," Calbone said.

"The affiliation we announce today is another milestone in our shared history of partnering to better serve the region," Barba said. "Together, Albany Medical Center and Saratoga Hospital have demonstrated that partnership is good medicine. Together we will continue to make the highest quality medical services in the region more accessible to more of our residents."

Under the terms of the letter of intent, Saratoga Hospital will retain its name, local leadership and governance, and oversight of services delivered in the community. The existing medical staff at Saratoga Hospital will remain part of the hospital.

"One of the primary goals of the partnership is to protect Saratoga Hospital’s future—to preserve our ability to continue to grow and provide the care our community needs and deserves," Calbone said.

"In addition, affiliating with Northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center—with its medical school and cutting-edge research programs—enhances the ability of our medical team and patients to access advanced options that are available only through that type of institution."

Saudi-based Al-Jomaih Group plans to invest up to RM500 million in Malaysia's halal pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said so far, the group had invested RM286 million in two projects in the Enstek Halal Park, Negeri Sembilan.

He said AJ Biologics Sdn Bhd, an AJ Pharma Holding's investment company which is a subsidiary of the Al-Jomaih Group, would invest RM160 million to manufacture pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

Another wholly-owned subsidiary of AJ Pharma Holding, AJ Research and Pharma Sdn Bhd, had invested RM126 million in a research-driven project for the production of high quality pharmaceutical and consumer health products, he said when officiating the Halal Initiatives in Healthcare Industry Forum here today.

Ahmad Zahid said AJ Biologics would set up the first vaccine formulation, fill and finish state-of-the-art facility in Malaysia.

Speaking at a press conference later, AJ Pharma Managing Director Dr Tabassum Khan said the remaining investment would be chanelled to projects related to upstream activities for vaccine production.

"The balance is going to be the extension of this facility to produce the raw material locally," he said, adding that Malaysia would have its own home-grown vaccines in 2017.

AJ Pharma Holding is a subsidiary of Al-Jomaih Group.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Halal Industry Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin were present.

Thailand's Thonburi Hospital Group is planning to raise about 8 billion baht ($225 million) in an initial public offering next year that could make it the third-largest listed healthcare stock in Thailand, the group's chairman said.

Thonburi has two general hospitals in Bangkok and in the past 10 years has expanded into China. It is seeking to expand in Southeast Asia.

Thonburi's listing plans comes amid a boom in the Thai healthcare industry, where merger and acquisition activity have boosted stock valuations to nearly triple the forward earnings multiple for the benchmark Thai stock index, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The hospital group plans to list in the fourth quarter next year, chairman and founder Boon Vanasin told Reuters on Wednesday.

The cash will mostly fund domestic expansion, and the remainder will go to expansion in China and Myanmar, Boon said.

The group had originally planned to list its shares to raise capital last year but reduced its fundraising target after getting favourable loan terms for investments in China and Myanmar, Boon said. Thonburi had initially aimed to raise 10 billion baht.

"The Thai healthcare is still a rising sector but it's too crowded now. We see better growth in neighbouring markets like China and Myanmar," he said.

"If you look over the past two years, growth in patients from Myanmar in terms of visits was very strong. The healthcare demand is very promising there," he said.

The hospital signed a memorandum of understanding in 2014 with property group Aung Shwe Thee International in Myanmar to jointly build a private hospital there.

Healthcare shares in Thailand trade on an average forward earnings multiple of around 40.9, above the broader market's 15.2 average.

The preliminary valuation of Thonburi would give it a valuation at around 35 times earnings, Boon said.

Shares of Bangkok Dusit Medical Service Plc, the biggest hospital firm by market capitalisation, trade on about 38.6 times forward earnings, with second ranked Bumrungrad Hospital Plc trading on a multiple of around 45.2 times earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data.