Universidad Católica del Norte

SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgical robotics pioneer Andromeda Surgical today announced a groundbreaking milestone: Dr. Cristián Trucco of Universidad Católica performed the world's first robotic-assisted holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) using Andromeda's platform. This historic operation, performed via a tablet interface, marks the start of Andromeda's ASTRA clinical trial. Dr. Trucco and Dr. Rodrigo Ledezma of Universidad de Chile will continue enrolling patients in the coming months. Founded in 2023, Andromeda has swiftly brought its vision to life, progressing from initial concept to successful clinical use within just 18 months. Robotic-assisted HoLEP (RoLEP™) represents the first clinical application of its platform. HoLEP was initially developed in 1998 by Prof. Peter Gilling and Mr. Mark Fraundorfer in New Zealand. The procedure has rapidly gained recognition as the gold-standard treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH or enlarged prostate), though a steep learning curve has limited its adoption. By reducing the procedure's learning curve, Andromeda aims to empower every urologist to perform HoLEP at world expert level. "We are fortunate to be at the forefront of innovation in Chile participating in this trial headed by Prof. Gilling, and are thrilled with this milestone," said co-principal investigator Dr. Ledezma. "I believe new technologies that provide navigational guidance in HoLEP may help urologists shorten the learning curve by enhancing the recognition of key anatomical landmarks. Ultimately, by helping more surgeons overcome the challenges of the initial HoLEP cases, this type of surgical robot may facilitate the diffusion of this approach to benefit a large number of BPH patients." Prof. Gilling will act as lead principal investigator for the ASTRA study and will begin enrollment in New Zealand in early 2025. Andromeda's endoscopic robotic platform is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing surgical tools and provide surgeons with enhanced control and efficiency during transurethral procedures. The company's roadmap includes expanding the system's capabilities to support additional indications and integrating increasing levels of autonomy, with the aim of further reducing learning curves and improving patient outcomes. "It's rewarding to see our team's hard work translate to real patient benefit," said Nick Damiano, CEO and co-founder of Andromeda Surgical. "This case was the first robotic-assisted HoLEP procedure in history, and as far as we know, the first surgery performed using a tablet. This is the first step towards our mission to give every patient access to the best possible surgical outcomes every time." About Andromeda Surgical Andromeda Surgical is a South San Francisco, California-based company developing autonomous surgical robots, starting with endourology procedures. The company's vision is to make the difficult parts of surgery easy and empower every surgeon to deliver optimal patient outcomes in every procedure. The team combines expertise from medtech, autonomous vehicles, and other robotics and AI applications, working in conjunction with top global urologists. SOURCE Andromeda Surgical WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

VANCOUVER, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BetterLife Pharma Inc. (“BetterLife” or the “Company”) (CSE: BETR / OTCQB: BETRF / FRA: NPAU), today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Altum Pharmaceuticals (“Altum”) has entered into a Letter of Intent with Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to conduct a randomized placebo-controlled trial (“IN2COVID”) in COVID-19 patients testing Altum’s proprietary inhaled interferon alpha-2b product, AP-003. The trial is projected to start in Q2 of this year and be completed by end of Q3. Interferon alpha-2b (“IFN-a2b”), a Type I interferon, is a naturally occurring protein integral to the body’s first line of anti-viral defenses. There is evidence that coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, have mechanisms which suppress IFN-a2b production, allowing the virus to evade the innate immune system. Multiple clinical analyses show a significant link between deficiency in Type 1 interferon and development of severe COVID-19 disease. There is also accumulating evidence from preclinical studies that coronavirus replication is blocked by the addition of exogenous INF-a2b. An exploratory study in Wuhan, China, in COVID-19 patients, showed that patients treated with inhaled IFN-a2b had a more rapid rate of viral clearance than patients in the comparator arm who did not receive inhaled IFN-a2b. The goal of the IN2COVID trial is to confirm the benefit of inhaled IFN-a2b in early stage COVID-19 patients. The IN2COVID trial will have a randomized placebo Phase 1 portion in healthy subjects followed by a randomized placebo-controlled Phase 2 portion in early stage COVID-19 patients (<5 days of diagnosis of COVID-19). The IFN-a2b treatment arms will receive Altum’s proprietary inhaled INF-a2b product, AP-003, administered via nebulizer, twice daily for 10 days. "We are excited to be collaborating with the School of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to conduct this trial in COVID-19 patients,” said BetterLife’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ahmad Doroudian. “The team, as well as the trial center, are the leaders in Chile in conducting COVID-19 trials.” The IN2COVID study will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of investigators lead by Dr. Arturo Borzutzky, Director of the Translational Allergy and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Immunology of the School of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Dr. Borzutzky said, "We are pleased to be partnering with Altum to bring AP-003 to COVID-19 patients.” He added, “There are several reasons why there is a need for an effective, easy to administer, non-invasive treatment such as AP-003 for COVID-19. These reasons include: the time it will take to vaccinate the whole population; not knowing the duration of protection afforded by the current vaccines; emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants; and emergence of possible totally new coronavirus pandemics in the future. AP-003, being a Type I interferon, is a broad acting anti-viral agent, and therefore potentially could be effective in all these scenarios.” About BetterLife Pharma: BetterLife Pharma Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of next generation psychedelic products for the treatment of mental disorders. Utilizing drug delivery platform technologies, BetterLife is refining and developing drug candidates from a broad set of complementary interferon-based technologies which have the potential to engage the immune system to fight virus infections, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and human papillomavirus. For further information please visit . About Altum Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of BetterLife Pharma Inc.: Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutic pharmaceuticals as well as drug delivery platform technologies. Altum is refining and developing drug candidates from a broad set of complementary interferon-based technologies which have the potential to engage the immune system to fight virus infections, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and human papillomavirus (HPV). About Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Founded in 1888, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is currently one of the leading higher education institutions in Latin America, ranked first in the continent for two years in a row by the Times Higher Education Ranking. Universidad Católica aspires to achieve excellence in the creation and transfer of knowledge and in providing a Catholic-based educational experience that motivates both personal growth and the development of an inquisitive and critical mind. One of its objectives is to educate persons who are committed to the construction of a more just and prosperous society. Our University is an important national center for research in social sciences, natural sciences, health, economics, agriculture, philosophy, theology, arts and literature. Located in a young and geographically distant country, we believe that maintaining an active exchange program with foreign universities is crucial for academic development. For more information, visit: Contact BetterLife Pharma: Ahmad Doroudian, Chief Executive Officer Email: Ahmad.Doroudian@blifepharma.com Phone: +1-604-221-0595 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Natalia de la Puente, Journalist School of Medicine Communications Department Email: ncdelapuente@uc.cl Phone: +569-76950837 Camila Diaz, Journalist School of Medicine Communications Department Email: cdias@uc.cl Phone: +569-72117700 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Except for historical information, the matters set forth above may be forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, as they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the anticipated future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forward in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our ability to obtain, on satisfactory terms or at all, the capital required for research, product development, operations and marketing; general economic, business and market conditions; our ability to successfully and timely complete clinical studies; product development delays and other uncertainties related to new product development; our ability to attract and retain business partners and key personnel; the risk of our inability to profitably commercialize our proposed products; the risk that our proposed clinical trials will not be launched in a timely manner (or at all) or if launched yield positive results or that we will not obtain regulatory market approvals for our products; the extent of any future losses; the risk of our inability to establish or manage manufacturing, development or marketing collaborations; the risk of delay of, or failure to obtain, necessary regulatory approvals and, ultimately, product launches; dependence on third parties for successful commercialization of our products; inability to obtain product and raw materials in sufficient quantity or at standards acceptable to health regulatory authorities to commence and complete clinical trials or to meet commercial demand; our ability to obtain patent protection and protect our intellectual property rights; commercialization limitations imposed by intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties; uncertainty related to intellectual property liability rights and liability claims asserted against us; the impact of competitive products and pricing; and future levels of government funding; additional risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. 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