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FDA Approves Israeli Cancer-Freezing Technology

IceCure’s cancer-freezing technology relies on an innovative process referred to as cryoablation therapy.

Published

5 years ago

April 8, 2021

Joanna Melki

fda approves israeli cancer-freezing technology

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Israeli healthtech companies and researchers have developed many life-saving technologies, some of which are now used in hospitals around the world. One highly promising medical technology has just been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after demonstrating its ability to eliminate tumors using new cancer-freezing technology.

The groundbreaking technology comes from a healthtech company called IceCure. The company was founded in 2006, and it’s currently headquartered in the coastal city of Caesarea, Israel.

IceCure’s cancer-freezing technology relies on an innovative process referred to as cryoablation therapy. The goal of cryoablation is to insert a hollow needle into the breast until the tumor is reached. Liquid nitrogen is then precisely applied directly into a tumor to kill the abnormal tissue by freezing it at a very low temperature of -170°C (-274 F).

“We are basically covering the tissue with an ice ball. No tissue can survive such a low temperature,” explained Tlalit Bussi Tel-Tzure, vice president of business development and global marketing at IceCure. “Once the tissue is dead, it will dissolve in the body in a natural process and be absorbed in the body in a couple of weeks.”

The technology has already proved to be extremely successful when it comes to destroying kidney tumors, demonstrating perfect efficiency. Its main advantage is the fact that it can be carried out either at a doctor’s office or an outpatient facility thanks to its minimally invasive nature. The entire procedure can take less than one hour from start to finish, and it doesn’t leave any lasting physical mark on the body.

Also Read: Israelis Have Successfully Grown Mouse Embryos In Artificial Wombs

“Our main vision is to become the gold standard in breast cancer treatment,” said Eyal Shamir, CEO of IceCure Medical. “Most of the cases where you have good early detection are small tumors, considered early stage, and the only treatment available today is surgery.”

IceCure isn’t the only company exploring the application of cryoablation for treating breast cancer. There’s also California-based Sanarus Technologies, which has recently completed a clinical trial in the United States.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.