Diagnostics & Imaging Week articles from January 2007

Diagnostics & Imaging Week archives from January 2007

'Watchful waiting' downgraded clinically, upgraded financially.(New research on prostate cancer)
January 4, 2007... The typical layperson finds medical opinion confusing partly because medical science is far from perfectly exact. And it seems that medicine can't make up its collective mind about what therapies and diagnostics are best, since research opinion...

Inverness Medical and P&G in pact to form diagnostic J-V.(Pharma firm to contribute $325 million)
January 4, 2007... Inverness Medical Innovations (Waltham, Massachusetts), a developer of diagnostic products reported plans to add big pharma marketing muscle via an agreement with The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G; Cincinnati). The companies reported that...

OTG, St. George's agree to STI diagnostic collaboration.(International report)
January 4, 2007... Oxford Gene Technology (OGT; Oxford UK), St. George's University of London and St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust reported signing a collaboration to develop a single-platform microarray to diagnose multiple sexually transmitted infections...

Breast cancer screening study: no benefit for 40-50 age group.(Report)
January 4, 2007... Toward the end of 2006, women were presented with one more piece of confusing health news and advice--as it relates to breast cancer screening/mammography--in the form of a study recently completed by The Institute of Cancer Research (London)....

PerkinElmer acquires triton line; Eisai licenses Rosetta Elucidator.(Deals roundup)
January 4, 2007... PerkinElmer (Boston) reported the acquisition of a line of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) products from Triton Technology (Keyworth, UK) for an undisclosed sum. The DMA instrument is used by scientists in the polymers, pharma and food...

Rosetta Biosoftware (Seattle) reported that Eisai (Tokyo) licensed the Elucidator system for differential protein expression analysis and biomarker discovery.(Deals roundup)
January 4, 2007... * Rosetta Biosoftware (Seattle) reported that Eisai (Tokyo) licensed the Elucidator system for differential protein expression analysis and biomarker discovery. Eisai, one of the largest pharma companies in Japan, said it will be using the...

Thorlabs (Newton, New Jersey), a manufacturer of photonics products has licensed a new microscope technology invented by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York).(Deals roundup)
January 4, 2007... Thorlabs (Newton, New Jersey), a manufacturer of photonics products has licensed a new microscope technology invented by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York). Financial terms were not disclosed. The device,...

Yale study: colon cancer found earlier with Medicare changes.
January 4, 2007... A study of Medicare patients by researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Connecticut) showed an increase in the of number of patients diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer--when successful treatment is most...

New breast cancer gene moves focus to role of DNA repair.
January 4, 2007... LONDON -- The discovery of another new gene that doubles a woman's risk of breast cancer when inherited in mutant form will help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of how faults in DNA repair cause cancer, researchers predict. It also...

MDD releases new report on orthopedics market.(Medical Device Daily )(Brief article)
January 4, 2007... The publishers of Medical Device Daily have just released a new 200-page report focusing on the orthopedics sector, Orthopedics 2006--Trends, Challenges and Opportunities. The report provides detailed insight into the trends impacting the...

FDA adds lot number update to report of counterfeit test strips.
January 4, 2007... The FDA late last week provided an update to its Oct. 13 and Oct. 23 notifications, alerting the public to counterfeit blood glucose test strips being sold in the U.S. for use with various models of One Touch Brand Blood Glucose Monitors from...

NIH renews funds to Indiana U. for Alzheimer's Disease Center.(Grants/contracts)(Disease/Disorder overview)
January 4, 2007... The exploration of dementia will continue at the Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis) with the renewal of a National Institutes of Health grant for $7.3 million to fund the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Center (IADC). It is the...

Colonoscopy success: a.m. vs. pm. differential.(Briefly Noted)(morning versus afternoon)(Brief article)
January 4, 2007... According to a new study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the official publication of the American College of Gastroenterology (Bethesda, Maryland), the time of day that a colonoscopy is performed may also affect its outcome. The...

Collaboration set on image analysis.(International report)
January 4, 2007... Transinsight (Dresden, Germany) has entered into a three-year collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG; also Dresden) in the area of knowledge-based image analysis. Transinsight is a...

Verax in manufacturing pact with BBI.(International report)(British Biocell International )
January 4, 2007... Verax Biomedical (Worcester, Massachusetts), a developer of rapid tests for detecting bacterial contaminants in blood cells and tissue, has signed a 10-year agreement with British Biocell International (BBI; Cardiff, UK) to manufacture the...

Affymetrix, Sysmex in distribution, other accords.(International report)
January 4, 2007... Affymetrix (Santa Clara, California) said it has signed two agreements with Sysmex (Kobe, Japan) to distribute, develop and market in vitro diagnostic tests. Sysmex has exclusive rights to distribute Affymetrix's diagnostic microarray products...

Medical Services International (Edmonton, Alberta) said it has completed additional testing of its VScan HIV test kit with the National Institute For Communicable Diseases.(Product Briefs)
January 4, 2007... Medical Services International (Edmonton, Alberta) said it has completed additional testing of its VScan HIV test kit with the National Institute For Communicable Diseases. The regulatory agency tested 500 VScan HIV test kits with the following...

University of Michigan.(Product Briefs)
January 4, 2007... Syed Hashsham, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Center for Microbial Ecology at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), reportedly is developing a hand-held device capable of detecting up...

AviaraDx.(People in Places)
January 4, 2007... Carol Berry has been named VP of sales for AviaraDx (Carlsbad, California), a company that does molecular cancer profiling. Berry has been responsible for the North American sales and corporate marketing at Ciphergen Biosystems, Dynacare...

Medwave.(People in Places)(Brief article)
January 4, 2007... Ramon Burton has been named CFO of Medwave (Arden Hills, Minnesota). Burton, an attorney, previously served in CFO positions at Sterion, TCF Industries and Minnesota Diversified Industries. Also, Rocco Morelli was named senior VP sales and...

Kessler to head FDA's GHTF.
January 4, 2007... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report The FDA reported that Dr. Larry Kessler, a senior FDA scientist and manager, will chair the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) for the next 18 months. Kessler, director of the Office of...

diaDexus, Hologic forging larger profits via diagnostic products.(JP Morgan Healthcare Conference)
January 11, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- As is usually the case here at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, a range of diagnostics companies both large and small were present to make their case for added investor dollars. And if crowded rooms are any measure, they...

'D' $42.2M will back Calypso's launch of localization system.
January 11, 2007... Calypso Medical Technologies (Seattle) reported closure of its Series D private equity financing, totaling $42.2 million. Apothecary Capital (Chicago), Glenview Capital Management (New York), and Pequot Capital (New York), joined Calypso...

Spirus Medical gets CE mark for two Endo-Ease products.(International report)(Conformite Europeenne)
January 11, 2007... Spirus Medical (Stoughton, Massachusetts) reported receiving the CE mark for its Endo-Ease Advantage and Endo-Ease Vista products for colonoscopy and said it is planning for the launch of the products in Europe. The company said the two...

Thermal meter gives diabetics chance to stave off foot ulcers.
January 11, 2007... Diabetic ulcers can wreak havoc on the life of the patient, and also on the patient's friends and family. According to a 1999 article in the journal Diabetes Care, the typical patient between the ages of 40 and 65 who suffered from a foot ulcer...

Ruling reaffirms $7M payment to Innogenetics by Abbott Labs.(Court report)
January 11, 2007... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report Innogenetics (Gent, Belgium) reported that a U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Wisconsin affirmed a previously awarded $7 million damage verdict against Abbott Laboratories...

Colonoscopy success: a.m. vs. pm. differential.(Briefly Noted)(morning versus afternoon)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... According to a new study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the official publication of the American College of Gastroenterology (Bethesda, Maryland), the time of day that a colonoscopy is performed may also affect its outcome. The...

Siemens completes $5.3 billion buy of Bayer Diagnostics unit.(Deals roundup)
January 11, 2007... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report The $5.3 billion acquisition of Bayer Diagnostics (Tarrytown, New York) by Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pennsylvania) has been completed. The deal was first disclosed in July. Bayer...

Arrhythmia Research Technology (ART) reported that its subsidiary, Micron Products (both Fitchburg, Massachusetts).(Deals roundup)
January 11, 2007... Arrhythmia Research Technology (ART) reported that its subsidiary, Micron Products (both Fitchburg, Massachusetts)--a manufacturer of silver/silver chloride and conductive resin sensors used in disposable ECG, EKG and EEG monitoring and...

Caliper creates new in vitro to in vivo drug services company.
January 11, 2007... Caliper Life Sciences (Hopkinton, Massachusetts) yesterday unveiled Caliper Discovery Alliances & Services (CDAS), newly-formed from the integration of NovaScreen Biosciences (Hanover, Maryland), a provider of in vitro discovery services, and...

Signalife to seek clearance of ambulatory ECG cardiac vest.
January 11, 2007... In the future, ECG monitoring may be available to those heart patients requiring continuous monitoring in the form of a comfortable vest. Such a system wouldn't require those pesky sticky electrodes taped to your chest, which can require...

New biomarker offers hope of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's.
January 11, 2007... You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but doctors could one day have some new imaging tricks for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, a disorder that affects one in 10 people over 65 and nearly half of those over 85. Siemens...

Illumina, Canadian hospital enter pact for newborn molecular tests.(Agreements)
January 11, 2007... Illumina (San Diego) and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO; Ottawa) have entered a collaboration to develop molecular diagnostics to screen newborn babies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and hemoglobinopathies. These...

Luminex (Austin, Texas), a multiplex solution developer, reported the signing of a development and supply agreement with Fisher HealthCare (Hampton, New Hampshire).(Agreements)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... * Luminex (Austin, Texas), a multiplex solution developer, reported the signing of a development and supply agreement with Fisher HealthCare (Hampton, New Hampshire), part of Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts). Specific terms of...

Schering-Plough (Kenilworth, New Jersey) and OraSure Technologies (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) reported a collaboration for the development and promotion of a rapid oral test for the detection of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) utilizing OraSure Technologies' OraQuick technology platform.(Agreements)
January 11, 2007... * Schering-Plough (Kenilworth, New Jersey) and OraSure Technologies (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) reported a collaboration for the development and promotion of a rapid oral test for the detection of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV)...

Inhibitex (Alpharetta, Georgia) said it has entered a license and commercialization agreement with 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota).(Agreements)
January 11, 2007... * Inhibitex (Alpharetta, Georgia) said it has entered a license and commercialization agreement with 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota) for the development of various diagnostic products using Inhibitex's MSCRAMM protein platform. Inhibitex granted...

Grant Life Sciences.
January 11, 2007... Grant Life Sciences (Los Angles) said it has received a cash infusion of $400,000. The company said it intends to use this cash to fill outstanding orders for its products and continue validating its in-licensed diagnostic opportunities. ...

AAA ultrasound open to Medicare recipients.(Briefly Noted)
January 11, 2007... In 2007, for the first time, new Medicare beneficiaries at risk for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) have the opportunity to be screened using ultrasound technology, according to Medtronic (Minneapolis). This screening is now part of the...

Firms expand cancer-screening program.(International report)
January 11, 2007... bioMerieux (Marcy L'Etoile, France) and ExonHit Therapeutics (Paris) have initiated their third program for the screening of cancer from blood. One of the goals is to assist physicians in deciding whether to proceed with surgery for prostate...

New subsidiaries for mtm labs.(International report)
January 11, 2007... mtm laboratories (Heidelberg, Germany) has opened new subsidiaries in Milan, Italy; Madrid, Spain; and Paris in order to commercialize its diagnostic products in Europe. When combined with Germany, these additional markets represent...

Affymetrix (Santa Clara, California) said it has made its new single-chip SNP 5.0 Array available as a limited release.(Product Briefs)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... * Affymetrix (Santa Clara, California) said it has made its new single-chip SNP 5.0 Array available as a limited release. The new array features single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the original two-chip 500K Array Set, as well as...

Charles River Laboratories International.(Product Briefs)
January 11, 2007... * Charles River Laboratories International (Wilmington, Massachusetts) reported that its portable endotoxin testing system, the Endosafe- PTS, was recently launched into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery and reached the International...

CytoCore.(Product Briefs)
January 11, 2007... * CytoCore (Chicago) reported the launch of a fast-tracked marketing trial to demonstrate that its e2 Collector is superior, more thorough cell-sampling technology. The company calls this the first major change to the Pap test in 50 years....

American Diabetes Association.(People in Places)
January 11, 2007... * Michael Farley has been named interim CEO of the American Diabetes Association (Alexandria, Virginia). Farley, currently the association's chief community and corporate relations officer, succeeds Lynn Nicholas who recently resigned to pursue...

Biomedical Systems.(People in Places)
January 11, 2007... * Pierre Maison-Blanche, MD, has been named chief medical officer for Biomedical Systems (St. Louis/Brussels, Belgium). In addition to his duties as Biomedical Systems' Chief Medical Officer, Maison-Blanche serves as a Consultant for Assistance...

Diamics.(People in Places)
January 11, 2007... * Maureen Mende has been appointed director of regulatory affairs and quality assurance for Diamics (Novato, California). Most recently Mende served as regulatory affairs group manager for Dade Behring. Diamics is a privately owned company...

MedCath.(People in Places)(Disease/Disorder overview)
January 11, 2007... * Gary Bell has been named chief development officer for MedCath (Charlotte, North Carolina). Most recently, Bell led the effort to acquire more than 40 hospitals in 13 states during his 13-year tenure at Health Management Associates. MedCath...

Walter Koroshetz, MD, has been named deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.(People In Places)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... * Walter Koroshetz, MD, has been named deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Koroshetz will work with the NINDS director in program planning and...

Paradigm Medical Industries.(People In Places)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... * Al Franklin joins Paradigm Medical Industries (Salt Lake City) as VP, domestic sales, and Christina O'Connor has been promoted to VP, international sales. Also promoted were Julio Maximo to VP, operations, and Chad Scott, international...

Onex buys Kodak's Health Group in deal worth up to $2.55 billion.(Company overview)
January 18, 2007... Eastman Kodak (Rochester, New York) will be able to sharpen its focus on consumer and professional imaging and the graphic communications industry now that it has signed an agreement to sell its Health Group to Onex Healthcare Holdings...

Hansen showcasing Sensei robotic catheter technology.(Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium)
January 18, 2007... Hansen Medical (Mountain View, California) is showcasing its new generation robotic technology, designed for accurate and stable control of catheter movement during cardiac procedures, at the 12th annual international Boston Atrial Fibrillation...

Sequenom, Qiagen collaborate on fetal diagnostics program.(International report)
January 18, 2007... Sequenom (San Diego) reported a collaboration with Qiagen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qiagen NV (Venlo, the Netherlands), to jointly develop a "gold standard" pre-analytical solution for small-molecule (fetal) DNA enrichment for prenatal...

GE signs consent decree related to its X-ray imaging systems.
January 18, 2007... The FDA reported that GE OEC Medical Systems (Salt Lake City), its parent company, General Electric (Little Chalfont, UK), doing business as GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin), and two of their top executives have signed a consent decree of...

Licenses likely to be impacted by Supreme Court patent ruling.
January 18, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court has sided overwhelmingly in favor of the appeal by Med Immune (Gaithersburg, Maryland) to pursue patent litigation against Genentech (South San Francisco), even though the former is continuing to license the...

Monogram to sell $30M of notes, add cash, for new assay roll-outs.(Monogram Biosciences, Inc.)
January 18, 2007... Monogram Biosciences (South San Francisco, California) said it will sell $30 million of 0% convertible senior unsecured notes, due 2026, to a qualified institutional buyer. Gross proceeds will be $22.5 million. Closing of the transaction is...

Emory, KTL get five-year award of nearly $20M for global health.(Grants/contracts)
January 18, 2007... Emory University (Atlanta), in partnership with Finland's National Public Health Institute, Kansanterveyslaitos (KTL; Helsinki), has received a five-year grant of nearly $20 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the...

Mayo Clinic in accords with Illumina, diaDexus for tests.(Agreements roundup)(Brief article)
January 18, 2007... Illumina (San Diego) and Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) reported signing an agreement for the co-development of molecular diagnostic tests for the study of complex diseases. Illumina will contribute its VeraCode technology and...

diaDexus (South San Francisco), a privately held biotechnology company, reported a collaboration with Mayo Validation Support Services of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) to investigate a test featuring a select panel of tumor-specific genes to aid in patient risk stratification and assist in chemotherapy treatment decisions for breast cancer patients.(Agreements roundup)
January 18, 2007... diaDexus (South San Francisco), a privately held biotechnology company, reported a collaboration with Mayo Validation Support Services of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) to investigate a test featuring a select panel of tumor-specific...

eGene (Irvine, California), developer of a genetic analysis technology, reported that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Fisher Scientific, Canada, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts).(Agreements roundup)
January 18, 2007... eGene (Irvine, California), developer of a genetic analysis technology, reported that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Fisher Scientific, Canada, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts), to promote and sell...

Arrhythmia Research Technology (ART; Fitchburg, Massachusetts) reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, Micron Products, has entered into a three-year supply agreement with the Molecular Diagnostics division of Osmetech (Atlanta).(Agreements roundup)
January 18, 2007... Arrhythmia Research Technology (ART; Fitchburg, Massachusetts) reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, Micron Products, has entered into a three-year supply agreement with the Molecular Diagnostics division of Osmetech (Atlanta). Micron,...

E-prescribing software offering seeks to reduce drug errors.(Responding to how paper 'kills')
January 18, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Nobody who ever ran a company discounts the importance of marketing. And with information technology poised to hit healthcare en masse, those who have to depend on their marketing skills to put food on the table would not be...

Qiagen, U.S. firm in co-marketing plan.(International report)
January 18, 2007... In other Qiagen news, the company and Pathway Diagnostics (Malibu, California), a firm developing biomarker and testing services for the pharma industry, reported entering into a co-marketing partnership that allows customers in the biotech and...

Thermo Fisher acquires SwissAnalytic.(International report)
January 18, 2007... Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts) said it has acquired SwissAnalytic Group (Basel, Switzerland), which owns Spectronex and Flux Instruments, with combined revenues of about $22 million in FY06. Financial terms of the deal were...

Diagnostic Hybrids.(Product Briefs)(Brief article)
January 18, 2007... Diagnostic Hybrids (Athens, Ohio) reported the release of the D3 Ultra DFA Respiratory Virus Screening smf Identification Kit, a second-generation kit containing an increased number and better quality of antibodies for the detection of...

EP MedSystems (West Berlin, New Jersey) and Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) reported the new ViewMate II ultrasound system based on Philips Medical Systems' HD11 XE platform for use with EPMD's ViewFlex intracardiac (ICE) imaging catheters.(Product Briefs)
January 18, 2007... EP MedSystems (West Berlin, New Jersey) and Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) reported the new ViewMate II ultrasound system based on Philips Medical Systems' HD11 XE platform for use with EPMD's ViewFlex intracardiac (ICE)...

Inverness Medical Innovations.(Product Briefs)(product development )(Brief article)
January 18, 2007... Inverness Medical Innovations (Waltham, Massachusetts) reported development of the Clearblue fertility prediction monitor, a personal computer that monitors the two key fertility hormones, Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Estrogen (E3G), to...

Illumina.(Product Briefs)(Disease/Disorder overview)
January 18, 2007... Illumina (San Diego) has introduced a high-throughput DNA methylation profiling technology that it says is capable of surveying up to 1,536 methylation sites across 96 samples simultaneously. By pairing Illumina's BeadArray platform with the...

Masimo.(Product Briefs)
January 18, 2007... Masimo (Irvine, California) reported that results of a human volunteer study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Anesthesiology, concluded that Masimo Rainbow SET technology accurately and reliably detects both carbon monoxide and...

HealthSouth.(People in Places)
January 18, 2007... Cheryl Levy has been appointed senior VP of human resources at HealthSouth (Birmingham, Alabama). Levy previously was the national director, human resources/recruiting, for KPMG. HealthSouth is a provider of outpatient surgery, diagnostic...

MedCath Corporation.(People in Places)(Disease/Disorder overview)
January 18, 2007... Michael Allen has been named VP human resources for MedCath Corporation (Charlotte, North Carolina). Allen most recently was senior director, regional human resources for Tenet Healthcare. MedCath is a healthcare provider focused on the...

Steven Norton has been named CFO for Merge Technologies Incorporated (d.b.a. Merge Healthcare; Milwaukee).(People in Places)
January 18, 2007... Steven Norton has been named CFO for Merge Technologies Incorporated (d.b.a. Merge Healthcare; Milwaukee). Previously, Norton was senior VP and CFO at Manhattan Associates. Merge Healthcare develops and produces medical imaging and information...

NightHawk Radiology Holdings.(People in Places)
January 18, 2007... Timothy Mayleben was named COO of NightHawk Radiology Holdings (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho). Mayleben also currently sits on NightHawk Radiology's board. Nighthawk is a provider of radiology services to radiology groups across the U.S.

Strategic Diagnostics.(People in Places)
January 18, 2007... Stan Fronczkowski has been named CFO for Strategic Diagnostics (Newark, Delaware). Fronczkowski joins Strategic Diagnostics after 29 years with Keystone Foods. Also, Faye Coggins has been named executive director, marketing. Strategic...

GE to buy Abbott's in vitro diag units for $8.13 billion in cash.(Market changes drive big deal)
January 25, 2007... Kicking off the new year in a big way, General Electric (Little Chalfont, UK) last week unveiled its plan to buy the in vitro diagnostics businesses and Abbott Point-of-Care diagnostics business (formerly known as i-STAT) of Abbott (Abbott...

CardioMEMS inaugurates 2007 IPOs with an $86 million effort.(Financings roundup)
January 25, 2007... Kicking off the initial public offering (IPO) festivites in medical technology for the new year, CardioMEMS (Atlanta), a startup company developing medical devices for use in monitoring heart patients, reported that it is seeking to raise more...

Thermo Fisher adds spectronex, Flux with buy of SwissAnalytic.(International report)(Company overview)
January 25, 2007... Thermo Fisher Scientific (Waltham, Massachusetts) said it has acquired SwissAnalytic Group (Basel, Switzerland), which owns Spectronex and Flux Instruments, with combined revenues of about $22 million in FY06. Financial terms of the deal were...

Immunicon's newest end-point success adds to cancer claims.
January 25, 2007... Immunicon (Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania) is a company on the move on more than one front. And company CEO Byron Hewett is on top of all of it, particularly with last week's news that the company met its primary endpoint associated with...

AHRQ: health system improving but 'missing important chances'.(Washington roundup)
January 25, 2007... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Washington) has issued an overview report saying that "[t]he overall quality of the U.S. healthcare system is improving"--a statement open to debate--but then adds what few would disagree with....

Vision-Sciences will sell certain ENT assets for up to $34 million.(Deals roundup)
January 25, 2007... Endoscope maker Vision-Sciences (Natick, Massachusetts) has signed an agreement to sell certain manufacturing assets for the production of its ENT sheath products to Medtronic Xomed (Jacksonville, Florida) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic...

Corautus Genetics.(Deals roundup)
January 25, 2007... Corautus Genetics (Atlanta) reported that, in accordance with its previously stated intention to identify other life science opportunities, it is in discussions regarding a potential business combination with a privately-held biotech company....

Rosetta Biosoftware (Seattle) reported that Oji Paper Co. (Tokyo) has licensed the Rosetta Resolver system to characterize gene expression profiles of wood-forming tissues.(Deals roundup)
January 25, 2007... Rosetta Biosoftware (Seattle) reported that Oji Paper Co. (Tokyo) has licensed the Rosetta Resolver system to characterize gene expression profiles of wood-forming tissues. The Resolver system will be used in the Forestry Research Institute,...

American Medical Systems Holdings (AMS; Minneapolis) reported completing the sale of the assets of its previously reported aesthetics division acquired via the Laserscope (San Jose, California) acquisition to Iridex (Mountainview, California).(Deals roundup)
January 25, 2007... American Medical Systems Holdings (AMS; Minneapolis) reported completing the sale of the assets of its previously reported aesthetics division acquired via the Laserscope (San Jose, California) acquisition to Iridex (Mountainview, California)....

ATC Healthcare (Lake Success, New York) reported signing a license agreement with Elite Healthcare Staffing (Minneapolis).(Deals roundup)
January 25, 2007... ATC Healthcare (Lake Success, New York) reported signing a license agreement with Elite Healthcare Staffing (Minneapolis). Financial terms were not disclosed. Elite has been operating in the Minneapolis market for five years. Elite will...

BioReference Labs will contest contract termination by Horizon.(Grants/contracts)
January 25, 2007... BioReference Laboratories (BRLI; Elmwood Park, New Jersey) said it has received a letter from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey terminating their in-network provider relationship, effective March 31, 2007, and BRLI promised to...