Diagnostics & Imaging Week articles from July 2003

Diagnostics & Imaging Week archives from July 2003

SmartPill hopes to expand use to the GI tract and beyond.
July 3, 2003... The so-called 'smart pill' first caught investors' attention back in 2000 when Given Imaging (Yokneam, Israel) came up with the concept of installing a tiny camera in a non-digestible capsule to provide a visual tour--think Fantastic Voyage--of...

UK government initiates broad program in genetics. (Report from Europe).
July 3, 2003... The UK government announced a 50 million [pounds sterling] ($80 million) program over the next three years to expand the use of generic testing in the National Health Service (NHS), with the aim of making the UK a leader in genetics-based...

New LIS systems, bedside IT products are making inroads. (CLMA meeting, 1st of 3 parts).
July 3, 2003... SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Although the overall healthcare information technology market is continuing to grow, with analysts predicting expenditures by U.S. healthcare providers to increase from $21 billion in 2001 to $32 billion by 2005, the...

Metrika A1c test's focus is on management of diabetes.
July 3, 2003... Metrika (Sunnyvale, California) reported that its A1cNow diabetes test received National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program recertification, meeting the program's new, higher standard of 4% coefficient of variation for precision of A1C...

GEMSIT in agreement to buy lab info systems manufacturer. (Deals roundup).
July 3, 2003... GE Medical Systems Information Technologies (GEMSIT; Milwaukee, Wisconsin) said it would acquire Triple G Systems Group (Toronto, Ontario), a developer of laboratory information systems. GE will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common...

BTG (London), a global technology commercialization company, said it has acquired an exclusive license to an imaging probe designed to identify plaque lesions associated with atherosclerosis. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... BTG (London), a global technology commercialization company, said it has acquired an exclusive license to an imaging probe designed to identify plaque lesions associated with atherosclerosis. The contract was signed last week at the...

iCAD files imaging patent suit against R2 Technology. (Court report).
July 3, 2003... iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire), which makes computer-aided detection (CAD) imaging technology and systems for the early detection of breast cancer, said it has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire against R2...

Cholestech (Hayward, California) said that Roche (Basel, Switzerland) has served it with a complaint filed in March in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana that alleges Cholestech is violating three Roche U.S. patents for the measurement of HDL cholesterol. (Court report).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Cholestech (Hayward, California) said that Roche (Basel, Switzerland) has served it with a complaint filed in March in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana that alleges Cholestech is violating three Roche U.S. patents for...

Cryo-Cell selects Grant Thornton. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Cryo-Cell (Clearwater, Florida) said that upon the recommendation and approval of its board of directors and audit committee, the company has engaged Grant Thornton (Chicago, Illinois) to serve as its independent auditors. Founded in 1924,...

A class-action shareholder lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina vs. Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) on behalf of those who purchased the company's securities between Feb. 13, 2002 and Oct. 3, 2002. (Court report).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... A class-action shareholder lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina vs. Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) on behalf of those who purchased the company's...

Meridian Co Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) said it has signed a letter of intent with Bionet, a manufacturer and distributor of patient monitoring and fetal monitoring systems in Korea. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Meridian Co Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea) said it has signed a letter of intent with Bionet, a manufacturer and distributor of patient monitoring and fetal monitoring systems in Korea. The letter of intent outlines the acquisition of all the issued...

American Medical Alert (AMAC; Oceanside, New York), a provider of home health monitoring appliances and 24/7 communication services, reported the acquisition of the operating assets of Live Message America, a privately held, New Jersey-based Medical On-Call Center, specializing in outsourced telephone support for physician practices. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... American Medical Alert (AMAC; Oceanside, New York), a provider of home health monitoring appliances and 24/7 communication services, reported the acquisition of the operating assets of Live Message America, a privately held, New Jersey-based...

CDC plans to purchase 250K rapid HIV tests from OraSure. (Grants/contracts).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... OraSure Technologies (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), which focuses on oral fluid diagnostics, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, Georgia) has committed to a purchase of 250,000 OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Tests...

Pfizer eyes sale of Pharmacia Diagnostics.(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Pfizer (New York) reported that it is "exploring strategic options" for its diagnostics unit, Pharmacia Diagnostics (Uppsala, Sweden), including its possible sale. Pharmacia Diagnostics was founded over 30 years ago as part of the legacy...

UK firm raises 5.8m [pounds sterling].(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Proteome Sciences (Cobham, UK) raised 5.8 million [pounds sterling] ($9.3 million) via a placement with institutional investors. The company said the money would be used to advance the commercialization of its protein biomarkers in diagnostics....

Paradigm closes on $225,000. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Paradigm Medical Industries (PMI; Salt Lake City, Utah) has closed escrow on $225,000 of a private placement financing of up to $375,000 and has commitments for an additional $125,000. "This latest financing is the first step, mentioned in...

Growth phase for blood bank automation.
July 3, 2003... Blood bank automation is, in fact, emerging as a growth segment in the laboratory products industry. Blood banks have been one of the last segments of the clinical lab to adopt automation, in part because of the relatively small size of the...

Calypte appoints Taiwanese distributor. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Calypte Biomedical (Alameda, California), the developer of the only two FDA-approved HIV-1 antibody tests for use with urine samples, said it has appointed Enfield Medical (Taipei, Taiwan) as its exclusive distributor for Taiwan. Enfield...

R2 Technology collaborating with Stanford. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... R2 Technology (Sunnyvale, California), which focuses on computer-aided detection (CAD) technology, and Stanford University's (Palo Alto, California) department of radiology reported at the 5th annual International Symposium on Multidetector-Row...

Calypte Biomedical. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Calypte Biomedical (Alameda, California) reported several management additions and changes, including the departure of Nancy Katz, president and chief executive officer, "to pursue other interests." She has also given up her seat on the...

Masterplan. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Amy McElroye has been promoted to vice president and general manager of maintenance management programs for Masterplan (Chatsworth, California). Additionally, Francis Vonder Haar has been named vice president and general manager of imaging...

Toshiba America Medical Systems. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Steve Sickels has been promoted from senior director of the Ultrasound Business Unit to vice president of the unit for Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS; Tustin, California). TAMS distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems,...

Ambion RNA Diagnostics, a division of Ambion (Austin, Texas), reported the release of the first commercially available control for detection of the coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Ambion RNA Diagnostics, a division of Ambion (Austin, Texas), reported the release of the first commercially available control for detection of the coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome. Armored RNA technology was used...

AntiCancer (San Diego, California) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York) reported a collaboration to develop multi-modality, non-invasive imaging in small animal models of human cancer. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... AntiCancer (San Diego, California) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York) reported a collaboration to develop multi-modality, non-invasive imaging in small animal models of human cancer. The organizations have published a new...

Bayer Diagnostics. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Bayer Diagnostics (Tarrytown, New York) has received FDA clearance for its BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) assay, a fully automated test for use as an aid in the diagnosis of heart failure (HF), on its leading automated immunoassay...

Beckman Coulter. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Beckman Coulter (Palo Alto, California) reported the release of ICON microALB, a point-of-care test that detects low levels of albumin, the earliest indicator of diabetic or hypertensive nephropathy (kidney disease). ICON microALB is a one-step...

Cangene (Toronto, Ontario) entered into an agreement to further public health research into severe acute respiratory syndrome with Health Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory (Winnipeg, Manitoba). (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Cangene (Toronto, Ontario) entered into an agreement to further public health research into severe acute respiratory syndrome with Health Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory (Winnipeg, Manitoba). The parties plan to develop a hyperimmune...

Celera Diagnostics. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Celera Diagnostics (Alameda, California), a venture between the Applied Biosystems and Celera Cenomics Group units of Applera, received FDA approval to market its ViroSeq HIV-1 Genotyping System with the ABI Prism 3700 DNA Analyzer, an...

Cholestech. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Cholestech (Hayward, California) said the German Patent and Trademark Office granted the company a patent on a new method for the measurement of HDL cholesterol in human blood. The company also has filed patent applications in the U.S. and in...

Focus Technologies (Herndon, Virginia) said it has completed clinical trials on its West Nile virus (WNV) IgG and IgM ELISA diagnostic kits and has filed a 510(k) application with FDA. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Focus Technologies (Herndon, Virginia)said it has completed clinical trials on its West Nile virus (WNV) IgG and IgM ELISA diagnostic kits and has filed a 510(k) application with FDA. Focus' products are based on protein antibody technology...

Pacific Northwest Research Institute. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Pacific Northwest Research Institute (Seattle, Washington) reported a new biomarker for ovarian cancer, which the institute said could improve diagnosis of the disease. The results were reported in the July 1 issue of Cancer Research....

R2 Technology. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... R2 Technology (Sunnyvale, California) said the FDA has determined that the premarket application for its ImageChecker CT CAD system is substantially complete and acceptable for review. The new system is used for the detection of lung nodules in...

Roche Diagnostics (Indianapolis, Indiana) reported the launch of the AmpliChip CYP450 microarray in the U.S., the company's first microarray for clinical applications. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 3, 2003... Roche Diagnostics (Indianapolis, Indiana) reported the launch of the AmpliChip CYP450 microarray in the U.S., the company's first microarray for clinical applications. The product enables clinical diagnostic laboratories to identify...

Interactive kiosks play role in central LA healthcare push.
July 10, 2003... Computerized Screening (CSI; Sparks, Nevada) has launched six customized, interactive health kiosks far the JWCH Institute in an effort to bring primary healthcare access to central Los Angeles, a poor area of the California city, toward the...

EC accepts settlement plan on hepatitis, HIV test prices. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report Antitrust complaints made by European blood banks over the pricing of hepatitis and HIV tests from Chiron (Emeryville, California) have been settled by European Commission acceptance of a settlement...

Automation, test demand grow in molecular diagnostics arena. (CLMA meeting, 2nd of 3 parts).
July 10, 2003... SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The clinical laboratory market, which includes a broad spectrum of laboratories in hospitals, physician offices, clinics and a widening array of other sites such as pharmacies and nursing homes, is experiencing...

OraSure puts $75m on shelf; advanced magnetics gets $10m. (Financing roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... A Diagnostic & Imaging Week Staff Report Orasure Technologies (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), a developer of oral fluid diagnostics, said it has filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange...

Diagnostic Products spins off PathoDx line for $4.9 million. (Deals roundup).
July 10, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report Diagnostic Products (DPC; Los Angeles, California) reported the sale of its PathoDx line of products to Remel (Ramsey, Minnesota) for about $4.9 million. Remel is a manufacturer and distributor of...

HandyLab one of few pure-play device firms to win in ATP derby. (Grants/contracts).
July 10, 2003... Developmental microfluidics firm HandyLab (Ann Arbor, Michigan) has received a $2 million award from the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), making the company one of the few pure-play medical device firms to receive one of the 16 ATP awards in...

Vital Images in distribution pact on 3-D imaging software. (Agreements).
July 10, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report Vital Images (Minneapolis, Minnesota), a medical imaging software company, has signed an agreement with McKesson Information Solutions (MIS; Alpharetta, Georgia) to jointly distribute products and...

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) has entered into a marketing and distribution relationship with Atherotech (Birmingham, Alabama), a leading cardiodiagnostic company and specialty reference laboratory, to offer the latter's Vertical Auto Profile Cholesterol Test. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) has entered into a marketing and distribution relationship with Atherotech (Birmingham, Alabama), a leading cardiodiagnostic company and specialty reference...

Orchid BioSciences. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Orchid BioSciences (Princeton, New Jersey) said its Orchid GeneScreen unit, which focuses on paternity DNA testing, entered an agreement with the Guatemalan government to provide DNA testing services to confirm the identity of Guatemalan...

Advanced Magnetics. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Advanced Magnetics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported entering into agreements with certain institutional investors in connection with a private placement of the company's common stock, to raise gross proceeds of $10 million. Advanced...

AMDL. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * AMDL (Tustin, California), developer and marketer of tests for the early detection of cancer and other diseases, said that as the combined Regulation D/ Regulation S private offering of units raised gross proceeds of $1.32 million, The units...

Cohesive Technologies. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Cohesive Technologies (Franklin, Massachusetts) reported completing its $9.5 million round of Series B financing led by Psilos Group Partners and including investments from Hudson Partners, Bold Capital, Uni-Pac and Mitsubishi International....

Ultra-Scan. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Ultra-Scan (Amherst, New York), a developer of advanced ultrasonic authentication and access systems, has finalized an 518 million round led by B. Thomas Golisano of Rochester, New York, who has joined the company's board of directors....

Earnings restatements yield class action vs. Polymedica. (Court report).
July 10, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report A class action shareholder lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vs. PolyMedica (Woburn, Massachusetts) and certain officers of the company for those...

General Electric (GE; Fairfield, Connecticut) said it has received the European Commission's confidential "statement of objections" on its proposed $2.3 billion acquisition of Instrumentarium (Helsinki, Finland). (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * General Electric (GE; Fairfield, Connecticut) said it has received the European Commission's confidential "statement of objections" on its proposed $2.3 billion acquisition of Instrumentarium (Helsinki, Finland). GE has until Aug. 6 to...

Bruker Daltonics (Billerica, Massachusetts) and Bruker AXS (Madison, Wisconsin) reported completing their merger, by approval of the companies' stockholders at their respective meetings on June 27. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Bruker Daltonics (Billerica, Massachusetts) and Bruker AXS (Madison, Wisconsin) reported completing their merger, by approval of the companies' stockholders at their respective meetings on June 27. With the merger, each share of Bruker AXS...

DMS Health Group (Fargo, North Dakota) has acquired the assets and operations of North Star Medical Systems (Shoreview, Minnesota). (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * DMS Health Group (Fargo, North Dakota) has acquired the assets and operations of North Star Medical Systems (Shoreview, Minnesota). The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, involved an exchange of cash for assets. North...

ATNG. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * ATNG (Fenton, Michigan) reported that it has agreed to purchase a medical diagnostics company in Memphis, Tennessee, that provides in-pharmacy health tests. Neither the name of the company nor the terms of the acquisition were disclosed. The...

Egeen International. (People In Places).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Elizabeth Song, PhD, has been named vice president of business development of Egeen International (Foster City, California), and Margus Annuk, MD, PhD, has been named director of clinical development. Song previously was director of business...

Specialty Laboratories. (People In Places).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Cynthia French, PhD, has been appointed vice president and chief science officer for Specialty Laboratories (Santa Monica, California). Most recently French served as senior scientist at Quest Diagnostics' Center for Applied Technologies....

TriPath Imaging. (People In Places).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Jenny Kobin has been named director of investor relations and corporate communications for TriPath Imaging (Burlington, North Carolina). Kobin previously served in a similar post at SciQuest. TriPath imaging manufactures solutions to improve...

Pfizer eyes sale of Pharmacia Diagnostics. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... Pfizer (New York) reported that it is "exploring strategic options" for its diagnostic unit, Pharmacia Diagnostics (Uppsala, Sweden), including its possible sale. Pharmacia Diagnostics was founded over 30 years ago as part of the legacy...

TPS Medical, Merge eFilm broaden UK efforts. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... TPS Medical (Glasgow, Scotland), a healthcare solutions provider, is partnering with Merge eFilm (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), a global radiology software and services company, to expand the U.S. company's picture archiving and communications system...

AcroMetrix (Benicia, California) said that its investigational West Nile Virus (WNV) RNA External Quality Controls were selected for use in clinical trials designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new screening test based upon the detection of WNV nucleic acid in donor blood. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * AcroMetrix (Benicia, California) said that its investigational West Nile Virus (WNV) RNA External Quality Controls were selected for use in clinical trials designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new screening test based upon...

Akers Biosciences (Thorofare, New Jersey) said that it has signed an agreement forming an alliance with The Medicines Company (Parsippany, New Jersey) to market its Rapid Heparin-Platelet Factor-4 antibody (HPF-4) test once it has received regulatory approval. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Akers Biosciences (Thorofare, New Jersey) said that it has signed an agreement forming an alliance with The Medicines Company (Parsippany, New Jersey) to market its Rapid Heparin-Platelet Factor-4 antibody (HPF-4) test once it has received...

Cytyc. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Cytyc (Boxborough, Massachusetts) said an independent, quantitative survey published recently reports on the improved sensitivity and specificity of the ThinPrep Pap Test compared to the conventional Pap smear for the detection of cervical...

Diametrics Medical. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Diametrics Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) received clearance from the FDA to market a new cartridge for the measurement of creatinine in blood at the point of care. The new cartridge will be used with Diametrics' IRMA SL blood analysis system...

Digene. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Digene (Gaithersburg, Maryland) reported the publication of two new ASCUS/LSIL Triage Study (ALTS) papers in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The studies demonstrate the superior sensitivity of HPV testing with the Hybrid...

Fuji Photo Film. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Fuji Photo Film (Tokyo) introduced the new LAS-3000 imaging system, designed as a cost-effective solution for CCD imaging applications requiring high sensitivity, high performance, superior linearity and outstanding image quality. The system...

Given Imaging (Yokneam, Israel) said that Menora Insurance (Rehovot, Israel), one of Israel's largest insurance companies, has issued reimbursement coverage of capsule endoscopy for direct imaging of the entire small intestine. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Given Imaging (Yokneam, Israel) said that Menora Insurance (Rehovot, Israel), one of Israel's largest insurance companies, has issued reimbursement coverage of capsule endoscopy for direct imaging of the entire small intestine. Separately,...

Lifeline BioTechnologies. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Lifeline BioTechnologies (Reno, Nevada) said the company had received the first video images of ducts of the female breast taken with NippleScope. This new 1 mm microendoscope is designed for a minimally invasive, visual inspection of the...

Tecan. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
July 10, 2003... * Tecan (Mannedorf, Switzerland) reported the launch of Freedom EVO, a series of laboratory workstations designed to deliver a range of automated applications. Available in a variety of sizes to meet different throughput requirements, the...

Igen terminates Roche's Origen license agreement. (Court report).
July 17, 2003... Igen International (Gaithersburg, Maryland), a maker of biological detection systems, said a week ago today that it terminated a licensing agreement with Roche Diagnostics (Mannheim, Germany) a day after the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Immunicon raises $25m, eyes device revenue inflow in 2004. (Financings roundup).
July 17, 2003... Immunicon (Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania) raised about $25 million in a private placement--its second-largest round--and now can Focus on commercializing its products. "We have two broad purposes for the financing," said James Murphy,...

Fluid studied for potential in early breast cancer diagnosis.
July 17, 2003... Battelle (Columbus, Ohio) scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL; Richland, Washington) are working to determine if analyzing nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) and the proteins its contains could lead to an improved method to...

New developments seen in automated cellular analysis. (CLMA meeting, 3rd of 3 parts).
July 17, 2003... SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- New products for automating cellular/microscopic analysis procedures such as the Pap test, immunofluorescence slide tests and body fluid analysis were introduced or previewed during the annual meeting of the Clinical...

Positron sells PET software to GE for notes, share cancellation. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Positron (Houston, Texas), manufacturer of positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, reported an agreement with General Electric (Fairfield, Connecticut), acting through its GE Medical Systems (GEMS; Waukesha, Wisconsin) unit, for GE to...

Merge Technologies (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), which does business as Merge eFilm, said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire RIS Logic (Solon, Ohio). (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Merge Technologies (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), which does business as Merge eFilm, said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire RIS Logic (Solon, Ohio), a privately held company that develops and supports radiology information systems (RIS)...

Volcano Therapeutics (Laguna Hills, California/Brussels, Belgium) reported that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the global intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and functional measurement (FM) businesses of Jomed (Beringen, Switzerland). (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Volcano Therapeutics (Laguna Hills, California/Brussels, Belgium) reported that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the global intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and functional measurement (FM) businesses of Jomed (Beringen, Switzerland)....

Trinity Biotech raises $20m to continue acquisition plan. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Irish diagnostics firm Trinity Biotech plc (Bray, Ireland) joined the summer funding spree, raising $20 million in a private placing of convertible notes with three undisclosed U.S. institutions. The notes, which bear interest at 3% a year,...

OncoGenome Sciences changes its name. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... In a move CEO Dr. Herman Spolders said "better explains [our] focus on the detection of cancer using our innovative technology of measuring gene hyper-methylation," OncoGenome Sciences (Liege, Belgium) has changed its name to OncoMethylome...

PamGene raises EUR 10m. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... PamGene International ('s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands), which is developing a second-generation microarray platform, raised EUR 10 million in a financing round led by LCF Rothschild Venture Partners. Existing investors Alta Partners, GIMV...

Given Imaging's stock jumps with 'first-line tool' approval. (Report from Israel).
July 17, 2003... When Given Imaging (Yoknearn, Israel) reported last week that it had received FDA clearance establishing the M2A Capsule Endoscope and Given Diagnostic System as a first-line tool in the detection of abnormalities of the small bowel, it shed...

AmeriNet, Beckman Coulter in $60m immunoassay agreement. (Grants/contracts).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... AmeriNet (St. Louis, Missouri), a healthcare group purchasing organization, has renewed its immunoassay agreement with Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, California). The three-year contract, valued at $60 million, became effective June 1. The...

R2 Technology (Sunnyvale, California), which focuses on computer-aided detection (CAD) and visualization for breast cancer and other cancers, entered a one-year, sole-source contract with Health Management Associates (HMA, Naples, Florida). (Grants/contracts).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... R2 Technology (Sunnyvale, California), which focuses on computer-aided detection (CAD) and visualization for breast cancer and other cancers, entered a one-year, sole-source contract with Health Management Associates (HMA, Naples, Florida)....

Abbott sales up 9.5% in 2q, earnings up 6.3% to $820m. (Earnings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois) said sales increased 9.5% in the second quarter ended June 30, totaling $4.724 billion compared to $4.315 billion a year earlier. Net income for the quarter, excluding one-time charges, increased...

Creative Computer Applications. (Earnings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Creative Computer Applications (CCA; Calabasas, California) said sales in the third quarter ended May 31 slipped to $1.99 million from $2.1 million in the comparable quarter. Net income also was off, totaling $66,747 or 2 cents a share compared...

Qmed. (Earnings roundup).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Qmed (Eatontown, New Jersey) said revenues for the second quarter ended May 31 were off by about 5% from year-earlier levels, totaling $3.32 million against $3.49 million in 2Q02. The company posted a net loss of $587,451 or 4 cents a share vs....

Diagnostic Ultrasound (Bothell, Washington) entered into a sales agreement with Sysmex (Kobe, Japan) authorizing Sysmex to market Diagnostic Ultrasound's V-mode BladderScan imaging devices in Japan. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Diagnostic Ultrasound (Bothell, Washington) entered into a sales agreement with Sysmex (Kobe, Japan) authorizing Sysmex to market Diagnostic Ultrasound's V-mode BladderScan imaging devices in Japan. Diagnostic Ultrasound's V-mode bladder...

Wyeth (Madison, New Jersey) has entered into a research collaboration to identify biomarkers of the effects of its pharmaceutical compounds using Caprion Pharmaceuticals' (Montreal, Quebec) CellCarta proteomics discovery platform. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... Wyeth (Madison, New Jersey) has entered into a research collaboration to identify biomarkers of the effects of its pharmaceutical compounds using Caprion Pharmaceuticals' (Montreal, Quebec) CellCarta proteomics discovery platform. Caprion will...

Infectech. (Court Report).(Brief Article)
July 17, 2003... * Infectech (Sharon, Pennsylvania) said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court dismissed a petition for involuntary bankruptcy filed by a group of dissident employees. Three former employees filed the petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western...