Medical Device Week articles from December 2006

Medical Device Week archives from December 2006

Tobin issues tough critique as basic to Guidant turn-around.
December 1, 2006... Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference Tobin issues tough critique as basic to Guidant turn-around By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor NEW YORK -- Forget the cornucopia of Power Points. Don't detail recent or future...

MedQuist to make SpeechQ voice recognition mainstream.
December 1, 2006... Radiological Society of North America MedQuist to make SpeechQ voice recognition mainstream By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Writer CHICAGO -- Earlier this year, MedQuist (Mount Laurel, New Jersey), reported that it...

Report from Europe.
December 1, 2006... Report from Europe Durect, Nycomed agree on Posidur pain relief effort A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Durect (Cupertino, California) reported the signing of a collaboration agreement with Nycomed (Roskilde, Denmark), a...

Washington roundup.
December 1, 2006... Washington roundup Scientist says master cardiac stem cells no threat to devices By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor Stem cells are back in the news with the announcement yesterday that a team at the...

Deals roundup.
December 1, 2006... Deals roundup Cardinal to sell PTS segment to focus on provider market By AMANDA PEDERSEN Medical Device Daily Staff Writer Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) said it plans to sell its Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services...

Financings roundup.
December 1, 2006... Financings roundup MedCath adds to offers with sale of over-allotments A Medical Device Daily Staff Report MedCath (Charlotte, North Carolina) reported that the underwriters of its common stock offering exercised their...

Grants/contracts.
December 1, 2006... Grants/contracts Spire gets catheter grant; Premier in accord with J&J unit A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Spire (Bedford, Massachusetts) said it has received a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant for $176,244...

Court report.
December 1, 2006... Court report Enzo reports ruling rejecting immediate interlocutory appeal A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Enzo Biochem (New York) reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has denied permission for...

Briefly Noted.
December 1, 2006... Briefly Noted Gender-specific knees a trend in implant market Millennium Research Group (MRG; Waltham, Massachusetts) said it has conducted a detailed analysis of the U.S. large-joint implant market. The analysis finds that one of the...

Product Briefs.
December 1, 2006... Product Briefs * AngioDynamics (Queensbury, New York) has received 510(k) clearance for Oncobionic to market irreversible electroporation (IRE) -- a technology indicated for surgical ablation of soft tissue, including cardiac and smooth...

People in Places.
December 1, 2006... People in Places * Talyst (Bellevue, Washington) has named Ron Strandin president of its Acute Care Group, which will continue the company's advancement of pharmacy technology for hospitals. He has been serving as executive vice president...

SilverHawk to NightHawk is next big step for FoxHollow.
December 4, 2006... Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference SilverHawk to NightHawk is next big step for FoxHollow By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor NEW YORK -- John Simpson, MD, PhD, said his staff wouldn't let him talk about the...

Guardian studying bomb-threat technology in healthcare arena.
December 4, 2006... Radiological Society of North America Guardian studying bomb-threat technology in healthcare arena By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Report CHICAGO -- What do bomb detection technology and healthcare imaging technology...

Report from Europe.(standardization)
December 4, 2006... Report from Europe Interventional Spine receives CE mark for its PDS System A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Interventional Spine (formerly Triage Medical; Irvine, California) reported that its European notified body has granted...

Study finds DES patients more at risk for blood clot formation.
December 4, 2006... Study finds DES patients more at risk for blood clot formation By AMANDA PEDERSEN Medical Device Daily Staff Writer In just a few days a panel of federal health officials and outside experts will meet in Washington to scrutinize...

Financings roundup.
December 4, 2006... Financings roundup Dade Behring in stock buyback; Angiotech prices note offering A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Clinical diagnostics company Dade Behring Holdings (Deerfield, Illinois) reported that its board of directors has...

Deals roundup.
December 4, 2006... Deals roundup AMS sells Laserscope aesthetic assets to Iridex for $37 million A Medical Device Daily Staff Report American Medical Systems Holdings (AMS; Minnetonka, Minnesota) reported that it signed a definitive agreement to sell...

Agreements.(Dmetrix Inc.)(Smiths Medical Inc.)(Inditherm Ltd)
December 4, 2006... Agreements Emageon in Allscripts pact for TouchWorks software A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Emageon (Birmingham, Alabama) reported that it will resell TouchWorks Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM)...

Court report.
December 4, 2006... Court report Lifestream files petition for protection under bankruptcy A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Lifestream Technologies (Post Falls, Idaho), a supplier of cholesterol monitors, said yesterday it has filed a petition for...

Briefly Noted.(American Tissue Services Foundation, certified)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... Briefly Noted ATSF gets AATB accreditation American Tissue Services Foundation (ATSF; Oklahoma City) has been awarded accreditation of the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB, McLean, Virginia). Accreditation follows an...

Product Briefs.
December 4, 2006... Product Briefs * ATS Medical (Minneapolis) said it received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a key patent application on its anti-coagulation and demineralization of conductive medical devices technology....

People in Places.(appointments)(Accuitive Medical Ventures)(The Innovation Factory)(Brief article)
December 4, 2006... People in Places * Accuitive Medical Ventures (AMV) and The Innovation Factory (TIF; both Duluth, Georgia) have added Rudy Mazzocchi to both management teams. He will serve as a venture partner with AMV and as vice president, business...

Medtronic seeks growth in mid-teens, will spin AED unit.
December 5, 2006... Medtronic seeks growth in mid-teens, will spin AED unit By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor The board of Medtronic (Minneapolis) yesterday afternoon unveiled a plan to send its 1998 acquisition, Physio-Control...

Edwards sells angiogenesis program to Sangamo for $7.5M.
December 5, 2006... Edwards sells angiogenesis program to Sangamo for $7.5M By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, California) and Sangamo BioSciences (Richmond, California) jointly reported...

Kyphon builds spine arsenal with $525M St. Francis Med buy.(Lusora Healthcare Systems)(acquisitions)
December 5, 2006... Kyphon builds spine arsenal with $525M St. Francis Med buy By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor In a bid to dramatically expand its already potent minimally invasive spine product arsenal, Kyphon...

International report.
December 5, 2006... International report Misonix signs agreement for device distribution in China A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Misonix (Farmingdale, New York), a developer of ultrasonic device technology for the treatment of cancer and other...

Financings roundup.
December 5, 2006... Financings roundup Vital Images over-allotment sale pushes offering to $98 million A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Vital Images (Minneapolis) reported that the underwriters of its recently completed public offering have...

Agreements roundup.
December 5, 2006... Agreements roundup VisEn, Lilly teaming up in R&D; VQ Ortho to sell Game Ready A Medical Device Daily Staff Report VisEn Medical (Woburn, Massachusetts) said it has entered into a joint research program to expand the capabilities...

Grants/contracts.
December 5, 2006... Grants/contracts Sunrise gains $40M in buyout fees; Clearant and TBI in pact A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Sunrise Senior Living (McLean, Virginia) said it has received $40 million in buyout and transition fees from Five Star...

AlloSource and CTS form Joint Restoration Foundation.
December 5, 2006... AlloSource and CTS form Joint Restoration Foundation A Medical Device Daily Staff Report AlloSource (Centennial, Colorado) and Community Tissue Services (CTS; Dayton, Ohio) reported that they have formed the Joint Restoration...

Product Briefs.
December 5, 2006... Product Briefs * MIV Therapeutics (MIVT; Atlanta) said a comparative animal study of two of its novel polymer-free drug-eluting stent coating technologies has concluded with positive results. The study compared stents coated with MIVT's...

People in Places.(appointments)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... People in Places * Timothy Healey has been named senior VP of commercial operations for Advanced Magnetics (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Healy previously was executive director, CNS marketing at Sepracor. Advanced Magnetics is a developer...

CMS Roundup.
December 6, 2006... CMS Roundup Medicare Advantage payments become part of flap over Part B By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor A subtext to the ongoing inside-the-Beltway debate concerning the proposed Medicare Part B doctor's...

'Closing loop' for 'holy grail' of diabetes is more than devices.
December 6, 2006... Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference 'Closing loop' for 'holy grail' of diabetes is more than devices By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor Short of a cure for diabetes, the "Holy Grail" to treat this disease is...

Report from Europe.
December 6, 2006... Report from Europe CMI spin-out OrthoMimetics in series A $9.6 million funding A Medical Device Daily Staff Report OrthoMimetics (OM; Cambridge, UK), the first technology spin-out from the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI), reported...

AutoCool refrigerates, controls storage of high-value drugs.
December 6, 2006... AutoCool refrigerates, controls storage of high-value drugs By AMANDA PEDERSEN Medical Device Daily Staff Writer Jewelers wouldn't keep their most valuable gems in an unlocked case so why should pharmacies store their most valuable...

Financings roundup.
December 6, 2006... Financings roundup IPG files for $82 million IPO; Neoprobe in $6M stock accord A Medical Device Daily Staff Report IPG Photonics (Oxford, Massachusetts) reported that it has filed for a proposed initial public offering that it...

Edwards discontinues Optiwave and will eliminate 70 positions.
December 6, 2006... Edwards discontinues Optiwave and will eliminate 70 positions A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, California) yesterday reported two initiatives: the discontinuation of its Optiwave 980 Cardiac Laser...

Agreements roundup.
December 6, 2006... Agreements roundup Beaumont tech center helping FDA in patient safety program A Medical Device Daily Staff Report The Beaumont Technology Usability Center (Royal Oak, Michigan) said it is assisting the FDA in a national patient...

Deals roundup.(briefs)
December 6, 2006... Deals roundup ATS buys EM Vascular assets; Biomoda in cancer tech license A Medical Device Daily Staff Report ATS Medical (Minneapolis) said it has acquired certain assets of EM Vascular (Shoreview, Minnesota). It said the...

Briefly Noted.(use of 4D imaging systems)(Brief article)
December 6, 2006... Briefly Noted 4-D imaging key to OB/GYN growth Millennium Research Group (MRG; Waltham, Massachusetts) has conducted an analysis of the $2.6 billion global ultrasound market and reported that the largest contributor to growth in the...

Product Briefs.(eGene Inc.)(Brief article)
December 6, 2006... Product Briefs * Cambridge Heart (Bedford, Massachusetts) reported the publication of a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology assessing the utility of Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) in predicting risk of sudden...

People in Places.(appointments)(Brief article)
December 6, 2006... People in Places * Donald Margouleff has joined the staff at Daxor (New York) as the director of nuclear medicine. Margouleff is board certified in both Nuclear Medicine and Internal Medicine, is a professor of clinical medicine at the...

Cardinal introduces bar-coded unit-dose packaging service.
December 6, 2006... Cardinal introduces bar-coded unit-dose packaging service A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) this week unveiled a new service, named ReadyScan, that it targets for improving patient safety by providing...

Schultz mum on whether FDA to seek larger beefed-up trials.
December 7, 2006... Two-day meeting to mull DES Schultz mum on whether FDA to seek larger beefed-up trials By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor WASHINGTON -- The meeting of the FDA's circulatory systems device panel today and...

Presenters for orthopedics - No. 1 to not-quite-so-exciting.
December 7, 2006... Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference Presenters for orthopedics -- No. 1 to not-quite-so-exciting By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor NEW YORK -- Healthcare conferences are very much like beauty pageants....

Financings roundup.
December 7, 2006... Financings roundup Underwriters of Hansen IPO take option for $80 million net A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Hansen Medical (Mountain View, California) reported that the underwriters of its initial public offering of 6.25...

Genetic study moves closer to basis for addiction to nicotine.
December 7, 2006... NIH roundup Genetic study moves closer to basis for addiction to nicotine A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Results of a new genetic study bring scientists one step closer to understanding why some smokers become addicted to...

Deals roundup.(Diversified Clinical Services and Wound Care Centers unite to form WCS Clinics)(real estate investments of Medical Properties Trust)
December 7, 2006... Deals roundup DCS and Wound Care Centers to unite under WCS banner A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Diversified Clinical Services (DCS; Jacksonville, Florida) and Wound Care Centers (formerly Curative; also Jacksonville)...

Agreements roundup.(Beaumont Technology Usability Center)(Reflect Scientific Inc.)(Vander-Bend Manufacturing)
December 7, 2006... Agreements roundup iCAD enters pact with Viatronix in virtual colonoscopy A Medical Device Daily Staff Report iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire), a provider of computer-aided detection (CAD) solutions for the early identification of...

Grants/contracts.
December 7, 2006... Grants/contracts CDC awards $11.4 million to 4 firms to develop H5N1 tests A Medical Device Daily Staff Report The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta) reported that it has made $11.4 million in new contracts to...

Briefly Noted.(introducing new health care software)(stock prices of Biomoda)
December 7, 2006... Briefly Noted ABO to include digital models in certification Cadent (Carlstadt, New Jersey) reported that the American Board of Orthodontists will incorporate digital study models, including Cadent's OrthoCAD, in its clinical...

Product Briefs.(biomarkers for detection of bladder cancer by CytoCore)(development of health care industry)(Food and Drug Administration approvals for Doppler systems)
December 7, 2006... Product Briefs * CytoCore (Chicago) reported "highly accurate results" in using its P2X7 biomarker to detect bladder cancer, suggesting broader implications for use in the early detection of cancer in all epithelial cells, the company...

People in Places.(Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse)(Refac Optical)(Brief article)
December 7, 2006... People in Places * John Manzetti has been named president/CEO of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (Pittsburgh). Manzetti joined the PLSG as an executive-in-residence in July and was named chief operating officer in September....

Report from Europe.(4B Med'Concept )
December 7, 2006... Report from Europe PerkinElmer to pay $29.3 million to acquire Evotec Technologies By CORMAC SHERIDAN Medical Device Daily Correspondent And MDD Staff Reports Evotec (Hamburg, Germany) is adding about $29.3 million...

Disability in elderly tailing off as Baby Boomers encroach.
December 8, 2006... Disability in elderly tailing off as Baby Boomers encroach By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor As administrators at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services work to rein in spending, various stakeholders...

Senate expected to approve von Eschenbach as FDA head.
December 8, 2006... Senate expected to approve von Eschenbach as FDA head By AARON LORENZO Medical Device Daily Staff Writer WASHINGTON – There is a high likelihood that the Senate will confirm Andrew von Eschenbach's nomination as FDA...

Financings roundup.
December 8, 2006... Financings roundup HydroCision adds $12.7 million private 'G' round to its coffers By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor When a company says it has just completed its 'G' round of financing as...

Deals roundup.(contracts)(acquisitions)
December 8, 2006... Deals roundup Orthovita enters royalty sale pact with Angiotech Pharma A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Orthovita (Malvern, Pennsylvania), a spine and orthopedic biosurgery company, reported that it has entered into a royalty...

Agreements roundup.
December 8, 2006... Agreements roundup Volcano agrees to provide IVUS catheters free to three entities A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Volcano (Rancho Cordova, California), Stanford University (Palo Alto, California), Cardialysis (Rotterdam, the...

Court report.
December 8, 2006... Court report Texas lawsuits filed against Ortho Evra birth control maker A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Three North Texas women have filed lawsuits against the makers of the Ortho Evra birth control patch after doctors...

Grants/contracts.
December 8, 2006... Grants/contracts Perot Systems selected as one of eight IT providers to VA A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Perot Systems (Plano, Texas), a worldwide provider of information technology services and business solutions, reported...

Briefly Noted.
December 8, 2006... Briefly Noted IsoRay hires Catalyst for investor campaign IsoRay Medical (Richland, Washington) has selected Catalyst Financial Resources to execute a comprehensive investor awareness campaign aimed at enhancing shareholder value....

Product Briefs.
December 8, 2006... Product Briefs • Dnikon Instruments (Melville, New York) has introduced the BioStation CT, a fully integrated, self contained cell culture observation device and monitoring system designed to allow users with minimal microscopy...

People in Places.
December 8, 2006... People in Places • Grant Life Sciences (Los Angeles) has hired Kim Liao as director of Asian business development effective immediately. Between 1995 and 2006, Liao held a variety of executive positions with Abbott Laboratories...

Medtronic's Collins appointed to innovation panel.(appointment of Art Collins at Medtronic)
December 8, 2006... Medtronic's Collins appointed to innovation panel Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has named Art Collins, chairman and CEO of Medtronic (Minneapolis), to serve on a new panel to understand better how U.S. innovation contributes to...

Report from Europe.
December 8, 2006... Report from Europe French insurer will pay for HPV testing of women 30-65 A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Digene (Gaithersburg, Maryland) said that as of Jan. 1, French insurer MAAF Sante will pay for HPV DNA testing of all...

MannKind offers 20M shares, $100 million in debt to public.
December 8, 2006... MannKind offers 20M shares, $100 million in debt to public A Medical Device Daily Staff Report MannKind (Valencia, California) reported that it has agreed to sell an aggregate of 20 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten...

Panel says data not enough to argue DES riskier than BMS.(drug-eluting stents)
December 11, 2006... Panel says data not enough to argue DES riskier than BMS By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor GAITHERSBURG, Maryland -- The first day of the FDA's circulatory devices panel seemed replete with the academic and...

Lame duck Senate confirms von Eschenbach to top FDA post.
December 11, 2006... Lame duck Senate confirms von Eschenbach to top FDA post By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor Waiting until the waning hours of a lame duck session of Congress, the Senate finally confirmed Andrew von...

International report.(agreement for development of practice guidelines and reeducating the physicians)(new imaging technology introduced in china)
December 11, 2006... International report Johns Hopkins part of cardiac education program in Egypt A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Johns Hopkins Medicine International (Baltimore) and Sanofi-Aventis Egypt have signed an agreement for educational...

Mayo Clinic team develops breath-hold control device.
December 11, 2006... Mayo Clinic team develops breath-hold control device By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Writer The very act of breathing, or what is termed "respiratory motion," can throw off radiologists and physicians alike during CT...

Financings roundup.
December 11, 2006... Financings roundup Advanced Magnetics offering 2.1M shares at $62 per share A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Advanced Magnetics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 2.1 million...

Grants/contracts.
December 11, 2006... Grants/contracts NIH funds study by William Beaumont of tumor movement A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Lung tumors have been difficult to treat with radiation therapy because patient breathing causes tumors to move around. This...

Deals roundup.(HAPC acquires Infusystem)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Deals roundup HAPC files preliminary proxy related to InfuSystem buy A Medical Device Daily Staff Report HAPC (New York) said it has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with...

Court report.(Brief article)(Case overview)
December 11, 2006... Court report QMed, Alere reach agreement; results in payment to QMed A Medical Device Daily Staff Report QMed (Eatontown, New Jersey) reported that it has reached agreement with Alere Medical (Reno, Nevada) to settle the...

Briefly Noted.(AHPC Holdings failed compliance with Nasdaq)(Veridigm Inc changes its name to eNotes Systems)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... Briefly Noted AHPC falls out of Nasdaq compliance AHPC Holdings (Glendale Heights, Illinois) said it has received a Nasdaq Staff Deficiency letter indicating that the company is not in compliance with requirements for continued listing...

Differing thrombosis definitions provided at FDA's panel on DES.
December 11, 2006... Differing thrombosis definitions provided at FDA's panel on DES What's in a word? Parsing the meaning of language is a challenge even for the politically inclined, but attaching meaning to the word "thrombosis" during the FDA meeting...

Product Briefs.
December 11, 2006... Product Briefs * Gel-Del Technologies (St. Paul, Minnesota) said it has received FDA approval for clinical trials of CosmetaLife, a dermal filler injection that the company says holds potential to be a more effective treatment for deep...

People in Places.(appointment of David Dresner at Micell Technologies)(Brief article)
December 11, 2006... People in Places * Micell Technologies (Raleigh, North Carolina) has appointed David Dresner to serve as its Chief Financial Officer on an interim basis effective Dec. 16. He replaces Jon Kennedy, who is leaving Micell to assume financial...

Off-label use of DES doesn't alter panel recommendations.(drug-eluting stents)
December 12, 2006... Off-label use of DES doesn't alter panel recommendations By MARK McCARTY Medical Device Daily Washington Editor GAITHERSBURG, Maryland -- The second day of the FDA devices panel looking at drug-eluting stents (DES) was the scene of...

Following pharma, GMD set to provide device 'generics'.
December 12, 2006... Following pharma, GMD set to provide device 'generics' By AMANDA PEDERSEN Medical Device Daily Staff Writer At a time when rising healthcare costs make headlines almost daily, a new medical device company has set out to respond to...

Report from Europe.
December 12, 2006... Report from Europe Asset 2 electronic 'toolkit' new aid to stroke services in UK A Medical Device Daily Staff Report A new electronic "toolkit" for the staff of the National Health Service, launched by the UK Department of Health,...

Financings roundup.
December 12, 2006... Financings roundup Galil adds $52M in financing and completes Oncura deals By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor Galil Medical (Tel Aviv, Israel), one of the companies owned by Elron Electronic (also Tel Aviv),...