Medical Device Week articles from January 2005

Medical Device Week archives from January 2005

Holiday notice.
January 4, 2005... Holiday notice Medical Device Daily's offices were closed Friday, Dec. 31, and Monday, Jan. 3, in observance of the New Year's holiday and no issues were published those days. SOURCE-Medical Device Daily

VivoMetrics monitors growing opportunities for LifeShirt.
January 4, 2005... VivoMetrics monitors growing opportunities for LifeShirt By JIM STOMMEN Medical Device Daily Executive Editor VENTURA, California - The overcast, rain-filled skies recently obscured the usual view of the offshore Channel Islands...

Demographics drive health help in plastic surgery, cardio arenas.
January 4, 2005... Looking forward . . . looking back Demographics drive health help in plastic surgery, cardio arenas By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor Cosmesis - meaning, in general, looking good - and cardiology are both strong...

Report from Europe.
January 4, 2005... Report from Europe NHS unveils newest technology ideas out of Innovations Hubs A Medical Device Daily Staff Report A report detailing new ideas and inventions generated by the 1.3 million people who work in the National Health...

Chlorhexidine gluconate key aid in battle vs. catheter infections.
January 4, 2005... Chlorhexidine gluconate key aid in battle vs. catheter infections By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Staff Report Hospital infections are not only difficult to treat, they're becoming more difficult to treat. That unhappy fact...

Abiomed: AB5000 is successful in saving life of AMI patient.(acute myocardial infarction )
January 4, 2005... Abiomed: AB5000 is successful in saving life of AMI patient A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Abiomed (Danvers, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of cardiac assist devices, reported that a patient has survived after being on AB5000...

Micro Therapeutics lays off 60 in closure of Germany facility.
January 4, 2005... Micro Therapeutics lays off 60 in closure of Germany facility A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Micro Therapeutics (MTI; Irvine, California) reported the consolidation of its global manufacturing operations into a single...

Financings roundup.
January 4, 2005... Financings roundup Alliance Imaging completes sale of $150M in subordinated notes A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Alliance Imaging (Anaheim, California), a national provider of diagnostic imaging services, reported successfully...

Medwave delays 10-K filing.(Brief Article)
January 4, 2005... Medwave delays 10-K filing Medwave (Danvers, Massachusetts) reported that it is delaying the filing of its annual report on Form 10-K. Management was notified Dec. 28 that the company's audit firm was not able to consent to the Form 10-K,...

Product Briefs.
January 4, 2005... Product Briefs * Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, California) reported adding an application to its Coulter LH 750 hematology analyzers that automates the analysis of body fluids for greater lab efficiency and labor savings. With the new...

ThyroTest provides 10-minute result, faster than current TSH.
January 5, 2005... ThyroTest provides 10-minute result, faster than current TSH By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Writer ThyroTest, a new rapid hypothyroid diagnostic screening device from ThyroTec (Honey Brook, Pennsylvania), has received a...

Onex completes C$225M buy of Center for Diagnostic Imaging.
January 5, 2005... Onex completes C$225M buy of Center for Diagnostic Imaging A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Onex (Toronto) reported completing the acquisition of Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI; Minneapolis) in a transaction valued at about...

International report.
January 5, 2005... International report BD in public/private program to cut syringe reuse in India A Medical Device Daily Staff Report BD (Becton, Dickinson; Franklin Lakes, New Jersey) said last month that it has entered into an agreement that will...

Financings roundup.
January 5, 2005... Financings roundup Microvision, Ethicon in accord; second closing for Sagemark A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Microvision (Bothell, Washington), a leader in light-scanning technologies, reported that it has entered into a...

Cyberonics hit with 2nd warning letter from FDA.
January 5, 2005... Cyberonics hit with 2nd warning letter from FDA A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Cyberonics (Houston) reported that it received a warning letter, its second in three years, from the Dallas District Office of the FDA regarding what...

ACT launches engineering group.(Advanced Cooling Technologies)
January 5, 2005... ACT launches engineering group Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT; Lancaster, Pennsylvania) has reported launch of its Engineering Services Group, providing thermal engineering services to medical equipment, electronics and energy systems...

Court report.
January 5, 2005... Court report HealthSouth in big settlement as Scrushy trial set to open A Medical Device Daily Staff Report On the eve of a trial vs. Richard Scrushy, its former CEO, HealthSouth (Birmingham, Alabama) said it has signed a...

Deals roundup.
January 5, 2005... Deals roundup VitalWorks, now Amicas, spins off medical division for $100M A Medical Device Daily Staff Report VitalWorks (Ridgefield, Connecticut), a leader in radiology and diagnostic image and information technology solutions,...

Cardima regains Nasdaq compliance.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... Cardima regains Nasdaq compliance Cardima (Fremont, California), developer of the Intellitemp and Revelation series of cardiac interventional systems for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), reported that it has received written...

ChondroGene in collaboration with Pfizer.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2005... ChondroGene in collaboration with Pfizer ChondroGene (Toronto) reported that it has entered a new two-year research collaboration with Pfizer (New York) for the identification of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for the treatment...

Grants/contracts.
January 5, 2005... Grants/contracts Cardiac Science will supply AEDs to Nashville metro area A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Cardiac Science (Irvine, California), a maker of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), said it has been selected to...

Product Briefs.
January 5, 2005... Product Briefs * Biosite (San Diego) reported that it has submitted a premarket approval application to the FDA for the Triage Stroke Panel. The test is a rapid immunoassay intended for use in conjunction with neuro imaging as an aid in...

2004 saw resurgence in IPO volume in med-tech sector.(initial public offerings)
January 6, 2005... 2004 saw resurgence in IPO volume in med-tech sector By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor After a nearly two-year drought, 2004 saw the resurgence of one of the most popular exit strategies in the...

St. Jude invests $25 million in, has option to buy ProRhythm.
January 6, 2005... St. Jude invests $25 million in, has option to buy ProRhythm A Medical Device Daily Staff Report ProRhythm (formerly known as Transurgical; Setauket, New York), a manufacturer of medical devices for the treatment of atrial fibrillation...

Report from Europe.
January 6, 2005... Report from Europe Integra acquires French ortho products firm for EUR 39.5M A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Integra LifeSciences Holdings (Plainsboro, New Jersey) reported that it has acquired the Newdeal (Lyon, France) group...

Personal health records need role of federal government.
January 6, 2005... Personal health records need role of federal government By CHRISTOPHER DELPORTE Medical Device Daily Washington Editor WASHINGTON - The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics of the Department of Health and Human...

Financings roundup.
January 6, 2005... Financings roundup H.I.G. Ventures raises $300M fund for Southeast investment A Medical Device Daily Staff Report H.I.G. Ventures (Atlanta), an affiliate of equity firm H.I.G. Capital (Miami), reported raising H.I.G. Venture...

Deals roundup.
January 6, 2005... Deals roundup Tripos buys Optive Research for $4.75M cash, plus stock A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Tripos (St. Louis) reported acquiring privately held Optive Research (Austin, Texas), a developer of software for...

Unomedical expands warning, issues airway adapter recall.(Brief Article)
January 6, 2005... Unomedical expands warning, issues airway adapter recall A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Unomedical (McAllen, Texas) reported that it has expanded its warning and has begun a recall of airway adapters it distributed in the U.S. and...

Grants/contracts.
January 6, 2005... Grants/contracts Isonics delivers Actinium-225 to National Cancer Institute A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Isonics (Golden, Colorado) reported the first delivery of Actinium-225, a promising cancer-fighting radioisotope, to...

Court report.
January 6, 2005... Court report Curative Health Services in California DHS settlement A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Curative Health Services (CHS; Hauppauge, New York) reported that it and certain individual plaintiffs have entered into a...

Briefly Noted.
January 6, 2005... Briefly Noted Diabetic kidney disease samples, data available The National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (New York), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta)...

People in Places.
January 6, 2005... People in Places * Martin Emerson has been promoted to president and CEO of American Medical Systems Holdings (AMS; Minneapolis) from his current role as president and chief operating officer. Emerson also has been named a director....

Product Briefs.
January 6, 2005... Product Briefs * Bio-Rad Laboratories (Hercules, California) reported that it has received FDA clearance for its BioPlex 2200 system, a new immunoassay platform that uses multiplexing technology to analyze for multiple disease states from...

New LSA 'angels' firm will offer device and biotech support.(Life Science Angels)
January 7, 2005... New LSA 'angels' firm will offer device and biotech support By DON LONG Medical Device Daily Managing Editor A new private investment group, Life Science Angels (LSA; Palo Alto, California), has been formally launched, back- ed by...

TonoPach from RetinaPharma gets FDA marketing approval.
January 7, 2005... TonoPach from RetinaPharma gets FDA marketing approval By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Writer RetinaPharma Technologies (Jenkintown, Pennsylvania) reported that it received FDA clearance to market its TonoPach, designed...

Report from Europe.
January 7, 2005... Report from Europe UK broadens plans to care for those with long-term illness A Medical Device Daily Staff Report UK Health Secretary John Reid this week unveiled a major overhaul in the way the National Health Service (NHS) and...

Genzyme buys back Synvisc; Cooper/Ocular merger complete.
January 7, 2005... Genzyme buys back Synvisc; Cooper/Ocular merger complete A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Genzyme (Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported completing the transaction to buy back from Wyeth (Madison, New Jersey) the sales and marketing...

Court report.
January 7, 2005... Court report Guidant wins stent rulings, Medtronic promises to appeal A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Guidant (Indianapolis) reported the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has issued a number of rulings in a...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
January 7, 2005... Clarification The article headlined "Durect, Voyager win IND for use of Durin implant for Alzheimer's" in the Dec. 27, 2004, issue of Medical Device Daily incorrectly stated that Voyager Pharmaceutical is conducting Phase II trials with...

Financings roundup.
January 7, 2005... Financings roundup Aurora Imaging adds $10.7M; VirtualScopics raises $1.4M A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Aurora Imaging Technology (North Andover, Massachusetts) reported completing a $3 million Series B preferred stock...

Deals roundup.
January 7, 2005... Deals roundup Agilent acquires ChIP-on-chip firm Computational Biology A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, California) reported acquiring Computational Biology (Cambridge, Massachusetts), a biotech...

Product Briefs.
January 7, 2005... Product Briefs * Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) reported FDA clearance for the use of its Advanced D-Dimer assay as an aid in the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism). The clearance included...

People in Places.
January 7, 2005... People in Places * Terence McGowan has been named director of institutional advancement for the Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI; Watertown, Massachusetts). McGowan previously was associate director of corporate and foundation...

Bush using 'capital' to push malpractice reform legislation.
January 10, 2005... Bush using 'capital' to push malpractice reform legislation By CHRISTOPHER DELPORTE Medical Device Daily Washington Editor WASHINGTON - President George Bush set out last week to spend some of the "political capital" that he said...

NMT Medical begins enrolling in MIST trial for migraines.
January 10, 2005... NMT Medical begins enrolling in MIST trial for migraines By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor NMT Medical (Boston), a developer of minimally invasive systems for the treatment of cardiac sources of...

International report.
January 10, 2005... International report Chinese distributor is signed for CardioMag's MCG systems A Medical Device Daily Staff Report CardioMag Imaging (CMI; Schenectady, New York) has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Shenzhen Zhiheng...

MOST study says dual-chamber pacing worth the added cost.
January 10, 2005... MOST study says dual-chamber pacing worth the added cost By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor More expensive pacemakers that "pace" the heart's upper and lower chambers are worth the extra cost because...

Biofield asks reclassification of breast lesion test system.
January 10, 2005... Biofield asks reclassification of breast lesion test system A Medical Device Daily Staff Report As it earlier promised, Biofield (Atlanta), developer of the Biofield Breast Proliferation Rate Detection System (BDS), a non-invasive,...

Ionic Fusion rolls out Nexxion subsidiary at West Coast show.
January 10, 2005... Medical Design & Manufacturing West show Ionic Fusion rolls out Nexxion subsidiary at West Coast show A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Ionic Fusion (Longmont, Colorado), a developer of ionic plasma deposition (IPD) technology -...

Deals roundup.
January 10, 2005... Deals roundup Biophan Tech acquires Amris; Light Sciences spins off three A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Biophan Technologies (Rochester, New York), a developer of technologies designed to improve the MRI compatibility of...

Financings roundup.
January 10, 2005... Financings roundup Bayer grants license to B&L; Eye Dynamics pays note early A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Bausch & Lomb (B&L; Rochester, New York) and Bayer Biological Products (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), a...

Grants/contracts.
January 10, 2005... Grants/contracts NPSF unveils award winners for '04 patient safety research A Medical Device Daily Staff Report The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF; McLean, Virginia), a non-profit organization focused on improving patient...

Lifecore renews Alcon agreement.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Lifecore renews Alcon agreement Lifecore Biomedical (Chaska, Minnesota) reported that it has renewed its supply agreement with Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas), a global eye care company. Lifecore supplies hyaluronan to Alcon, a leader in...

Briefly Noted.
January 10, 2005... Briefly Noted American Medical notified of corrected RVU American Medical Systems Holdings (Minneapolis) said it has been informed by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS; Baltimore) of the corrected 2005 non-facility...

Product Briefs.
January 10, 2005... Product Briefs * Medical Present Value (MPV; San Antonio) reported the availability of Patient Portion Pricer, a time-of-service coll- ections module that accurately calculates expected patient financial responsibility before or at the...

Medtronic, Boston Sci make noise as leadoff presenters.
January 11, 2005... JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Medtronic, Boston Sci make noise as leadoff presenters By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor SAN FRANCISCO - The 23rd edition of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference...

Deals roundup.
January 11, 2005... Deals roundup Invitrogen plans to buy Zymed in $60 million all-cash deal A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Invitrogen (Carlsad, California) reported signing a definitive agreement to acquire privately held antibody manufacturer...

Report from Europe.
January 11, 2005... Report from Europe Stem Cell Foundation planned to help bridge UK funding gap By NUALA MORAN Medical Device Daily Correspondent and Staff Reports Biotech leaders in the UK have put together a plan to raise [pounds...

Liver disease and diagnostics targeted by NIH action plan.(National Institutes of Health)
January 11, 2005... Liver disease and diagnostics targeted by NIH action plan By CHRISTOPHER DELPORTE Medical Device Daily Washington Editor WASHINGTON - The National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, Maryland) has outlined a plan that could put a...

Novoste reports 'inaccuracies,' resulting loss of carryforwards.
January 11, 2005... Novoste reports 'inaccuracies,' resulting loss of carryforwards A Medical Device Daily Staff Report As the result of a recent analysis of cumulative changes in the ownership of its common stock, embattled vascular brachytherapy...

Financings roundup.
January 11, 2005... Financings roundup Conor Medsystems adds $8.3M in IPO over-allotment exercise A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Conor Medsystems (Menlo Park, California) reported that the underwriters of its recent initial public offering (IPO)...

Grants/contracts.
January 11, 2005... Grants/contracts Iris subsidiary awarded grant for microscope instruments A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Iris International (Chatsworth, California), a manufacturer of automated in vitro diagnostics urinalysis systems and...

Court report.
January 11, 2005... Court report Artes says U.S. patent office OKs reexamination of patent A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Artes Medical (San Diego, California), a specialty medical device and pharmaceutical company, reported that the U.S. Patent...

Briefly Noted.
January 11, 2005... Briefly Noted Vision-Sciences, Medtronic unit in pact Vision-Sciences (Natick, Massachusetts) said it has signed a distribution agreement under which Medtronic USA, a unit of Medtronic (Minneapolis), has become the exclusive...

Product Briefs.
January 11, 2005... Product Briefs * Aastrom Biosciences (Ann Arbor, Michigan) expanded the U.S. Phase I/II trial of its Tissue Repair Cells (TRCs) in the treatment of severe long bone non-union fractures to include the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at...

People in Places.
January 11, 2005... People in Places * Alice Varisano will serve as CFO and vice president of human resources for Excel Technology (East Setauket, New York), a manufacturer of laser systems and electro-optical components. Prior to joining Excel, Varisano was...

Coming off '04 IPOs, pair of firms in convincing debuts.(FoxHollow Technologies and Animas)
January 12, 2005... JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Coming off '04 IPOs, pair of firms in convincing debuts By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor SAN FRANCISCO - Several companies that made the transition to the public...

After 'great' 2004, Braunstein sees more gains for sector.(Douglas Braunstein)
January 12, 2005... JP Morgan Healthcare Conference After 'great' 2004, Braunstein sees more gains for sector By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor SAN FRANCISCO - Calling 2004 a "great year" for the healthcare...

Report from Europe.
January 12, 2005... Report from Europe UK providing [pounds sterling]3M to aid in fighting the obesity battle A Medical Device Daily Staff Report The UK Department of Health has budgeted [pounds sterling]3 million of extra funding to help in the...

Findings on HIV-fighting gene may lead to earlier treatment.
January 12, 2005... Findings on HIV-fighting gene may lead to earlier treatment By KAREN YOUNG Medical Device Daily Staff Writer A study of HIV-positive and HIV-negative people, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases...

Washington roundup.
January 12, 2005... Washington roundup Malpractice reform is low on public's healthcare to-do list By CHRISTOPHER DELPORTE Medical Device Daily Washington Editor WASHINGTON - On the heels of the President George Bush's recent push to rally...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
January 12, 2005... Clarification An article headlined "2004 saw resurgence in IPO volume in med-tech sector" in the Jan. 7 issue of Medical Device Daily incorrectly stated an amount expected to be raised in an initial public offering proposed by Sound...

Financings roundup.
January 12, 2005... Financings roundup Wellpartner raises $14 million; Biopure funding nets $10.4M A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Wellpartner (Portland, Oregon), a provider of home delivery pharmacy solutions, reported completing a $14 million...

Deals roundup.
January 12, 2005... Deals roundup Henry Schein buys Canadian dental distributor Ash Temple A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Henry Schein (Melville, New York), a major provider of healthcare products and services to office-based practitioners in the...

Court report.
January 12, 2005... Court report Syneron adds additional claim to its patent suit vs. Thermage A Medical Device Daily Staff Report In a continuing dispute between competitors in the medical aesthetics sector, Syneron Medical (Yokneam, Israel) reported...

Briefly Noted.
January 12, 2005... Briefly Noted PainCare offering joint program PainCare Holdings (Orlando, Florida) said it is offering an ancillary service designed to address severe knee pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis (OA). The Intra Articular Joint...

Analogic gets Nasdaq extension.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2005... Analogic gets Nasdaq extension Analogic (Peabody, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of health and security imaging equipment, reported that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has granted the company an extension until Jan. 31 to file its...

Spacelabs to offer Masimo SET.(Signal Extraction Technology)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2005... Spacelabs to offer Masimo SET Spacelabs Medical (Issaquah, Washington), a global manufacturer of patient monitoring systems, and Masimo (Irvine, California), the developer of Signal Extraction Technology (SET) pulse oximetry, reported an...

Product Briefs.
January 12, 2005... Product Briefs * Aastrom Biosciences (Ann Arbor, Michigan) reported that it has expanded the U.S. Phase I/II clinical trial of its adult stem cell-based Tissue Repair Cells (TRCs) in the treatment of severe long bone non-union fractures to...

People in Places.
January 12, 2005... People in Places * David Johnson has been named CEO of BioCrossroads (Indianapolis). Most recently Johnson was a partner at the law firm Baker & Daniels. Johnson replaces departing CEO Charles Schalliol. Johnson was an early promoter of...

Orthopedic companies make no bones about their success.(Zimmer Holdings, Wright Medical and Kyphon )
January 13, 2005... JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Orthopedic companies make no bones about their success By HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor SAN FRANCISCO - A significant portion of the med- tech companies...

Aesthetics markets putting a new face on med-tech sector.(Thermage and Inamed pitch to investment markets)
January 13, 2005... JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Aesthetics markets putting a new face on med-tech sector BY HOLLAND JOHNSON Medical Device Daily Associate Managing Editor SAN FRANCISCO - The aesthetics market is one that some med-tech purists...

International report.
January 13, 2005... International report Chindex in pact to distribute Intuitive's da Vinci in China A Medical Device Daily Staff Report Chindex International (Bethesda, Maryland) reported an exclusive, multi-year agreement with Intuitive Surgical...