Archives for May 2008
[Quick Take] Interview with Jeff Howell, VP of Business Development at HealthTronics
HealthTronics offers diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to physicians, hospitals, surgery centers and clinics with a product portfolio that includes lithotripters and surgical lasers for treatment of BPH and stones, and anatomical pathology services.
With the largest fleet of lithotripsy systems, and a host of minimally invasive urological services and products serving a network of more than 3,000 physicians, HealthTronics is one of the leading providers of urological services and products in the U.S.
In its most recent quarter, the Austin, TX-based company reported a profit of $452,000 (compared with a loss of $30,000 for the same quarter last year) on revenues of $33.9 million, up from the $32.7 million reported in Q1 2007.
[Quick Take] Interview with Robert Behl, President and CEO of PercSys
Positioned for growth as procedure shift from the hospital to the office and clinic, Percutaneous Systems, Inc. (PercSys) develops devices that make urologic and endoscopic procedures easier, less traumatic and more effective therapeutically. Many of the company’s products facilitate the introduction of catheters and other instruments for procedures that are moving from the hospital into an office environment.
Approximately 5 percent of Americans will be affected by urinary stones at some point in their life. Stone disease is among the most painful and prevalent of urologic disorders. If a stone becomes large enough it can block or otherwise create pressure, pain and infection in the kidney or ureter, the tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Many patients experiencing urinary stones can be managed with medications and large amounts of fluids. In those patients with larger stones, external or
[Quick Take] Interview with Broughan Gorey, CEO of Concierge MedTravel
As the name implies, Concierge MedTravel is a medical travel service. Concierge arranges appointments, international travel, transportation, hotel and hospital accommodations for clients.
The company caters to men in need of a minimally invasive prostate cancer treatment, specifically an alternative prostate cancer treatment known as Ablatherm High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) that is not available in the U.S.
Concierge sends customers to St. Josef Hospital, a medical center with a team of 20 urological medical specialists, located at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Concierge will coordinate with your local physician, who will continue to provide care once treatment is complete.
Ablatherm HIFU treatment uses focused ultrasound waves to precisely target and destroy cancer cells. Approved since 2000 in the EU, HIFU technology allows urologists to destroy the prostatic tissue without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. There is no radiation, surgery, prostatectomy or cryotherapy. When
BioElectronics Corp. Initiates Clinical Trials
Regular Sentinel readers may recall previous posts in which I praise Frederick, MD-based BioElectronics Corp. (BIEL), maker of ActiPatch.
The company has experienced strong international growth over the past several months. In an announcement released last week, BIEL noted that during the month of April, the company produced more revenue than in its entire first quarter (Q1 sales were approximately $120,000).
BIEL is expecting sales in May to outpace those of April and June to outpace May. Based on its current and expected order backlogs, it appears the company will continue to ramp sales each month moving forward through 2008.
Revenue growth comes at a time when the company has streamlined operations. In 2007 the company moved the bulk of its manufacturing to China, which has significantly reduced costs; BIEL is able to produce ActiPatch at a 70%+ gross margin.
ActiPatch delivers pulsed electromagnetic frequency (PEMF)
[Quick Take] Interview with Sandra Muhlfeld, Director of Marketing at Caldera Medical
Caldera develops disposable medical devices that address large markets in gynecology, urology and urogynecology. In this segment, filmed at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting, Sandra Muhlfeld discusses the Desara Sling System for female stress urinary incontinence and vaginal vault prolapse.
Caldera has multiple avenues for locating and developing its portfolio. Sourcing channels include internally-developed intellectual property, development agreements with surgeons, and exclusive partnerships with companies.
Caldera markets all products under the Caldera brand name. In the U.S., Caldera has its own sales force; internationally, the company has partnered with a number of specialized distributors. To maximize impact, the company works with a small number of products, and launches each one with an extensive campaign.
Nanogen to Consolidate Point of Care Manufacturing Operations
Nanogen is taking steps to reduce costs and improve margins by consolidating its point of care manufacturing operations. The cost-cutting effort will transfer operations in Toronto, CA to the company’s San Diego facility; the move should be complete by year-end.
According to estimates, the consolidation will eliminate 30 jobs and reduce overall costs, starting in 2009, by approximately $3 million. For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, Nanogen’s loss from operations was $8.0 million, compared to a net loss of $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2007.
Currently, Nanogen’s qualitative cardiac products, purchased two years ago from Spectral Diagnostics, are manufactured in Toronto while development and pilot manufacturing activities for the company’s immunoassay activities are based in San Diego. The company’s Congestive Heart Failure product, based on NT-proBNP, will continue to be supplied by Princeton Bio Meditech and is not affected by
Real Estate Developer Hopes to Attract Tenants with Web 2.0
Wexford Science and Technology, a Baltimore, MD-based real estate investment and development firm, hopes Web 2.0 will generate heightened interest in its new office park.
Located in Hershey, PA, the Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR), geared towards life sciences firms, offers office space, wet and dry labs, conference rooms and shared amenities through a nearby Medical Center.
A key differentiator for potential tenants may not be location or amenities, but KnowledgeMesh, a suite of Web 2.0 tool that Laura Butcher, HCAR’s Executive Director, hopes will spur innovation.
Developed by IntelMarx, KnowledgeMesh is an amalgamation of social networking tools including: personal profiles, social bookmarking, blogging software, cloud storage and a wiki. Product development and marketing has been funded by Wexford.
KnowledgeMesh organizes information around communities that are focused on research areas like oncology, clean technology, and nanotechnology. Content is generated by users.
It remains to be
Aethlon Medical: Time to Focus
You’ve got to hand it to the PR folks at Aethlon Medical. Every time I come across one of the company’s press releases I think I’ve stumbled upon the holy grail of medicine – the solution from which all cures will come.
The company’s Hemopurifier separates and captures infectious viruses and toxins from circulating blood. The device, which resembles a modified kidney dialysis cartridge, is designed to exploit the pre-existing global infrastructure of dialysis machines present in hospitals and clinics.
With the Hemopurifier, the company has:
- Studied the effectiveness of HIV treatment
- Reversed immune suppression in cancer patients
- Been developing a system to clear Avian Flu from a patient’s blood
- Partnered with Delcath to jointly develop a filtration cartridge designed to isolate and deliver high doses of anti-cancer agents to specific organs
- Announced it will initiate studies to test Hemopurifier’s ability to capture West Nile virus
- Released Smallpox
NovaDel Partners with BioAlliance Pharma SA to Bring Ondansetron Oral Spray to Market
NovaDel has entered into a collaboration agreement with BioAlliance Pharma SA for the development and commercialization of NovaDel’s ondansetron oral spray (OS) for Europe. Ondansetron is a 5-HT3 antagonist to prevent nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Upon successful development and approval, NovaDel believes ondansetron OS could be the first antiemetic to be available in Europe in an oral spray form. BioAlliance and NovaDel anticipate collaborating in the completion of development activities for Europe, with BioAlliance responsible for regulatory and commercialization activities.
Steven B. Ratoff, Chairman and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of NovaDel said,
“This agreement expands the ondansetron OS opportunity into Europe and we welcome the relationship with BioAlliance. We continue to work closely on this product in the United States, under the potential brandname Zensana™, with our sublicensee, Strativa Pharmaceuticals, the proprietary products division of Par Pharmaceutical, as
Cepheid Expands Reach with Novation Partnership
Cepheid has signed a group purchasing contract with Novation, making its GeneXpert System and Xpert MRSA tests widely available in the U.S. at lower, pre-negotiated prices.
Novation represents 49% of admissions, 52% of total surgeries and 44% of staffed beds in the U.S., through its affiliation with the VHA, University HealthSystem Consortium and Provista, LLC.
“Institutions accessing Novation contracts are recognizing that active surveillance, with rapid turnaround time, is a key component of a comprehensive infection control program,” said Rob Koska, Cepheid’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Operations.
Though I have, in the past, dismissed MRSA as a ‘celebrity’ among plagues, the condition appears to have some staying power, unlike Ebola or SARS. MRSA is cited as one of the leading causes of Healthcare Acquired Infection (HAI); its prevalence has increased every year since 1970. One Sentinel reader comments,
“My father just died from MSRA2
