A Medical Device Daily

Xoft (Fremont, California), developer of the Axxent electronic brachytherapy system, and Elekta (Norcross, Georgia), which specializes in radiation oncology and non-invasive neurosurgery solutions, reported the companies have signed a sales development agreement.

Elekta will share sales opportunities for the Xoft Axxent electronic brachytherapy in the radiation oncology market. The non-exclusive agreement allows Elekta to expand its revenue to include procedures performed outside shielded rooms by partially sharing in revenues Xoft receives from the sale of the electronic brachytherapy controller.

The companies will explore other areas of collaboration, which could include international sales and joint development agreements.

Michael Klein, president/CEO of Xoft, said, “This represents a true win-win situation for both companies: The Axxent electronic brachytherapy system rounds out Elekta’s product offering with an innovative new method of delivering partial breast irradiation in minimally shielded rooms, giving sites the ability to maximize availability of their vaults for procedures that can only be performed in shielded rooms. For Xoft, Elekta’s strong radiation oncology presence and market share offers tremendous visibility and the ability to dramatically expand access to this important new treatment option.”

Designed to deliver localized non-radioactive radiation treatment directly to cancer sites, the Axxent treatment platform can be used in virtually any clinical setting under the supervision of a radiation oncologist. Cleared by the FDA for the treatment of early stage breast cancer, the Axxent System is designed to deliver therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

Eliminating the need for heavily shielded environments, it gives radiation oncologists the flexibility to deliver therapy in a broader range of clinical settings.

In other agreement news:

• Aporo Biomedical (San Francisco) reported an exclusive global licensing agreement with mNemoscience (Aachen, Germany) for its biodegradable shape memory polymers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Aporo’s goal is to deliver transcatheter devices that close defects and then biodegrade over time, leaving behind no permanent implant. Initially, Aporo will use these materials to treat patent foramen ovale (PFO), a type of structural heart disease that involves closing an open tunnel between the upper left and right chambers of the heart.

In the future, the company plans to use the polymers in devices to treat atrial septal defect, another structural heart disease, and for vascular closure after catheter-based interventional procedures.

While a PFO typically closes within the first few days after birth, about 25% of the population has a passageway or hole that remains open. In fact, PFOs could cause an estimated 200,000 strokes per year.

PFOs also are believed to be a factor in migraine headaches, which affect 12% of the population. Studies indicate that PFO closure may bring migraine relief. Currently, several transcatheter closure devices are in clinical trials to evaluate PFO closure and the impact on stroke and migraine.

Although minimally invasive catheter-based procedures are relatively short and can provide significant benefits to the patient, there is a growing desire among clinicians to avoid the potential complications and disadvantages from permanently implanting a large device in an otherwise healthy heart. Aporo Biomedical said it will address this concern by delivering a biodegradable device that closes the PFO without leaving a permanent implant.

• Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte, North Carolina) said it has signed new agreements for orthopedic autotransfusion systems with Stryker Instruments (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and Zimmer (Warsaw, Indiana).

The agreements took effect in November.

Premier also reported new agreements for general orthopedic trauma products with Orthofix International (Huntersville, North Carolina) and Zimmer. These 36-month deals also took effect Nov. 1.

In all of the deals, the products will be available to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier alliance.