A Medical Device Daily

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company; Franklin Lakes, New Jersey), and FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics; Geneva) reported an expanded collaboration toward improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Building on a two-year relationship to improve access to diagnostics in the developing world, BD and FIND formed this collaboration in response to the emergence in many countries of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).

BD said that "through cash and product donations," it will support FIND's TB program to help strengthen laboratory services in developing countries. BD's commitment includes a cash donation of $100,000 and an in-kind product, training and service donation of about $200,000 market value.

"The state of laboratories and lack of clear pathways for the successful introduction of new diagnostic tools into the public health sectors remain major obstacles to the uptake of new technology in many high-burden countries. This is why we also need to focus on improving the laboratory infrastructure in these regions to ensure the successful introduction of new diagnostic tools," said FIND CEO, Dr. Giorgio Roscigno.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva), 1-in-3 in the world is infected with dormant TB germs (i.e. TB bacteria). Only when the bacteria become active do people become ill with TB. Bacteria can become active as a result of anything that reduces the person's immunity, such as HIV, advancing age, or specific medical conditions.

FIND is a non-profit foundation with the purpose of supporting and promoting the health of people in developing countries by sponsoring the development and introduction of new but affordable diagnostic tools for poverty related diseases.

In other grant news:

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation (CDRF; Short Hills, New Jersey) said that it has awarded about $1.5 million to support 14 cutting-edge research projects through its Individual Research Grants program.

The laboratories and scientists funded are located around the globe, and their projects span the entire research continuum from basic cellular and molecular-level laboratory work to clinical application in human patients, according to CDRF.

Two projects funded in this cycle particularly demonstrate the CDRF's "bench to bedside" approach to treating spinal cord injury.

Dr. Abdeljabbar El Manira of the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) will investigate the spinal locomotor circuitry in zebrafish to identify the molecular mechanisms of plasticity (the ability of nerve cells to remodel themselves and grow new connections after injury). By studying the cellular-level changes that occur, El Manira will help lay a rational foundation for future therapeutic strategies for restoring movement after an injury.

CDRF is funding a project by Dr. Jaimie Borisoff of the Neil Squire Brain Interface Lab at the University of British Columbia that will have an important, direct application to humans.

Studies have consistently shown that sexual health is a major priority among the spinal cord injured (SCI) community, and recovery of sexual functioning ranks high on their list of concerns. Borisoff's project will attempt to create an electro-tactile tongue input device that will create an awareness of sexual pleasure in people with chronic SCI.

Both projects draw upon the concept of neural plasticity. In fact, current scientific understanding of this neurological phenomenon is based on pioneering work done at the Karolinska Institute and funded by CDRF that studied the locomotor circuitry of lampreys.

In contract news:

• Quest Diagnostics (Lyndhurst, New Jersey) reported that it has been awarded a new, five-year contract with the U.K.'s National Health Service West Middlesex University Hospital Trust and the Hounslow Primary Care Trust of London to provide end-to-end diagnostic testing and related support services for about 215,000 people.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

Quest will provide laboratory services 365 days, 24 hours a day through a combination of the hospital's on-site laboratory and the company's own laboratory in nearby Heston.

The pathology service will continue to be led by the West Middlesex University Hospital consultant pathologists, who will also have the ability to consult with Quest Diagnostics more than 500 MDs and PhDs in the U.S.

The agreement covers clinical and anatomic pathology, including biochemistry, hematology, microbiology and immunology services as well as staffing and operation of the hospital's on-site laboratory, and the maintenance and calibration of all laboratory equipment, systems and point-of-care technology devices.

• Intelligroup (Edison, New Jersey), a provider of business consulting, technology and outsourcing services, reported a five-year contract with Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, California), maker of cancer treatment and X-ray imaging technology for medical, scientific, and industrial applications, to provide Application Support Services for Varian's global organization, as well as enhancements of its existing SAP system and creation of interfaces between SAP and external applications.

Intelligroup will provide these services using its global delivery model, with resources in North America, India and Europe. The scope of the application support contract will include order to cash processes, supply chain planning, financials, human resources and technical development.