A Medical Device Daily

TVM Capital MENA reported that it has received the approval of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to start operation of its first regional healthcare growth capital fund with $40 million of subscriptions from founding investors, Saudi Health Investment Company (SHIC), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and GE Healthcare. TVM Capital MENA Ltd., the fund's operator, is based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and is licensed and regulated by the DFSA.

The fund established by TVM Capital MENA is the first healthcare-dedicated fund in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to be operated by a leading global healthcare and life science manager with a significant track record in the sector. The fund will seek to capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities in the healthcare service and pharmaceutical/life science sectors in the MENA region. On the services side, the focus will be on investments in specialized clinics, medical laboratories, small hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers, providers of outsourced services to healthcare delivery facilities, clinical trial management services, and healthcare IT and insurance. On the life science product side, investments will focus on pharmaceutical and other life science product companies that are involved in the licensing, import, manufacture and distribution of medicines, medical devices and diagnostics.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of the DIFC Authority said, "While the current economic environment has posed many challenges, it has also presented several new opportunities for private equity funds. The global financial crisis has shown the need for private equity firms to focus on the fundamental profitability and growth of the companies they invest in. In this light, some of the most exciting opportunities for private equity in the MENA region lie in the healthcare sector."

Kevin Birkett, Executive Director – Asset Management, DIFC Authority said, "DIFC's commitment to maintain the highest global standards of transparency and integrity has made it a natural base for financial services firms. Funds management is one of the strategic sectors that DIFC is focusing its development efforts on. Over the last few years, DIFC has introduced supportive legislation specifically aimed at tapping the growth potential of this sector in the MENA region. Healthcare represents one of the most promising growth areas for private equity funds in the region and we are keen to provide all the support we can to facilitate the growth of such funds TVM Capital MENA's healthcare fund."

To establish operations in Dubai, TVM Capital MENA entered into a joint venture with Boston BioCapital FZ LLC, a Dubai-based advisory firm led by Hoda Abou-Jamra, a founding partner of the fund. The partnership between the two firms covered the coordination of all start-up activities, access to potential investors, investment opportunities, professionals and advisors in the region as well as general marketing and relationship building.

Indian CRO forms team to conduct MIS studies

Max Neeman International (MNI), an Indian CRO, has formed a team of what it termed India's finest, most experienced physicians to conduct minimally invasive surgery studies. MNI said the team consists of the best minimal access surgeons in the country who have performed more than 25,000 procedures combined.

Having already conducted multiple minimally invasive device trials for top device companies, the new specialized team adds another level of company expertise for conducting MIS studies across multiple therapeutic areas, according to MNI.

Patient numbers have been as high as 300 with major focus on peripheral vascular disease, gastric surgery and laparoscopy.

MNI's partner, Max Healthcare has more than 800 beds and 12 hospitals throughout the country and is one of the leading hospital chains in India

Quintiles providing pathology in Beijing

Quintiles (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) reported the availability of anatomic pathology services through its central laboratory in Beijing to help biopharmaceutical companies develop more effective cancer treatments. These services complement assay development, digital pathology and core lab offerings available through the facility to help customers comply with China's restrictions on tissue import/export.

"Within China, we are providing the tools and infrastructure to investigate cancer and match patients with optimum treatments for their genetic makeup," said Christopher Ung, VP strategic business and operations, oncology for Quintiles. "These capabilities enable personalized medicine and enhance oncology research to bring medicines to market faster."

Quintiles makes novel biomarker assays to support clinical development of targeted therapies and other personalized medicine advances. Quintiles can perform immunohistochemistry and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization testing. In addition, Quintiles' biomarker tests – such as PI3K, PTEN, HER2, EGFR and MET – are used to target genes that affect cancer cell growth and mutation. Quintiles is the only laboratory that has validated numerous assays for PI3K, including PI3K amplification, PI3K mutational analysis, PTEN IHC and others.

PerkinElmer opens Indian health science lab

PerkinElmer (Waltham, Massachusetts) reported that it has expanded its fetal, maternal and neonatal health screening capability in India, with the inauguration of the PerkinElmer Health Sciences laboratory.

The new laboratory, located in Chennai, India, will feature PerkinElmer's advanced technologies for diagnosing common and serious health issues in expecting mothers and babies in India, including prenatal testing for Down Syndrome and other genetic disorders, maternal testing for pre-eclampsia, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and infectious disease, and newborn testing for potentially fatal inherited and metabolic disorders.

"In support of the company's fetal and maternal health program, PerkinElmer is also proud to announce its collaboration with MediScan Systems, led by founder S. Suresh, MD, a leading Fetal Medicine Specialist and sonologist in India," said Ann-Christine Sundell, president, Genetic Screening, PerkinElmer. "MediScan has recently been certified by Kypros Nicolaides, MD, director of the Fetal Medicine Foundation UK, as the first official Fetal Medicine Foundation Training Center in India."

"We are very excited about our partnership with PerkinElmer, because working together we can now bring the highest quality fetal and maternal health diagnostics to young Indian families all over India," said Suresh, director of MediScan Systems.

PerkinElmer India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PerkinElmer, operates as a direct sales, service and marketing operation targeting India's life science and analytical instrumentation markets. PerkinElmer India serves about 1,500 customers across various industries, including pharmaceutical, government, environmental, petrochemical and chemical.

MediScan is the first referral diagnostic ultrasound center in South India and has grown into one of the largest tertiary referral centers for fetal medicine in the region. The center performs about 25,000 scans and more than 3,000 fetal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures per year.