A Medical Device Daily

AccuVein (Cold Spring Harbor, New York) reported that it has entered a five-year agreement with the Ferrer Group (Barcelona, Spain), an international pharmaceutical and medical devices distribution company, providing the AccuVein AV300, the world's first hand-held, non-contact vein illumination device, to customers in Greece, Spain and Portugal. The AccuVein AV300 helps healthcare professionals locate veins for blood draw, IV infusion and blood donation by projecting a pattern of light on a patient's skin that reveals vein position.

"Ferrer Group's broad customer base share a common desire – to use advanced medical technology products that add value to reducing costs and improving patient care," said Jose Luis Lirio, Ferrer Group. "We're pleased to bring the world's only portable vein illumination device into our distribution."

Ambulight PDT receives CE mark approval

Ambicare, a developer of ambulatory light sources for medical and consumer healthcare applications reported that it has received CE mark approval to market its lead product, Ambulight PDT, in Europe. Photodynamic therapy and phototherapy are treatments for many skin conditions.

The company said that Ambulight PDT is the world's first skin cancer treatment using a small disposable light emitting sticking plaster worn by the patient. This is used in conjunction with a prescribed pharmaceutical, for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer. This plaster delivers photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT) directly to the skin lesion site.

Ambulight PDT offers healthcare providers the opportunity to transform patient care by making PDT more accessible and enabling patients to continue with their normal daily routine when undergoing PDT treatment. Pilot clinical trials have also indicated this treatment method has lower pain than conventional techniques while still obtaining an equivalent outcome.

Current PDT treatment generally involves a day patient appointment at the hospital where a large static PDT light source is used to treat a limited number of patients.

In Europe PDT is regularly the first line of treatment recommended for non melanoma skin cancer. It is a two-step process involving the application of a pharmaceutical cream which creates a photosensitive daughter compound, followed by controlled exposure to a selective light source which activates the light sensitive chemical and destroys the diseased cells.

The alternative treatment methods to PDT are surgery, use of topical creams and cryotherapy. The company believes that PDT treatment is less invasive than surgery and avoids the scarring associated with surgical removal of the lesion which can often require an in-patient hospital stay. Ambulight PDT gives healthcare providers the opportunity to shift treatment from hospitals to primary care such as GP surgeries or office based dermatologists.

Ambicare said it also plans to use Ambulight technology in applications for the treatment of cosmetic skin conditions, including acne and anti-wrinkle.

"This is a key milestone and a significant achievement for the company," said Dr Ian Muirhead, CEO of Ambicare. "We are now actively engaging with potential partners for the distribution of this product in Europe."

France Biotech unveils plans for funds

France Biotech (PAris), the French association of life science companies and their partners unveiled proposals for use of money raised by the French state's National Loan (Grand Emprunt).

"The French government's National Loan is an opportunity that we must seize if biotech is to become a major economic driver for the next 50 years. We advise against the creation of a new, resource-consuming organization for distributing the money raised by the National Loan. In fact, existing institutions should be improved and reinforced. Our objective is to see funding focused on the major high-potential scientific and business sectors in which France has the skills to be a global leader. France needs to seize its place in the leading pack of life science specialists,"said France Biotech chairman André Choulika.

France Biotech's proposals for funding a number of strategic priorities are as follows:

1. Reinforce and expand France's National Research Agency (ANR) to promote excellence in academic research.

2. Restoring OSEO Innovation's budget and then tripling it to reach €2 billion:

3. Concentrate significant resources on 4 high-priority sectors:

Stem cells (key for drug development and regenerative medicine). This sector should receive €500 million in funding per year over 5 years;

Biofuels (not with plants but notably with micro-organisms – micro-algae, fungi and bacteria). This sector should receive €700 million in funding per year over 5 years;

Complex implantable devices (emerging market). This sector should receive €600 million in funding per year over 5 years;

Therapeutic vaccines (demand for novel vaccines should double by 2012). This sector should receive €800 million in funding per year over 5 years.