A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI; Morgantown, West Virginia) and Inverness Medical Innovations (Waltham, Massachusetts) have agreed to work together to further develop and commercialize a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease first discovered by scientists at BRNI.

The organizations say that the BRNI test, once fully commercialized, could dramatically change the time and way that the disease is treated. The agreement also marks the first major global private sector deal involving BRNI technology and science. Inverness will fund the development efforts to be conducted by BRNI over an initial three-year period. Inverness has also obtained an option which, if exercised, will provide Inverness with certain rights to the technology developed for use in the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease.

"We are very pleased to be working with the world-class memory institute at BRNI, and share in their commitment to advance this test for Alzheimer's disease," said Ron Zwanziger, CEO of Inverness. "This is an exciting opportunity for Inverness to enhance the lives of patients with chronic disease and continues our commitment to rapidly deploy diagnostics and develop new treatments for devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's."

Affecting more than 5 million Americans, Alzheimer's disease has no recognized cure and is difficult to diagnose, the organizations noted. In fact, doctors can only definitely diagnose the illness at autopsy and there is currently no approved biochemical test to diagnose it. Finding a cure for the disease is one of the central missions of the BRNI.

"It is still challenging to accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease, but I believe we are on the path to realizing a test that will take the guess work out of proper treatment," said Dr. Daniel Alkon, scientific director of BRNI. "An accurate early test will allow physicians to treat patients sooner and more effectively before symptoms intensify and the disease rapidly escalates."

BRNI first discovered the biomarker test's potential in 2006. By testing for signs of Alzheimer's-related inflammation in skin cells called fibroblasts, the BRNI team located a biomarker for the disease that can be tested without the invasive procedures previously required, such as a lumbar tap. The key molecular targets that the BRNI biomarker determines reflect PKC signaling which appears to be compromised very early on during Alzheimer's and probably well before the onset of clinical symptoms. These pathways could also be a focus for drug therapy.

"An early diagnosis could prevent countless patients from suffering through this devastating disease," said William Singer, president of BRNI's board of directors. "This partnership will ensure that expanded clinical trials occur quickly which will be a major leap in bringing a proven Alzheimer's disease diagnostic to the public."

BRNI is operated in alliance with West Virginia University (Morgantown) as well as in collaboration with other academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins University. Rockefeller founded the Institute in memory of his mother, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, who died of Alzheimer's disease.

In other agreements and contracts news:

• Fujifilm (Stamford, Connecticut) reported that it has entered into an alliance agreement with GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, United Kingdom). Fujifilm will develop, manufacture and supply advanced biomolecular imaging systems to GE Healthcare. The products will be sold worldwide under the GE brand in the life science research and drug discovery markets.

Life science research has advanced rapidly in recent years with the advent of tools for genomic and protein research such as biomolecular labeling, detection and analysis, Fujifilm said. These technologies have helped reveal the functions of proteins, thereby contributing to scientists' understanding of disease processes. The use of life science instrumentation and reagents in bioscience research is growing, and the demand for new and innovative enabling technologies is expanding, the company noted.

"We are delighted to work with Fujifilm to expand our support to bioscience research in biomolecular imaging system solutions," said Nigel Darby, general manager of biotechnologies, life sciences at GE Healthcare. "Fujifilm's high quality technology platforms fit well with our proprietary labeling technologies and the adjacent fields in the imaging workflow that GE Healthcare currently addresses. Furthermore, the integration of the imaging platform with our global service organization will give strong and valuable customer support."

Fujifilm will supply image-analyzing systems for bioscience research to GE Healthcare, and GE Healthcare will market and sell them under the GE brand.

GE Healthcare will be responsible for marketing/sales of the systems worldwide, and will provide total solutions including instruments, ECL and DIGE labeling reagents, and applications support. Additionally, GE Healthcare will provide instrument services for the systems.

Fujifilm and GE will collaborate to develop image-analyzing systems that are optimized for customer applications.

• Exigon Diagnostics (Tustin, California) has partnered with MedTrust Online (Scottsdale, Arizona), an Internet-based solution provider for oncologists that offers knowledge on the latest topics in cancer treatment. Exigon, a company that offers individualized cancer care through molecular and cell-based clinical laboratory services, said it would provide a comprehensive suite of oncology molecular diagnostics services to MedTrust Online's Oncocentric oncology portal. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

MedTrust will add Exiqon service offerings, extensive clinical studies, insurance/billing information, order forms, and live forum case studies available to MedTrust's growing oncology health care provider user base consisting of thousands of medical, gynecologic and surgical oncologists as well as pathologists and support staff nationwide.

"We are pleased to add Exiqon Diagnostics to the growing list of molecular diagnostic companies providing content on the MedTrust Online oncology portal," said Matt Sargent, VP of molecular diagnostics for MedTrust Online. "Molecular diagnostic testing options and drug reimbursement data are the two most heavily requested topics from our oncology user base. Our Oncocentric portal allows oncologists to rapidly find the information that they need on new molecular diagnostics to better practice personalized medicine."

"Partnering with MedTrust offers a unique opportunity to present molecular and cell-based testing options and information to medical oncologists in an unbiased and confidential forum," said Erik Holmlin, chief commercial officer of Exiqon. "We believe MedTrust can provide patient care teams with important testing information that will help them make better informed and individualized treatment decisions for their patients."

• Eclipsys (Atlanta) reported that Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Sunnybrook, Toronto), the largest trauma center in Canada and one of two major trauma centers in Toronto, has selected the Sunrise Patient Flow solution to optimize operational efficiency. Sunnybrook, which treats about 1 million patients on an annual basis, expects Eclipsys' integrated and clinically focused software solution to greatly improve patient throughput in its emergency room and to enhance overall hospital capacity and operational efficiency, while sustaining quality patient care and satisfaction.

"As a busy trauma center, the ability to optimize our capacity and operational efficiency while delivering quick access to care in our emergency room and to patients waiting for surgeries is essential," said Sam Marafioti, CIO and vice president, corporate strategy and development at Sunnybrook. "The Eclipsys Sunrise Patient Flow solution was designed to help hospitals increase patient throughput without capital investment in new facilities or beds. We expect this system to help us make the most of our existing resources and enable faster patient placements to meet the care needs of the metropolitan Toronto area."

Sunrise Patient Flow also is expected to support Sunnybrook in adhering to the Wait Time Strategy of the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH) and Long-Term Care and MOH's comprehensive Emergency Room (ER) Strategy announced in May 2008, which sets provincial targets for time spent in the ER.

The Wait Time Strategy is a government plan to increase access and reduce wait times for five major health services: cancer surgery, cardiac procedures, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements, as well as MRI and CT exams. The ER Strategy now includes the Emergency Department Reporting system, which gathers information from 128 hospitals, including Sunnybrook, for public reporting of the time Ontarians spend in the ER.

The goal of the ER Strategy is to reduce ER wait times and improve access to family healthcare, a significant issue within the Canadian healthcare system. Sunrise Patient Flow will enable Sunnybrook to easily report key metric-related ER wait times to the Local Health Integration Network, minimizing the burden associated with manually tracking and reporting such data, Marafioti noted.

According to the company, the ability to better manage capacity and provide care in a timely manner – both to emergency department patients and to those awaiting other inpatient and outpatient services – is expected to help Sunnybrook meet the MOH's prescribed access benchmarks, thereby averting the financial penalties associated with providing care in an untimely manner.

Sunrise Patient Flow facilitates smooth, well-coordinated patient flow from arrival to discharge with minimal bottlenecks, Eclipsys said. Instead of making multiple phone calls – to find a bed, to request a porter, to get a room cleaned – the system electronically automates all of these communications. Visual alerts and graphic screens presented via a real-time dashboard drive caregiver priorities and next steps. A performance reporting function also makes it possible to gain the insight required to implement quality improvement initiatives.