A Medical Device Daily

Mauna Kea Technologies (Paris) and VisualSonics (Toronto) reported that they have entered an exclusive distribution agreement through which VisualSonics will market and sell Cellvizio LAB high resolution in vivo imaging systems to preclinical researchers on a worldwide basis.

Cellvizio LAB provides researchers with a new way to understand physiological phenomena at the cellular and sub-cellular levels in situ in animal subjects. For the first time, preclinical researchers are able to easily capture, analyze and compare smooth-motion video sequences of a wide array of cellular level characteristics and events, in real-time, without disturbing the natural environment in which they take place.

Cellvizio LAB is currently used by neuroscience research institutions in various applications including neurological research of the deep brain and peripheral nerves, especially in the research of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, where it offers a unique capability to couple in vivo and in situ observations of neuronal activity on freely moving animals with behavioral studies, the company noted.

The minimal invasiveness of Cellvizio LAB and its adaptability to longitudinal studies make it also a key-element for research fields such as cancer, and stem cell and gene delivery research. As a new molecular imaging technique, Cellvizio LAB can help monitor the interactions and effects of new molecules and new potential drug vectors non-invasively. Cellvizio LAB can also be used as high-throughput screening technique for mutant line maintenance, the company said.

In other dealmaking news, with reference to its voluntary exchange offer of Feb. 3, to purchase the shares in MediCult (Jyllinge, Denmark), Vitrolife (Gothenburg, Sweden) reported that as the offer expired on March 27, the level of acceptances received had not reached 90% of the shares in MediCult. As a result, the conditions for the offer have not been fulfilled and the offer has been withdrawn.