• ACIST Medical Systems (Minneapolis) said it signed a distribution agreement for the StatSensor Creatinine Meter with Nova Biomedical (Waltham, Massachusetts). The agreement calls for the ACIST and Nova teams to co-exclusively market and distribute the StatSensor Creatinine Meter into the medical fields of radiology and cardiology, initially within North America. Within this new distribution structure, both ACIST and Nova will focus on providing customers with seamless continuity for the StatSensor solution from point of care deployment in imaging modalities where iodine and gadolinium derived intravenous contrast agents are administered, to platform management, and its connectivity into the clinical laboratory.

• Cardima (Fremont, California) reported that it has established a new strategic surgical relationship and renewed the electrophysiology (EP) sales and marketing contract with Biocore, a U.S. Eastern regional sales agent specializing in sales and customer training and support for cardiac devices. Biocore's staff will be directly supporting both surgical and cardiac cath lab procedures, as well as assisting cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologists with Cardima's solutions for patient care.

• Covidien (St. Louis) and PETNET Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Medical Solutions (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), jointly reported they have entered into a co-marketing agreement to offer a combined portfolio of high-energy and low-energy radioisotopes to the nuclear medicine community in the U.S. Through the agreement, Covidien Imaging Solutions and PETNET will create a network of nuclear imaging product offerings to expand customer access to a wider range of products, including molecular imaging agents, or radiopharmaceuticals, designed to illuminate conditions, such as cancer or heart disease, during imaging procedures.

• CPC of America (Sarasota, Florida) said it has entered into a manufacturing agreement with BC Tech (Santa Cruz, California). BC Tech will manufacture the MedClose vascular closure system (VCS), a Class II extravascular puncture-closure device that may be used with a biological sealant for worldwide commercial application in diagnostic and interventional cardiovascular procedures. Under the terms of the agreement, BC Tech will be responsible for manufacturing the MedClose system for use in commercial applications to seal the femoral artery access site following cardiac and peripheral vascular catheterization procedures when approved. BC Tech also will build prototypes of larger caliber for potential use in percutaneous procedures. Initially, BC Tech will manufacture MedClose systems on a limited basis and does not expect to commence large-scale manufacturing until the CPC has obtained commercial application approvals.

• Premier (San Diego) reported signing new agreements for vascular closure devices with Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois) and Cardiva Medical (Mountain View, California). Effective Nov. 1, the 36-month agreements are available to acute-care and continuum-of-care members of the Premier healthcare alliance.

• Mindray Medical International (Shenzhen, China) reported that its Datascope Patient Monitoring Division (DPM) has received a contract renewal for a new three-year agreement with Health Trust Purchasing Group (HPG; Brentwood, Tennessee). Under the renewed agreement, effective as of Oct. 1, Mindray's DPM division will provide its entire portfolio of patient monitoring products to HPG members, which include more than 1,300 not-for-profit and for-profit acute-care facilities, as well as ambulatory surgery centers and alternate-care sites.

• Nanogen (San Diego) extended its patent license with Celera (Alameda, California) so Celera can use Nanogen's minor groove binder technology to develop in vitro diagnostic products for cardiovascular and oncological applications. Nanogen will receive an up-front fee, milestone and anniversary fees and royalties.

• The PGxHealth division of Clinical Data (both Newton, Massachusetts) said it has become an in-network provider with Aetna for healthcare coverage of its Familion family of genetic tests. By detecting genetic mutations, the tests are used to recognize inherited forms of cardiac channelopathies, such as long QT syndrome and cardiomyopathies, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in individuals and their families and help to guide treatment decisions to prevent possible sudden cardiac death.

• Vermillion (Fremont, California) reported that it has agreed with Quest Diagnostics (Madison, New Jersey) to extend a strategic alliance agreement through October 2009. This extension will enable the companies to continue work on the development and commercialization of two tests, OVA1 and Vasclir, the latter a test designed to help physicians identify patients who are at high risk of developing peripheral artery disease.

• Welch Allyn (Skaneateles Falls, New York) and Zoll Medical (Chelmsford, Massachusetts) reported a comprehensive strategic alliance regarding R&D, manufacturing, sales, service and distribution relating to Welch Allyn's defibrillation and monitoring products. The two companies have agreed to work together across multiple areas to capitalize on complementary strengths in each company's operations and products.