A Medical Device Daily

Opko Health (Miami) reported that it has acquired Vidus Ocular (New Haven, Connecticut), a privately held company that is developing Aquashunt, a shunt to treat glaucoma, the second-leading cause of blindness in the U.S., in an all-stock transaction.

Aquashunt is an implantable device designed to address the shortcomings of current glaucoma treatments, according to Opko. A spokesman for the company did not disclose financial terms to Medical Device Daily when contacted Wednesday.

Glaucoma is presently treated with drugs, lasers and surgery, but each has limitations, including efficacy, safety and cost issues, the company says.

The Aquashunt device was designed by Dr. Bruce Shields, chairman emeritus of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Connecticut). It is made of biocompatible materials and is designed for rapid, simple, minimally traumatic insertion.

Aquashunt is intended to reduce intraocular pressure physiologically by allowing excess fluid in the eye to exit naturally. It currently is in preclinical testing and human studies are expected to begin during 4Q08.

Opko has a market capitalization of $307 million. The company changed its name from eXegenics last year (Medical Device Daily; June 25, 2007).

The company develops a gene-silencing agent called bevasirnib, which is being assessed in a pivotal Phase III trial after successfully completing Phase II trials for wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

In other dealmaking: Kelyniam Global (Little Rock, Arkansas), a consulting company specializing in CAD-CAM technology, reported that it will acquire M2-Systems (New Britain, Connecticut) as a wholly owned subsidiary.

James Ketner, president/CEO of Kelyniam, said, "With this merger, Kelyniam Global will no longer be a development-stage company, and the going concern disclaimer in our financial statements will also be eliminated."

M2 Systems has been in the rapid prototype industry for eight years and has recently become involved in the developing market of life sciences CAD-CAM by providing artificial bone replacements and rapid prototyping for the medical industry.

M2, with a market capitalization of $10.48 million, says it is looking to implement technologies to help produce an accurate custom implant "in a matter of days."