The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG; Pittsburgh) said that the PLSG has reached a milestone with more than $10 million in direct company investments. PLSG's investment of $235,000 in Lipella Pharmaceuticals for the support of pre-clinical testing and manufacturing of its therapy for the treatment of bladder dysfunction pushed them over the $10 million mark.

Since forming in 2002, the PLSG has committed $10.1 million into its investment portfolio of 48 life sciences companies which has leveraged more than $300 million in additional capital for these emerging businesses. The PLSG said it "continues to propel the growth" of western Pennsylvania's life sciences economy by investing in the commercialization of promising life sciences technologies.

"Hitting the $10 million mark is a significant accomplishment for the PLSG and the life sciences industry in our region," said John Manzetti, PLSG president/CEO. "We are making a significant impact on life sciences commercialization in western Pennsylvania: new company formation is up, new wealth is being created, and new products — with important, positive ramifications for human health and quality of life — are beginning to reach the marketplace."

FDA to hold pancreatic health workshop in July

FDA, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF; New York), has scheduled a public workshop focused upon the state of the art in the research and development of an artificial pancreas.

The workshop, titled "Towards an Artificial Pancreas: A Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Workshop," will provide a public forum for discussing the progress and remaining challenges in the development of closed-loop systems designed to regulate glycemic control, as an aid in the management of diabetes mellitus.

Intended to provide stakeholders with information that will accelerate the development of an artificial pancreas, the workshop will be held on July 21 from 7:55 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on July 22 from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at the Lister Hill Auditorium on the NIH campus, located at 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland.

Registration is available until 5 p.m. on June 20. Interested parties should contact Arleen Pinkos, of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, phone 240-276-0702, fax 240-276-0651:

e-mail arleen.pinkos@fda.hhs.gov.

Oracle to determine liquidating distribution

Oracle Healthcare Acquisition (Greenwich, Connecticut) said it has set the close of business on Wednesday as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive a liquidating distribution, if any, from the trust account in which the proceeds from the company's initial public offering were placed, pursuant to the proposed plan of liquidation of the company.

The dissolution and plan of liquidation of the company are subject to stockholder approval, for which the board has called a special meeting of stockholders to be held on Wednesday.

The company filed a proxy statement with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 16 regarding the proposed dissolution and plan of liquidation of the company.

LMS Medical to delist from Amex

LMS Medical Systems (Montreal), a healthcare technology company and developer of the CALM patient safety software system for obstetrics, said that its board has unanimously decided to delist the company's common shares from the American Stock Exchange.

The decision is in keeping with the company's previous announcement to streamline operations and control costs in order to become cash flow positive. It is expected that Amex trading will cease on or about May 22.

LMS common shares will continue to be traded on the company's principal exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange.

North American Scientific now NAS Medical

North American Scientific (Chatsworth, California) said that the company will operate as NAS Medical, a division of North American Scientific, to reflect its focus on medical therapeutic product opportunities.

Although the company will not formally change its corporate name, all product, customer, employee and investor communications will highlight the new NAS Medical name and logos. Consistent with this new emphasis, the company changed its Nasdaq listing symbol to "NASM" from "NASI" effective May 1.

North American Scientific specializes in radiation therapy.