• Alphatec Holdings (Carlsbad, California) said that its subsidiary, Alphatec Spine, and Stout Medical Group (Perkasie, Pennsylvania) have entered into an agreement giving Alphatec a worldwide license to develop and sell Stout's expandable interbody/vertebral body replacement technology. According to the company, the technology uses a unique geometric design configuration that can be expanded once the device is placed into the disc space and is designed to be used in percutaneous, mini-open and open delivery procedures. Alphatec will pay an up-front license fee to Stout, as well as regulatory and sales milestone payments that could begin to be achieved this year, and a royalty payment based on net sales of licensed products, with minimum annual royalties beginning in 2009. The agreement expires in 2028. Alphatec has the right to sublicense the technology to third parties as well as terminate the agreement for any reason upon 90 days prior written notice to Stout.

• Amerinet (St. Louis), a healthcare group purchasing organization, reported an exclusive agreement with EKLA (Westchester, Illinois), for medical surgical distribution services. The partnership will focus on the distribution of medical surgical products and services in 10 states. This three-year agreement creates a partnership of shared responsibility to ensure Amerinet members receive the valuable resources necessary to delivery high quality healthcare. EKLA offers various products from numerous manufacturers such as medical surgical and laboratory products, textiles/uniforms, durable medical equipment and even physician office setups.

• Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver) reported it has entered into a licensing agreement for exclusive worldwide rights to market and distribute the Option inferior vena cava (IVC) filter, made by Rex Medical (Conshohocken, Pennsylvania), a device implanted into the body's inferior vena cava to prevent pulmonary embolism (PE). Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Option IVC filter is an IVC filter specifically designed for long-term retrieval post-device implantation and is expected to be approved for both permanent and retrievable indications.

• Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) and GE Healthcare (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) reported an agreement to make available GE's Myoview (Tetrofosmin) cardiac imaging agent through Cardinal's network of nuclear pharmacies. The agreement will give Cardinal's customers greater access to Myoview, a myocardial perfusion imaging technetium agent used in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Cardinal operates a radiopharmacy network with more than 150 nuclear pharmacy locations.

• CytoCore (Chicago), a developer of cancer screening systems, reported its first U.S. distribution agreement and first U.S. order for its SoftPAP cell collector, a sample collection device, with CoMedical (Seattle, Washington), which serves healthcare professionals in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. The company says it represents small product manufacturers by introducing their products to "targeted" healthcare professionals. CytoCore says that the SoftPAP Cervical Cell Collector offers a quick, accurate specimen collection for the Pap test with minimal possibility of user error. SoftPAP is designed to collect a full 360 degree specimen from both the cervical canal and the outer surface of the cervix. It is designed to consistently sample the entire cervix in a single-step, using an inflatable balloon collector.

• Global Research Services (GRS; Rockville, Maryland) reported an alliance with CardioDynamics (San Diego), authorizing GRS to use CardioDynamics' impedance cardiography (ICG) technology for processing of noninvasive hemodynamic ICG data. CardioDynamics says that its ICG products enable GRS to provide expanded biometrics and data management services in support of clinical trials and offering enhanced cardiac safety monitoring in Phase I through IV clinical trials.

• Harvest Technologies (Plymouth, Minnesota) reported signing an exclusive distribution agreement related to its BMAC system in the U.S. for the orthopedic bone regeneration market with Osteotech (Eatontown, New Jersey), a developer of biologic solutions for regenerative medicine. Harvest's BMAC (Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate) system is a point-of-care device for concentrating a patient's own (autologous) bone marrow stem cells. The system derives bone marrow aspirate concentrate, which is a rich source of autologous adult stem cells, in just 15 minutes.

• Med1Online (Golden, Colorado), a provider of new, used and reconditioned capital medical equipment, reported it has entered into a distribution agreement with GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK). Since its founding five years ago, Med1Online garners in excess of 10,000 visitors to its website daily. This, combined with a database of more than 800,000 key healthcare contacts, will present GE with a range of platforms that can further expand its brands and enhance product recognition.