A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Inverness Medical Innovations (IMI; Waltham, Massachusetts), a developer of rapid point-of-care diagnostic products that has been expanding rapidly via acquisitions in the past year or so, reported its intention to close its joint-venture Unipath facility in Bedford, UK.

The company plans to transfer its Bedford manufacturing operations to its low-cost production facilities, which are mainly located in China.

IMI said Unipath will begin discussions with employee representatives as part of a consultation process required under British law. Inverness said it anticipates that the closure and transfer could be completed by year-end 2009.

During the second half of 2007, Unipath manufactured about 53 million tests, of which roughly 46 million were supplied to IMI’s 50/50 consumer diagnostics joint venture.

The intention to move the UK manufacturing operations to other locales represents an acceleration of what Inverness called its “ongoing plans to significantly reduce product cost, increase margins and extend product life cycles for [our] women’s health and professional diagnostic product lines.

Unipath employs more than 400 in the UK. If the intended closure takes place, Inverness Unipath will reduce its current need for 130,000 square feet by approximately 100,000 square feet, and any remaining company business at that site would be relocated elsewhere.

The company said a charge of about $37 million is anticipated for all costs associated with the facility closing, including but not limited to write-off of equipment and leasehold improvements, severance cost and rent obligations through the lease termination in 2011.

It said about 80% of this amount will be borne by the partners in the joint venture and/or their parent companies, with the balance borne solely by Inverness.

Japan ‘showcase’ set for Philly

Japan Technology Group reported plans to present a showcase of Japanese innovations in the fields of medical and physical sciences, food, cosmetics and web/software in the U.S. this month.

The showcase will be held March 18 at the Science Center in Philadelphia, registration beginning at 8 a.m.

The showcase will feature Japanese research institutions and graduate schools specializing in the biosciences, as well as material and computer sciences, among them Nagoya University, Tokyo University of Science and Kyushu Institute of Technology.

Aside from universities, companies such as Ogawa & Co, BITS Co., Red-Ion Medical and BioMatrix Research will be showcased.

Japanese Technology Group said that the event grows from the Japanese government’s recent deregulation that makes it possible for researchers at national universities to seek out alliances with the private sector, including those abroad.

Among the 16 technologies to be showcased during the event are ones dealing with inflammatory diseases and obesity, medical devices and diagnostics, and a system for monoclonal antibody production.

Taro Yaguchi, president of Japan Technology Group, said he hopes this showcase will set a precedent for Japanese universities and their spun-off companies and start-up efforts.

“This is the first time several Japanese companies and universities are actively promoting their out-licensing portfolio technologies in search for collaborative partners outside of Japan,” Yaguchi said. “This event signifies the beginning of a trend where the Japanese start-up businesses and research institutions are attempting to globalize their operations to the U.S.”

Cardiograph handset from Chinese firm

In other China med-tech news, Qiao Xing Mobile Communication (Beijing), one of the leading domestic manufacturers of mobile handsets through its CEC Telecom (CECT) subsidiary, reported the launch of its new C7000A cardiograph mobile handset.

The C7000A has a cardiograph function via which users will be able to perform a basic cardiograph, which they can send to doctors via multimedia messaging service (MMS) through a GPRS network.

The company said doctors will then be able to provide medical advice by sending a text message back to the mobile phone. If there is a serious problem, doctors can call the patient directly.

The handset can run for more than 120 days in standby mode without a recharge, and offers a large, 3-inch LCD screen.

Wu Zhi Yang, chairman of Qiao Xing Mobile, said, “We dedicate a large amount of resources to our efforts to develop highly differentiated handsets. The C7000A ... represents a breakthrough in the use of mobile handset technology. We have been able to incorporate a piece of advanced medical technology that could possibly save lives.”

Toshiba to sell Medicsight in Japan

Medicsight (London) said it has signed a preliminary agreement with the System Integration division of Toshiba Medical Systems (Tokyo) for the sale of Medicsigt’s MedicRead Colon and ColonCAD software solutions throughout Japan.

Toshiba Medical, a global provider of medical imaging systems, will work with Medicsight to obtain product approval in Japan.

The companies said they have identified the need for radiologists and gastroenterologists in Japan to be trained in the use of the software to help them to interpret CT colonography (CTC) images and rapidly identify suspicious regions for detailed evaluation.

Medicsight and Toshiba hosted CTC training workshops at the Japanese Digestive Disease Week conference in Kobe last October and said they would “continue to work together on similar market development initiatives in 2008 and beyond.”

Meicsight CEO David Sumner said, “Toshiba will help to promote the use of our MedicRead Colon and ColonCAD software to ease the workload of radiologists and to help them accurately identify colorectal polyps and tumors at an early stage when there is a good chance of successful treatment. We see this as bringing important benefits to both Japanese patients and the Japanese healthcare system alike.”