A Medical Device Daily

HemCon Medical Technologies (Portland, Oregon) reported it has received exclusive rights to market and distribute the Simplified Automated Ventilator (SAVe) by AutoMedx (Germantown, Maryland) in the U.S. The device will be used by military personnel to supply resuscitation care to injured soldiers on the battlefield.

Now approved by the FDA for use, the SAVe was on display earlier this year at DARPATech, a conference for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense.

The SAVe was created for use on the battlefield. It uses a battery-driven pump to deliver life-saving air for more than five hours on a single charge. Using ambient air, the device does not require a compressed gas source, and at 3.1 pounds, the SAVe is lightweight enough for easy deployment to the battlefield. Most importantly, the device’s hands-free operation allows medics to attend to other injuries or further assist in an evacuation situation.

The device includes multiple safety and integrated alarm features ensure patient safety when the SAVe is in use. Alarms warn of blockage, disconnect, low battery and temperature-related issues. These alarms are uniquely positioned on the device and can be discerned in a low-light, high-noise environment. The audible and visual alarms can be suppressed individually or together, depending on the soldier’s need to avoid detection.

“The SAVe device gives medics an indiscriminate health care option in situations when being detected can mean the difference between life and death,” said John W. Morgan, HemCon president and CEO. “We’re honored AutoMedx has selected HemCon as the distributor of choice for a device that will help significantly decrease lives lost in battle.”

The SAVe is designed by AutoMedx and received FDA approval Sept. 6. HemCon also plans to distribute the SAVe in foreign markets under a non-exclusive agreement.

HemCon is accepting orders for the SAVe. Initial ship dates are expected in January.

In other agreements:

• The Novagen brand of EMD Chemicals (Gibbstown, New Jersey), a subsidiary of Merck (Darmstadt, Germany) said it has obtained a license from Luminex to develop immunoassays for the xMAP Technology platform.

EMD/Merck is engaged in the development of research tools used for life science research and will create multiplex immunoassays using xMAP Technology to meet the evolving needs of drug discovery and cell signaling researchers.

“The advantages of multiplex protein analysis are well established,” said Lisa Johnson, VP of corporate development with EMD. “The Luminex xMAP platform has been instrumental in broadening the adoption of multiplex analysis. The ability to simultaneously perform several assays on one sample in a single reaction results in considerable savings of both time and precious sample, and dramatically reduces reagent and labor costs.”

EMD has assembled the Novagen WideScreen Group, an international interdisciplinary team of assay-development scientists to construct the next generation of multiplex immunoassays. After extensive R&D, the first highly validated assay panels developed by the group will be available globally in December 2007 through the international sales and distribution network of the EMD/Merck group under the Novagen brand name.

Johnson said: “Combining key technologies licensed from Luminex and other partners enables the WideScreen Group to develop new bead-based assays to accelerate the drug discovery process, including the first truly quantitative multiplex assays for phosphorylated signaling proteins.”

Initially, EMD will focus on creating assays that detect the phosphorylation status of key proteins in disease-related signaling pathways. These assays will enable researchers to determine the effect of candidate compounds on multiple pathways, to allow a better understanding of on- and off-target effects.

•Brooks Rehabilitation (Jacksonville, Florida) and the University of Florida have reached a new five-year agreement, which increases funding for the Brooks Center by more than $5 million over five years.

As part of its Community Benefit initiative, Brooks will provide $4 million in funding and UF, through its Health Science Center colleges, will provide more than $1 million. The funding will be used to support research taking place in both Brooks’ and UF facilities.

Robert Nuss, MD, dean of the regional campus at the UF Health Science Center-Jacksonville, cited the excellent opportunity the expanded relationship offers Brooks and UF. “The benefits are tremendous for both parties, with the center’s research projects focusing primarily on stroke and other neurological conditions, relating to the population served by both Brooks and UF,” he said.

The agreement will result in the addition of six dedicated, doctoral-level researchers and support staff working at the Brooks Center and at UF Health Science Center-Jacksonville. Now that the agreement is finalized, the search for a full-time Brooks Center director will begin.