A Medical Device Daily

Beckman Coulter (Fullerton California) reported that it is the industrial partner in a two-year research project to be carried out at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia and Laboraf Diagnostica e Ricerca San Raffaele SpA (Milan, Italy). The collaborative research will seek to discover genetic signatures for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and obesity-related hypertension. Beckman Coulter will have exclusive license to commercial application of the results, which will be used to develop content for the company’s molecular diagnostics platform.

“Molecular Diagnostics will be a key growth area for Beckman Coulter in the coming years. This collaboration provides an unparalleled opportunity to obtain additional content for our platform,” said Bruce Wallace, VP of Beckman Coulter’s Molecular Diagnostics Business Center. “Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide and obesity is an important determinant. The discovery of genetic factors for both CVD and obesity may lead to development of readily-accessible diagnostic tests that enable more rapid assessment, earlier treatment and preventive measures. Our deep understanding of diagnostics gives us the unique ability to convert research tools and platforms into in vitro diagnostic tests used to deliver a complete, sample-to-result solution.”

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and Laboraf Diagnostica e Ricerca San Raffaele SpA will share samples and results during the project. Beckman Coulter will work with the partners to develop research protocols and assays. Products and platforms used in the research studies include Biomek FXP Laboratory Automation Workstations and GenomeLab SNPStream Genotyping Systems.

“The possibility of discovering the genes that are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease is very exciting,” said Professor Ferrari. “If the results can ultimately be used to develop molecular diagnostic tests, it will be a breakthrough of major importance.”

Beckman Coulter develops products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical tests.

In other agreements, TomoTherapy (Madison, Wisconsin) reported that it has signed contracts with distributors in Israel, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Russia and the United Arab Emirates to sell the TomoTherapy.

The new distribution agreements extend access to TomoTherapy’s cancer treatment technology to a significant percentage of the global marketplace.

“We are pleased to expand our international presence,” said Paul Baumgart, TomoTherapy’s director of international distribution. “Until today, our sales efforts have primarily focused on North America, Western Europe and Asia. With these new partners in place, we take another step toward bringing a superior radiation therapy solution to cancer centers and their patients throughout the world.”

According to Baumgart, the new distributors have already been in contact with potential customers. He expects that initial orders could be received within the next few months.

“Word has spread that TomoTherapytreatments are the new standard for radiation therapy,” said Baumgart. “Through the first nine months of 2007, 48% of our revenue was generated in markets outside the US. In 2008, we expect to build on this momentum as we look to add even more markets. Targeted regions include Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and parts of Eastern Europe.”