A Medical Device Daily
Alpha Innotech (AI; San Leandro, California) a provider of bioanalytical systems for drug discovery and life science research, reported that it has established a product development and OEM supply agreement with R&C Biogenius (Los Angeles).
AI will supply R&C Biogenius on an OEM basis a new bioimaging instrument optimized for R&C’s assay for multi-analyte single well ELISA tests. The agreement includes undisclosed development payments and sales milestones.
“The introduction of an integrated solution for simultaneously performing many important tests on a single biological specimen will reshape the molecular diagnostic market,” said Sia Ghazvini, VP of business development at AI.
R&C Biogenius specializes in research and development in the field of in vitro diagnostics, particularly in the areas of infectious disease and heart risk.
In other agreements:
TomoTherapy (Madison, Wisconsin) a developer of the TomoTherapy Hi Art treatment system for helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), reported an alliance with PTW (Hicksville, New York), a provider of advanced dosimetry and quality assurance equipment for radiation therapy. The alliance will enable TomoTherapytreatment centers worldwide to verify patient-specific treatment plans with added convenience and efficiency.
“This is another important step for us,” said Peter Hoban, senior product manager for TomoTherapy. “PTW is an innovative company, providing state-of-the-art quality assurance equipment. This alliance helps TomoTherapy add QA options and workflow enhancements to our integrated platform.”
Through the TomoTherapy-PTW alliance, a suite of quality assurance products will be made available to hospitals and cancer centers using TomoTherapy’s helical IMRT. The PTW products include the seven29 Ion Chamber Array and the Octavius Octagonal Phantom for film-less, patient-specific quality assurance, as well as the MP3-T Water Phantom for Hi Arttreatment system quality assurance.
• InforMedix Holdings (Rockville, Maryland) developer of the Med-eMonitor System for medication adherence and disease management has signed a distribution agreement with Eaton Apothecary (Boston). Eaton will distribute the Med-eMonitor System in its pharmacies inWeston and Newton Massachusetts, as an initial step toward potentially expanding the distribution to more of its stores once proven successful.
InforMedix’s Med-eMonitor System is an interactive “smart pillbox” for medication adherence, monitored by healthcare professionals at 24/7 call centers. In addition to storing medications and tracking patient adherence to their health plans, the Med-eMonitor provides healthcare professionals with real-time alerts when patients miss their meds or their health declines. InforMedix believes that the device promises to be especially helpful for members of the “sandwich generation,” baby boomers negotiating the responsibilities of caring for elderly parents while raising young children.
Eaton Apothecary is an eighteen store pharmacy chain.
• ATC Healthcare (Lake Success, New York), a provider of medical staffing, said that it has signed a new licensee agreement for the Columbia, South Carolina market. The new licensees are Preston Anderson and Marcus Bradley. Anderson has more than 25 years experience in the healthcare industry and Bradley brings extensive background in sales and marketing, according to the company.
• Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, California) and BioTrove (Woburn, Massachusetts) reported an agreement to co-market the Agilent 6410 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer with BioTrove’s RapidFire high-throughput sample preparation systems. The two systems together provide an integrated solution for ultra-high-throughput preparation and analysis of in vitro biological assays in pharmaceutical drug research, according to the companies.
• Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte) said that new agreements for casting and splinting products have been awarded to BSN Medical (Charlotte), and 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota). These agreements, effective Nov. 1, offer discounted pricing to acute and continuum care members of the Premier alliance. Premier Purchasing Partners also reported a new agreement for surgical illuminators with Lumitex (Strongsville, Ohio). The agreement, effective November 1, 2007, offers discounted pricing to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier alliance.
• In a move to increase healthcare worker safety, B. Braun Medical (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) recently reported Premier Purchasing Partners, the healthcare purchasing unit of Premier (Charlotte) has renewed its agreement for B. Braun’s line of safety IV catheters. B. Braun’s Introcan Safety® IV Catheters are designed with passive-safety features that automatically activate to help minimize accidental needle-stick injury. The three-year contract went into effect on Oct. 1, 2007 and will complement Premier’s existing five-year agreement encompassing all major B. Braun safe solutions.
The passive Introcan Safety IV Catheter is designed to minimize accidental needle-sticks without requiring user activation. A stainless steel clip shields the needle tip. This passive design eliminates the risk of inadvertent activation while offering a short learning curve with minimal in-service training.
Along with Introcan Safety IV Catheters, Premier members will have access to B. Braun’s, safety-engineered infusion products.