• ImaRx Therapeutics (Tucson, Arizona) said it has received approval from the data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) to proceed with the second dose cohort in its TUCSON (Transcranial Ultrasound in Clinical SONoLysis) Phase I/II dose escalation study evaluating SonoLysis + tPA therapy in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The ImaRx SonoLysis program is focused on the development of product candidates that involve the administration of its MRX-801 microbubbles and ultrasound to break up blood clots and restore blood flow to oxygen-deprived tissues with or without a thrombolytic drug. The sub-micron size of MRX-801 microbubbles may allow them to penetrate a blood clot, so that when ultrasound is applied their expansion and contraction, or cavitation, can break the clot into very small particles. ImaRx is conducting an ongoing Phase I/II multinational clinical trial evaluating its SonoLysis + tPA therapy to treat patients with acute ischemic stroke. ImaRx Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that makes therapies for vascular disorders.

• Oticon Epoq (Somerset, New Jersey), the first “stereophonic” hearing instrument, addresses the two most common listening challenges for people with hearing loss: Delivering sound in “stereo” to create a natural sense of where sounds are coming from and enabling cell phone use without the distortion or interference that make cell phone communication difficult or impossible for people who wear hearing aids. Built-in wireless connectivity is at the core of Epoq’s technology. When two Epoqs hearing devices are worn, they communicate with each other using high-speed wireless broadband technology. This real-time connectivity with voices and other sounds in the immediate listening environment provides accurate, stereophonic auditory information that enhances users’ awareness of where sounds are coming from, the company said. This spatial awareness is essential to better hearing in all environments, but especially those with surrounding conversations going on, such as in crowds or restaurants. Oticon makes hearing aids and hearing improvement devices.

• Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis) reported the introduction of the LentiExpress shRNA-based system for rapid high-throughput RNAi screening with minimal reagent preparation or optimization required. The addition of this technology to the Mission shRNA platform pairs the benefits of lentiviral-based shRNA with a simple streamlined protocol. The bottleneck for researchers is the time and expense required to generate viral particles and devise a robust screening strategy. With the Mission LentiExpress technology, an optimization plate enables researchers to optimize the system for their particular cell line. The LentiExpress format with the Human Kinase shRNA collection of The RNAi Consortium enables rapid human kinome RNAi screening. The MISSION LentiExpress Human Kinase shRNA set consists of 3,109 individual pre-arrayed lentiviral clones harboring shRNA sequences that target 673 human kinase genes for gene silencing. Sigma-Aldrich is a life science and high technology company.