• Cambridge Heart (Bedford, Massachusetts) said it has amended its sales and marketing agreement with St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota). St. Jude Medical’s sales force now will be able to market Cambridge Heart’s HearTwave II Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) test to North American primary care and internal medicine physicians. In addition, Cambridge Heart’s sales force now will have the ability to support St. Jude Medical’s field sales force in all physician markets in North America. Under the original agreement, signed in March, the cardiology and electrophysiology markets were to be targeted by St. Jude Medical’s field force, and Cambridge Heart’s representatives addressed the internal medicine and primary care markets. Cambridge Heart’s MTWA test measures a specific and extremely subtle pattern of beat-to-beat fluctuations in a person’s electrocardiogram, the company said. This pattern of fluctuations is called T-wave Alternans. These tiny variations in the electrocardiogram, measured at one millionth of a volt accuracy, are measured most commonly during a sub-maximal exercise stress test in the physician’s office or hospital outpatient setting. Extensive clinical research has shown patients with a positive or non-negative MTWA test are at increased risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD), while those who test negative are at reduced risk, the company noted.

• Cardio3 BioSciences (Braine L’Alleud, Belgium) and the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) reported that they have entered into an agreement in the field of cardiac commitment of stem cells. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though Mayo said it is taking an equity participation in Cardio BioSciences and giving the company a royalty-free license of its research, know-how and intellectual property in the field of cardiac commitment of stem cells. The agreement also includes a commitment for research over the next three years on embryonic stem cells, Homsy said. The research, headed by André Terzic, MD, PhD, and Atta Behfar, MD, at Mayo Clinic, has focused on the guided commitment of adult as well as embryonic stem cells. The scope of the license covers heart failure of ischemic and non-ischemic origin. “Research performed at Mayo Clinic has led to a number of high-level publications in peer-reviewed journals. The results obtained by the Mayo research team are very promising, and will allow Cardio3 BioSciences to enter immediately into the last phase of preclinical work, with the goal of performing a first human procedure as early as [2Q08],” Homsy said. The agreement also triggers the company’s Series B round of financing, Homsy said, during which the company hopes to raise R10 million ($13 million).

• CAS Medical Systems (Branford, Connecticut), focused on non-invasive vital signs monitoring, has entered into agreements with Davis Marcus Partners (DMP; Connecticut) for the sale and leaseback of its headquarters and manufacturing facility at 44 East Industrial Road, Branford, Connecticut. The agreement provides for a purchase price of $3 million and a long-term leaseback of the property. The completion is expected to take place in3Q07. Upon completion of the sale of the property, CAS will lease the property for a 10-year initial term with the option to extend the term for two additional successive periods of five years, subject to certain notice and financial covenants requirements.

• Cholestech (Hayward, California), a provider of alternate site health management solutions for chronic disease, said it has teamed up with Onsite Health Diagnostics (Southlake, Texas), a provider of on-site corporate health screenings. The agreement, valued at an estimated $3 million dollars over the next three years, establishes Cholestech LDX testing system as the preferred device for Onsite screeners to monitor for risk factors associated with stroke, heart disease, diabetes and inflammatory disorders. Onsite screeners will use the LDX system to provide employees with results for a complete lipid panel, blood glucose and high sensitivity C-reactive protein. A complete lipid panel measures three different kinds of lipids in the blood: LDL, HDL and triglycerides, all of which are related to cholesterol, a type of fat.

• Home Access Health (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), a personalized diagnostics company, said it has entered into a multi-year relationship with the American Diabetes Association (ADA; Alexandria, Virginia) to increase the prevention and detection of “cardiometabolic” risk factors, which pose a danger to good health and can lead to the development of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. ADA and its subsidiary, Shaping America’s Health, will co-brand Home Access’ next-generation home kits with ADA’s “CheckUp America” initiative which focuses on helping Americans lower their diabetes and heart disease risk. The factors which comprise one’s “cardiometabolic risk” include, high blood glucose, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, being overweight and physical inactivity. Those screened for cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure will receive their test results from Home Access and follow-up consultation through Home Access’ call center.