A Medical Device Daily

Analogic (Peabody, Massachusetts) and CAS Medical Systems (Branford, Connecticut) have signed an agreement granting worldwide exclusive rights to CAS Medical to market and sell Analogic's Lifegard family of non-invasive patient monitors. The monitors will be co-branded with both the CAS Medical and Analogic names and both companies intend to work together to develop additional monitors for the growing Lifegard family and for other speciality niche markets, they noted.

The Lifegard family includes what Analogic describes as "the highly portable, versatile" Lifegard I vital signs monitor targeting low-acuity areas; the "powerful" Lifegard II that measures ECG, HR, SpO₂, NIBP, temperature, respiration, end-tidal CO₂, and optional non-invasive cardiac output via Impedance Cardiography (ICG); the Lifegard ICG, a compact, stand-alone, non-invasive cardiac output and hemodynamic status monitor; and the Lifegard Vue Central Nurses' Station.

The Lifegard family also includes the Fetalgard Lite fetal monitor, and the Fetalgard Lite — NIBP designed to measure maternal non-invasive blood pressure for monitoring Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH).

Andrew Kersey, president/CEO of CAS Medical, said the agreement will allow both companies to be able to "more successfully address the changing needs of the sub-acute care and specialty patient monitoring markets."

Dan Webster, general manager of Analogic's Life Care Systems division, said the agreement allows the Lifegard family of non-invasive patient monitors to reach a broader market worldwide.

In other agreements:

• Gen-Probe (San Diego) reported Tuesday at the BIO 2007 International Convention in Boston that Millipore (Billerica, Massachusetts) would market and sell its Mycoplasma Tissue Culture Non-Isotopic (MTC-NI) test to its biopharmaceutical customers.

The MTC-NI test was developed by Gen-Probe and is already on the market. Millipore's global sales organization will sell the MTC-NI assay until the new sample preparation products and higher sensitivity assays that are being developed by the two companies are launched. According to the companies, the MTC-NI assay is an easy-to-use DNA probe-based system that can be combined with Millipore's sample preparation products and application knowledge to quickly and cost-effectively detect mycoplasma.

Millipore and Gen-Probe formed a pact in August 2005 to create faster, more accurate tests for bacteria, viruses, mycoplasma and other contaminants commonly found in biopharmaceuticals. These new assays are expected to dramatically increase the sensitivity and reduce the time-to-result compared to traditional culture-based tests. The first assay from the collaboration is expected to launch this year and the two companies are also in the process of developing additional assays for other bacteria and mycoplasma, the company said.

"The expansion of our partnership with Gen-Probe reflects our conviction in the long-term potential for developing faster and more accurate detection of microorganisms in biopharmaceutical production," said Jean-Paul Mangeolle, president of Millipore's Bioprocess division. "As we are developing these new assays, it is extremely valuable to have the ability to sell Gen-Probe's MTC-NI tests to many of the same customers who we believe will eventually purchase the new tests we are developing. We are now able to package MTC-NI tests with our mycoplasma clearance products to meet customers' immediate needs, while strengthening relationships and gaining feedback that will help us to develop and sell our next-generation MilliProbe nucleic acid tests."

Lynda Merrill, Gen-Probe's VP of Industrial Relationships, said the company believes the agreement will "drive sales of our existing MTC-NI product while also paving the way for adoption of the more rapid and sensitive next-generation products."

Millipore provides products and services intended to improve productivity and results in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and in clinical, analytical and research laboratories.

Gen-Probe makes rapid, accurate and cost-effective nucleic acid tests (NATs) that are used primarily to diagnose human diseases and screen donated human blood.

• Baxa (Englewood, Colorado) has signed a co-marketing agreement with CriticalPoint (Gaithersburg, Maryland) to promote its web-based sterile compounding curriculum. Modules are self-paced and part of CriticalPoint's Learning Management System (LMS), offering access from any web connection and providing administrative reporting for tracking employee progress and compliance, the company noted.

The CriticalPoint curriculum is designed to provide step-by-step programs that build a solid foundation of best practice for pharmacists and technicians involved in sterile compounding activities.

Baxa provides solution-based technologies for fluid handling and delivery.

CriticalPoint offers interactive web-based training for compounding sterile preparations and services related to creating and enabling learning through technology in clinical settings.

• LifeNet (Virginia Beach, Virginia) reported partnerships with four independent distributors to increase the availability of saphenous veins for surgeries.

LifeNet will begin work with Pace Medical (Beijing), Tuzik (Norwell, Massachusetts), Products for Surgery (Forest Hill, Texas), and Life Systems Health.

LifeNet provides peripheral vascular disease bypass grafts and coronary artery bypass grafts. These saphenous vein allografts are an alternative for patients lacking available autogenous veins, the company said. They most closely resemble native tissue and provide a high resistance to infection. LifeNet said it is now able to provide these saphenous veins to surgeons throughout the U.S.