Stanford cancer center wins quality award

The Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center (Stanford, California) has been awarded "cancer center" designation from the National Cancer Institute - a distinction that reflects both high-quality patient treatment and excellent basic and clinical research. This new status is shared with the Fremont-based Northern California Cancer Center, which worked with Stanford to achieve the designation.

Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine (Palo Alto, California), said the designation has already rallied faculty members around shared goals and programmatic efforts that started when the school applied for the award. "The new community that is formed by having an NCI cancer center is also invaluable in fostering more interdisciplinary education, research and patient care," he said.

Stanford's NCI designation also means that people in the local community will have more access to programs aimed at preventing cancer, thanks in part to the partnership with the Northern California Cancer Center. This collaboration, combined with increased access to NCI resources, will be a benefit especially for underserved minorities with limited access to cancer care and prevention, said Beverly Mitchell, deputy director of Stanford's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Power3 to offer CLIA-compliant testing services

Power3 Medical Products (Houston), a proteomics company specializing in the development of early detection diagnostic tests for neurodegenerative disease and breast cancer, reported that it has received a certification to begin offering CLIA-compliant high complexity medical testing services.

The CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1988 to establish quality standards for all laboratory testing, and to ensure accuracy, reliability and timeliness of patient test results regardless of where the test was performed. Power3 earned its two-year license to offer high complexity tests after meeting standards for knowledge, training and experience, reagents and materials preparation, characteristics of operational steps, calibration, quality control and proficiency testing materials, test system troubleshooting and equipment maintenance, and interpretation and judgment.

NASDAQ News. . . .

Staff deficiency letter delivered to CardioDynamics

CardioDynamics International (San Diego), a maker of impedance cardiography technology, reported that it received a NASDAQ staff deficiency letter on April 15, 2007 from the listing qualifications department indicating that the company's common stock fails to comply with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in NASDAQ marketplace rule 4450(a)(5). The letter was issued in accordance with standard NASDAQ procedures because the company's common stock closed below $1 per share for 30 consecutive trading days.

The letter states that CardioDynamics will be afforded 180 calendar days, or until October 15, 2007, to regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement. To do so, the Company's stock must meet or exceed the $1 minimum bid price for at least 10 consecutive business days. If CardioDynamics is unable to achieve this requirement, NASDAQ will provide written notification to the company that its common stock is subject to delisting. At that time, CardioDynamics may appeal Nasdaq's determination to delist its common stock. Alternatively, the company may elect to apply to transfer its common stock from the NASDAQ Global Market, where it is currently listed, to the NASDAQ capital market if it satisfies all requirements, except for the bid price requirement, for initial inclusion in this market as set forth in Marketplace Rule 4310(c).