A Medical Device Daily

Rex Medical (Conshohocken, Pennsylvania), said that it has entered into an agreement with Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, British Columbia) for the development and distribution of the Hemo-Stream Chronic Dialysis Catheter. Financial terms of this agreement were not disclosed.

Hemo-Stream technology is the first chronic hemodialysis catheter specifically designed for over-the-wire delivery, the company said. This 15Fr catheter design completely eliminates the use of a tear-away sheath required for insertion of competitive technologies minimizing procedural related blood loss and other potential issues. In addition, Hemo-Stream technology demonstrates high performance characteristics including flow rate, recirculation and hemolysis compared to the leading competitors.

Kidney disease affects more than 20 million people in the U.S. resulting in up to 70,000 deaths annually. There are more than 500,000 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in the U.S., of which more than 400,000 are currently receiving long term hemodialysis treatments. ESRD occurs when the kidney is at complete or near complete failure to function properly. The leading contributing factor for ESRD is diabetes.

Rex Medical is a private company specializing in the development of minimally-invasive medical devices targeted towards the cardiovascular, venous access, endosurgery and oncology markets.