A Diagnostics & Imaging Week
VirtualScopics (Rochester, New York), a developer of image-based biomarker solutions, reported signing two 24-month contracts totaling $1.4 million for two Phase II/III cancer studies of the vascular disruptive agent MN-029 with MediciNova (San Diego), a pharmaceutical company.
VirtualScopics will perform site qualification and training for more than 110 global imaging sites, image data analysis and final reporting.
The studies, which include both standard computed tomography tumor imaging and dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), an advanced imaging technique for directly measuring blood flow and vascular permeability in tumors, were awarded to VirtualScopics, it said, on the strength of the company's performance on two earlier Phase I trials of the same compound.
In other agreements:
• Pressure BioSciences (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts) reported receiving a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for experiments concerning use of the company's Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) in the development of a method for the extraction of "clinically important "protein biomarkers, sub-cellular molecular complexes and organelles from cells and tissues. The six-month grant is for $149,470.
PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels (up to 35,000 psi and greater) to control biomolecular interactions.
The company said that a greater understanding of the proteome is expected to lead to significant improvements in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and that its PCT Sample Preparation System (PCT SPS) will provide significant improvements in the accuracy and reproducibility of proteomic sample preparation compared to current methods.
The company said it also expects that, compared to currently available methods, its PCT SPS will better enable the enrichment of low-abundance biomolecules that may be essential for developing a greater understanding of disease states in humans.
Richard Schumacher, president/CEO of Pressure BioSciences, said, "Data generated in our laboratories, and in the laboratories of collaborators, indicate that PCT can be a powerful new tool for discovery in the extraction of proteins and molecular complexes. The unique mechanisms of PCT, concomitant with the features of our PCT Sample Preparation System (PCT SPS), have generated evidence of increased protein yield and the potential for extracting intact sub-cellular components in a safer and more reproducible manner than other extraction methods in use today."
PBI reports having 13 U.S. and five foreign patents covering multiple applications of PCT in the life sciences field.
• Radlink (Redondo Beach, California), a supplier of medical imaging systems to healthcare providers, reported signing an agreement with X-Ray Visions (Springfield, Virginia) to serve as master distributor of its CR Pro machine to healthcare organizations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington.
X-Ray Visions will be responsible for regional sales of Radlink's CR Pro machine.
The system is designed to utilize Radlink's sealed fiber-optic laser technology to deliver high-resolution, diagnostic-quality digital X-ray images.
In grant news: The NIH has awarded a two-phase SBIR grant to CAD Sciences (White Plains, New York) to develop, in collaboration with clinical investigators, a specific application of the company's pharmacokinetic analysis technology for the characterization of cancerous lung nodules using contrast-enhanced MRI.
The amount of the grant was not given but was described by CAD as "major."
The first phase of the grant will fund the company's research through Aug. 31, 2007, to show feasibility for a minimally-invasive method to characterize lung malignancies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
CAD Sciences is a developer of computer-assisted modeling of contrast enhancement in MRI of cancer. It designs and distributes certain intellectual property in computer-assisted diagnosis and magnetic resonance angiography software for medical imaging.