Medical Device Daily Contributing Writer
And MDDs

Cynosure (Westford, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of light-based aesthetic treatment systems, reported entering into an agreement to become the exclusive technology provider for new skin treatment clinics being opened by sk:n Ltd. in the UK.

Cynosure will supply laser systems for all new sk:n clinics, which are expected to begin opening within the next year.

These products include the Cynergy workstation with MultiPlex technology vascular laser system, Affirm skin rejuvenation laser system, Apogee Elite hair removal system and Affinity QS tattoo removal laser. Under the agreement, Cynosure will train sk:n engineers in the use of the products and provide marketing support.

“Further expansion in the European market is a key component of our strategy, so we are delighted about the opportunity to serve as the exclusive technology provider for a leader in the U.K. aesthetic market,” said Michael Davin, chairman of Cynosure.

Andy Randall, managing director of sk:n Ltd., said, “Our goal is to expand from our 17 current locations to over 50 sites over the next three years, and we must have the right technology partners to achieve that objective. . . . Cynosure's leading-edge technologies convinced us they are the ideal partner for us in our ambition to expand in the U.K market.”

Cynosure develops and markets aesthetic treatment systems used by physicians and other practitioners to perform non-invasive procedures to remove hair, treat vascular lesions, rejuvenate skin through the treatment of shallow vascular and pigmented lesions and temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.

GM rice contamination driving EU biotech agenda

BRUSSELS – Reports of unauthorized GM rice in Europe continued to emerge recently, leaving the biotech industry exposed to allegations of inadequate controls. The European Union authorities have asked their U.S. counterparts for an explanation about how so much illegal GMO rice from the U.S. is turning up in the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany and Switzerland.

In the UK, environmental group Friends of the Earth said that it had found traces of GMOs in two rice samples from the country-wide supermarket chain, Morrisons, which now has withdrawn the products. And on Sept. 12, the Germany-based discount chain Aldi Nord, which operates about 3,500 shops in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Spain and Portugal, decided to take a rice brand off the shelves, following claims from Greenpeace that the rice had tested positive for LL601.

Also on Sept. 12, Migros, the largest supermarket chain in Switzerland, confirmed traces of LL601 and said it was holding back its U.S. supplies and recalling rice products already sold. France has notified seven samples positive – out of a total of 19 – for traces of LLRICE601. And the latest EU figures show that of 162 rice varieties checked, 33 contained illegal GM rice from the U.S.

Green politician and former German farm minister Renate Kunast said last week that the EU should ban rice coming from the U.S. She said that following the recent discovery of illegal GM rice from the U.S. on sale in the EU, member states should improve their controls on imports.

On Sept. 18, French socialist member of the European Parliament, Anne Ferreira, demanded a halt to “genetic pollution,” claiming that the inability of biotech companies to safely contain GM crops had been demonstrated by the recent cases of cross-contamination of non-GM foods.