A Medical Device Daily

Collagen Matrix (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey) reported that it has signed an agreement with Stryker Orthopaedics (Kalamazoo, Michigan) for the exclusive worldwide (except Canada) distribution of its Neuroflex Flexible Collagen Nerve Cuff and NeuroMatrix Collagen Nerve Cuff.

Since January 2005, Neuroflex and NeuroMatrix have been marketed by Collagen Matrix and sold through a network of independent agents and distributors in the U.S. and Europe.

Effective immediately, Collagen Matrix will begin transitioning the distribution of Neuroflex and NeuroMatrix to the Stryker Orthopaedics sales and marketing team. In order to maintain consistency and provide for a smooth transition for our customers, the product will continue to carry the Neuroflex and NeuroMatrix trade names owned by Collagen Matrix, the company said.

Neuroflex and NeuroMatrix are resorbable, collagen-based tubular matrices intended for use in the repair of severed peripheral nerves. As a design improvement to the NeuroMatrix straight collagen nerve guides,

Neuroflex has a kink-resistant property that allows the nerve guide to bend without kinking or collapsing. Both products are implanted using an efficient entubulation technique. The tubular nerve guide bridges the severed nerve and provides a protective environment to guide the regeneration of the nerve across the gap.

In other agreements news:

• Bruker Daltonics (Billerica, Massachusetts), a subsidiary of Bruker BioSciences, and Isis Pharmaceuticals (Carlsbad, California) have entered into a strategic alliance for manufacturing and distribution of Isis' Ibis T5000 bio-sensor system.

The Ibis T5000, developed by the Ibis Biosciences division, is a universal biosensor system that can simultaneously identify thousands of types of infectious organisms in a sample, without needing to know beforehand what might be present in the sample.

Bruker Daltonics will be the exclusive worldwide manufacturer of the Ibis T5000 biosensor system, which incorporates Bruker Daltonics' micrOTOF ESI-TOF mass spectrometer.

Bruker Daltonics also will be responsible for order processing, system installations and service in North America, Europe and the Middle East. In Europe and the Middle East, Bruker Daltonics will have exclusive rights to sell Ibis T5000 systems and Ibis infectious organism identification kits for various government applications, and non-exclusive rights to sell to all other customers, including clinical, pharmaceutical and academic researchers for all other applications except diagnostics.

Outside of Bruker Daltonics' exclusive market, Isis may sell Ibis T5000s and its infectious organism identification kits.

• GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) reported that it has exercised an exclusive option to license PhotoCure 's (Oslo, Norway) product Hexvix (hexaminolevulinate), an optical molecular imaging agent intended for the diagnosis and monitoring of bladder cancer, for the US market.

This is an extension of the agreement signed earlier this year that afforded GE Healthcare exclusive global rights outside of the Nordic region to market and distribute PhotoCure's Hexvix product. PhotoCure continues to be responsible for manufacturing and Nordic distribution of the product. This license, which is subject to government approval related to competition laws in the U.S., grants GE the right to market and sell Hexvix in the U.S. pending FDA approval of the drug for use.

“We believe our partnership with PhotoCure will result in significant patient benefit in the diagnosis and management of bladder cancer,” said Daniel Peters, president and CEO of medical diagnostics at GE Healthcare. “This partnership underscores GE Healthcare's commitment to addressing the unmet clinical needs of physician customers and to enhancing the quality of patient care through new approaches to the diagnosis and monitoring of disease.”

• Bayer HealthCare 's Diagnostics Division (Tarrytown, New York), a member of the Bayer Group, and Hamilton (Reno, Nevada) said that Bayer will purchase a customized version of Hamilton's STARlet sample preparation system as part of the development of a new platform for performing molecular diagnostic tests worldwide.

Hamilton will work with Bayer to develop a customized Microlab STAR IVD automated pipetting platform to meet the requirements of Bayer's kinetic polyermase chain reaction (kPCR) technology.

Bayer said the kPCR system will be an addition to the company's molecular product line and, in combination with the expanding bDNA technology and genomics products, will contribute to the growing portfolio of molecular solutions to meet varied customer needs in both larger and smaller laboratories.