A Medical Device Daily

Arteriocyte (Cleveland), a biotech start-up conducting a Phase I clinical trial for an adult, bone-marrow-derived stem cell therapy designed to generate new blood vessels in ischemic tissues, reported receiving a $600,000 grant from the state of Ohio to further the development of its technology.

The company said that the funding, received as part of an $8 million Third Frontier award to theCenter for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM; Cleveland), will help fuel its collaboration with other CSCRM researchers.

The CSCRM is a multi-institutional initiative that includes Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland), University Hospitals of Cleveland , the Cleveland Clinic Foundation , and the Ohio State University (Columbus).

In other grants/contracts news:

• CardioDynamics (San Diego), focused on impedance cardiography (ICG) technology, reported that it has entered into a three-year, multi-source contract with Premier Purchasing Partners, the group purchasing division of Premier (also San Diego) for noninvasive cardiology equipment.

CardioDynamics said it is the only supplier awarded in the sub-category of ICG equipment.

Michael Perry, CEO of CardioDynamics, said, “Historically, about 12% of our domestic capital sales come from hospital accounts . . . This agreement should facilitate additional sales into hospitals, thereby allowing greater diversification of our company's revenue and reducing our dependency on Medicare reimbursement for physician offices.”

Vermed , a wholly owned subsidiary of CardioDynamics, recently earned a three-year, multi-source contract with Premier, which began in July 2005. Vermed was one of three vendors awarded the contract to offer Premier's members ECG electrodes, lead wires and cables.