A Medical Device Daily

Rockwell Medical Technologies (Wixom, Michigan), a hemodialysis concentrate manufacturer serving the healthcare industry, reported that it has signed a supply contract with Renal Advantage (RAI; Brentwood, Tennessee), which said it is the fourth largest provider of dialysis services in the U.S.

RAI currently operates more than 70 freestanding renal dialysis centers in 10 states serving approximately 7,000 patients suffering from chronic kidney failure. RAI acquired the centers as a result of DaVita's (Torrance, California) acquisition of Gambro Healthcare U.S. (Nashville, Tennessee).

At the start of the contract, Rockwell will service about half of the RAI centers. The general terms of the supply contract call for RAI to purchase concentrate and other products from Rockwell over a 24-month period. The contract is renewable upon mutual consent thereafter. The RAI centers initially serviced by Rockwell are expected to generate more than $1 million in annual sales revenue.

In other grants/contracts news:

• BioNanomatrix (Philadelphia), an emerging company developing a nanoscale whole genome imaging and analytic platform, reported receipt of a two-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, Maryland) and new seed financing from two venture investors – New York-based 21 Ventures LLC and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Ben Franklin Technology Partners has made a seed investment in BioNanomatrix and 21Ventures is providing a bridge financing to help support the company until its expected Series A financing closes later this year.

• InforMedix (Rockville, Maryland), creating a new technology platform designed to enable patients to manage chronic illnesses at home, reported plans to use its patented Med-eMonitor System with HIV-positive patients in San Francisco.

The company said it has received a commitment for $149,000 in federal funds for the program, which will be conducted by San Francisco General Hospital and led by David Bangsberg, MD, an “internationally renowned” expert on medical adherence.

According to Bangsberg, “Without near-perfect adherence, complex anti-retroviral cocktails simply do not work, yet trying to improve adherence to HIV therapy today is like trying to monitor thousands of patients with high blood pressure – but with no equipment.”

• MAP Pharmaceuticals (Mountain View, California), a developer of inhaled drug therapies, and Xemplar Pharmaceuticals (Fall River, Massachusetts), a contract services company developing inhalation products, reported the signing of an agreement under which Xemplar will serve as the exclusive manufacturer of MAP's Tempoinhaler products.

Xemplar will also be responsible for additional development activities, including process engineering for MAP's preclinical and clinical products.

MAP will provide an interim, interest free loan, as well as funding for technical assistance to Xemplar to support the expansion of the company's existing production facility. Xemplar will add about 12,000 square feet of commercial space designed specifically for the production of pressurized metered dose inhaler products, nasal sprays and dry powder inhalers.