A Medical Device Daily

The University of Maryland's (College Park, Maryland) Maryland Industrial Partnerships program said it is jointly awarding $3.2 million in funding to faculty for research projects to help 17 companies in Maryland develop technology-based products.

Participating companies include:

  • Advanced BioNutrition — shrimp-based platform for pharmaceutical-grade protein production. It also received a second grant for pro-biotic production and feed application for fish to reduce the use of antibiotics.
  • Alba Therapeutics — potential drug candidates to treat celiac disease and new-onset Type 1 diabetes.
  • Archivex — secure and long-term storage and precision dispensing system for precious biologic solutions containing DNA, cDNA, RNA and proteins.
  • BDS Dental Laboratory — clinically evaluate CAD-CAM-generated Cercon dental crowns and bridge restorations.
  • Guilford Pharmaceuticals — compounds to potentially treat acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders.

MIPS provides funding — matched by participating companies — for university-based research projects that help companies develop technology-based products.

Sepragen (Hayward, California), a provider of technology and equipment for purification needs in the biotech and nutraceutical industries, said that it has signed a multi-year agreement with filtration and purification industry leader Pall (East Hills, New York).

Under the agreement, Sepragen will develop and manufacture benchtop process development chromatography systems for Pall. The products, which augment Pall's capabilities, will be sold and supported by Pall's global sales and technical support network.

Ken Frank, president of Pall BioPharmaceuticals, said, “The addition of these small-scale systems to our chroma-tography line expands our ability to satisfy customers' increasing needs for purification systems that span the drug development and production process.“ Products that scale up easily from the lab to the manufacturing floor are one key to the industry's ability to bring new drugs to market quickly.

Vinit Saxena, Sepragen CEO, said, “The Pall alliance provides validation of our technology, position and capability. The alliance will help us significantly enhance our revenue and, with the help of Pall's marketing and distribution channels, will enable us to take a greater share in the sizeable and rapidly growing biotech market.“

Delphi Medical Systems (Troy, Michigan), a subsi-diary of Delphi Corp., entered into a five-year agreement with Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) to develop and manufacture respiratory devices for Cardinal Health's Respiratory Care business.

Delphi Medical Systems will develop a product, leveraging Delphi technologies and expertise in electronics and electro-mechanics. These respiratory devices will be co-branded, bearing both Delphi Medical and Cardinal Health logos.

“We provide distributors and original equipment manufacturers the latest technologies and integrated products in medical systems,“ said Christophe Sevrain, managing director of Delphi Medical Systems. “In this case, we will be responsible for the regulatory aspect, making sure it meets government safety and health requirements.“

Delphi Medical Systems manufactures respiratory devices, IV pumps, vision-testing equipment, vital signs monitors, dialysis machines and other medical devices.