A Medical Device Daily

Bausch & Lomb (B&L; Rochester, New York) and Bayer Biological Products (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), a division of Bayer HealthCare, said that Bayer has granted B&L an exclusive worldwide license to Bayer's Plasmin technology for use in ophthalmology.

A product derived from processed human plasma, the liquid portion of the blood, Plasmin may have potential for use in developing novel therapies for ocular conditions. Bayer is pursuing development of Plasmin in non-ocular indications where Plasmin could be used as a thrombolytic agent to dissolve blood clots in veins and arteries.

“As a world leader in eye health with a heritage of technological innovation, Bausch & Lomb is actively pursuing new compounds, new therapies and technologies to treat diseases that rob people of their most precious sense of sight,“ said Gary Phillips, MD, B&L corporate vice president-global pharmaceuticals and vitreoretinal. “We are interested in pursuing the development of Plasmin technology for potential use in treating multiple indications for which vitrectomy surgery now is used.“

“Expanding our opportunities with Plasmin through this agreement with Bausch & Lomb is very exciting for us,“ said Bernhard Schaefer, vice president of global strategic marketing for vascular, intensive care and pulmonary products at Bayer Biological Products. “This potential new use for Plasmin in ophthalmology will build on other development projects under way or planned at Bayer.“

B&L will be responsible for development of Plasmin for use in ophthalmology. B&L will make milestone payments based on the development and registration progress, and pay ongoing royalties based on product sales. Further details of the agreement are confidential.

Eye Dynamics (Torrance, California) reported that it has paid the balance owed on a $400,000 promissory note three years early, made possible by use of profits earned in 2004 and prior. The payoff, made at year-end, was $256,000.

The company said that November and December sales were the two best months of the year, December exceeded year-earlier revenues by about 5%, making it the best sales year in the company's history. “It appears that, with the increase in sales in November and December, the Medicare reimbursement issue has been largely resolved,“ said Charles Phillips, president.

The company is a leader in the video ENG medical product sector, having invented the Video ENG system and brought it to market in 1994. SafetyScope, the company's latest product, is designed for the “fitness-for-duty“ screening of workers. Used by law enforcement, SafetyScope takes 90 seconds to administer, does not require bodily fluids and is based on manual methods of evaluating eye responses to detect neurological impairment.

Eye Dynamics said it is seeking other products synergistic with its medical product line as well as potential merger/acquisition candidates.

In other financing activity, RITA Medical Systems (Mountain View, California) reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, Horizon Medical Products (Manchester, Georgia), has entered into an agreement allowing it to repay $6.5 million in debt held by creditors of Horizon. The 8% notes — expected to be paid in full by mid-February — are due in July.

Joseph DeVivo, president and CEO of RITA Medical, said, “Our decision to pay off the debt early made sense in a number of ways. We believe that paying down debt is a prudent use of cash, resulting in a healthier balance sheet and reduced interest expense. We also expect that combined with our continued operational progress this reduction in debt will help us meet our objective of achieving profitability.“

Horizon obtained an agreement from ComVest Venture Partners and Medtronic (Minneapolis), Horizon's two majority debtholders, to waive their rights to receive a pro rata portion of any payment made against the principal amount of any portion of the outstanding Horizon debt.

RITA develops products for cancer patients, including radio frequency ablation systems for treating cancerous tumors as well as percutaneous vascular and spinal access systems.