Celsion (Columbia, Maryland) said it has obtained exclusive rights to an advanced phased array radiofrequency (RF) heating system designed specifically for use with chemotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of breast cancer. Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) engineer Thaddeus Samulski, PhD, developed the technology, which uses RF energy to warm a woman's breast to about 42 degrees C to enhance the effectiveness of liposomal chemotherapeutic compounds. The breast cancer treatment system is being clinically evaluated at Duke. A Phase I trial has been completed and a Phase II trial is under way. Celsion said it believes Samulski's system will complement the adaptive phased array technology it has licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts), which is currently in pivotal Phase II trials to treat both early and advanced stage breast cancer.

Corgenix Medical (Westminster, Colorado) has signed a letter of intent to merge with Genesis Bioventures (GBI; Surrey, British Columbia), a biomedical development company focused on the development of diagnostic tests, including the Mammastatin Serum Assay (MSA) for breast cancer risk assessment, and diagnostic tests to detect "mad cow" disease in cattle, as well as prion disease in human blood. Genesis will issue 14 million GBI shares in exchange for 100% of Corgenix outstanding shares in a transaction valued at approximately $8 million. The terms also dictate that Corgenix's current management team will assume the responsibility of managing the combined entity, which will continue to be known as Genesis Bioventures and will be headquartered in Westminster. The parties are seeking to complete a definitive agreement on or before Oct. 31 and to close the transaction by no later than Jan. 31, 2004. The merger is subject to GBI advancing to Corgenix $500,000 out of an equity capital raise of at least $3 million by Sept. 30 as a condition to signing a definitive merger agreement.

GenSci Regeneration Sciences (Toronto, Ontario) and biosurgery company IsoTis (Lausanne, Switzerland) said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California has entered an order dismissing GenSci from Chapter 11. The move is an important step toward completion of the proposed merger between IsoTis and GenSci reported in early June. Both companies further confirmed that reciprocal due diligence has now been completed. GenSci Regeneration requested that the dismissal order be granted, with the support of its creditors, to allow GenSci Regeneration to proceed toward completion of the planned merger of its wholly owned subsidiary, GenSci OrthoBiologics, with IsoTis. GenSci OrthoBiologics will remain under the protection of Chapter 11 pending a confirmation hearing expected to be held in October.

Inverness Medical Innovations (IMI; Waltham, Massachusetts), a provider of consumer healthcare and professional diagnostics products and developer of advanced medical devices, said it would acquire Applied Biotech (San Diego, California) from Apogent Technologies (Portsmouth, New Hampshire). Applied Biotech is a developer of rapid diagnostic products in the areas of women's health, infectious disease and drugs of abuse testing. Inverness will acquire all of the stock of Applied Biotech in exchange for 692,506 shares of its common stock and additional consideration of either a payment of $13.4 million in cash at the closing of the acquisition, or a payment of $5 million in cash at the closing of the acquisition and a one-year $8.4 million subordinated promissory note. MI is a provider of women's health and other consumer and point-of-care health products and developer of advanced technologies for both the consumer and professional diagnostic marketplaces.

Medtronic (Minneapolis, Minnesota) said it has executed an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of TransVascular (Palo Alto, California), a privately held company that has developed a proprietary platform delivery technology for several current and potential intravascular procedures, including the ability to deliver therapeutic agents, including cells, genes and drugs to precise locations within the vascular architecture. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. TransVascular pioneered the development of the CrossPoint TransAccess Catheter System, a platform technology that incorporates phased array intravascular ultraSound imaging and a proprietary needle delivery system. One potential application of the CrossPoint TransAccess technology addresses the repair of heart tissue that results from the more than 1.5 million heart attacks suffered annually. Medtronic will continue to market and develop TransVascular's CrossPoint TransAccess Catheter System for both currently approved and future vascular procedures.

PDSHeart (Conyers, Georgia), a cardiac telemedicine provider has acquired the cardiac event monitoring business of Navix Diagnostix (Taunton, Massachusetts). The purchase is PDSHeart's second in recent months and expands the company's business in the Northeast, Midwest and Texas, as well as other parts of the country, continuing its strategy of growth through key market acquisitions. The Navix Diagnostix acquisition combines PDSHeart's technological expertise with the longstanding reputation of Navix Diagnostix for premium remote cardiac event monitoring service. Overall, PDSHeart services 4,000 clinics, 12,000 doctors, 110 hospitals and 30 universities nationwide.