Hologic, an established provider of diagnostic products and therapeutic devices, will acquire Third Wave Technologies in a $580 million deal. Third Wave develops molecular diagnostic reagents for a wide variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications. The company’s offerings include a range of diagnostic products for conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, Hepatitis C, cardiovascular risk and other diseases. The company had revenues of $31 million in 2007. Particularly promising are Third Wave’s HPV diagnostics. Third Wave uses a patented molecular diagnostic platform designed to help identify cervical cancer at an early stage. In April, the company submitted pre-market approval applications…
Browsing: Uncategorized
You’ve got to hand it to the PR folks at Aethlon Medical. Every time I come across one of the company’s press releases I think I’ve stumbled upon the holy grail of medicine – the solution from which all cures will come. The company’s Hemopurifier separates and captures infectious viruses and toxins from circulating blood. The device, which resembles a modified kidney dialysis cartridge, is designed to exploit the pre-existing global infrastructure of dialysis machines present in hospitals and clinics. With the Hemopurifier, the company has: Studied the effectiveness of HIV treatment Reversed immune suppression in cancer patients Been developing…
Nearly 40 million U.S. adults are classified as obese. Of these, it is estimated that four million are severely obese and 1.5 million are morbidly obese (BMI > 40). A number of medical conditions have been associated with obesity – osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease – to name a few. The annual health care costs for obesity-related diseases now represent some 5.5% of total healthcare expenditures in the U.S. Because of their tremendous size, transporting such patients has become problematic. 1 in 80 men and 1 in 200 women weigh more than 300 pounds. Many facilities find standard…
Aethlon Medical’s Hemopurifier has been shown to capture or inhibit the growth of other envelope viruses including HIV, SIV, FIV, Hepatitis C, Measles, Mumps, Influenza, Ebola, Marburg, and Orthopox viruses. Researchers have also documented the Hemopurifier’s ability to reverse immune suppression in cancer patients. The company announced Wednesday that it will initiate studies to test the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier in its ability to capture West Nile virus. West Nile is presently untreatable with antiviral drug and vaccine therapy. West Nile is part of the celebrity superbug phenomenon, insofar as it is highly feared but, in reality, presents little threat…
One of the central problems in using chemotherapy to treat cancer is its harmful effect on organ health. Lower dosages of the drug are often used to limit side effects, which may diminish benefits of the therapy. Delcath has developed a drug delivery system that isolates the liver from the circulatory system. It allows chemotherapy agents to be administered to the liver and filters those agents from the blood before returning it to general circulation (in January, the company formed a collaboration with Aethlon Medical to advance this filtration technology). On Monday, the company announced results from a study of…
I-Flow Corporation develops ambulatory drug delivery systems for pain management and infusion therapy. The company’s line of compact and portable infusion pumps includes catheters and pain kits to administer medications directly to a wound site. ON-Q, I-Flow’s principal product, delivers local anesthetic continuously to the surgical site. A review of data from 44 studies and 2,141 patients, published in December 2006 by the Journal of American College of Surgeons, offers evidence demonstrating the superiority of the pain relief therapy provided by ON-Q as compared to narcotics, the current standard of care. Benefits included better pain relief, less need for narcotics,…
An example of the precision afforded by Misonix ultrasound cutting technologies: an eggshell is cut and the membrane is left intact. In an agreement finalized Tuesday, Aesculap announced it will distribute the FDA-cleared Misonix BoneScalpel, a new ultrasonic bone cutting device for use in orthopedic and neurological applications. The agreement (which sets minimum purchase requirements) gives Aesculap rights to the device in the U.S. and specifies royalty payment for the sale of disposables. Misonix is investigating other international distribution partners. Previously, Misonix had collaborated with Aesculap in the distribution of the company’s Sonastar Ultrasonic Aspirator for neurosurgery. Misonix believes Aesculap…
Company eyes large opportunity in treating liver cancer Rockland, MA-based BioSphere Medical reported this week that the Medical Device Department of the People’s Republic of China approved BioSphere’s Embosphere Microspheres for clinical use in treating vascular embolizations, arteriovenous malformations, hypervascularized tumors, and symptomatic uterine fibroids. Approximately 200 million Chinese have health coverage, creating a market opportunity close to that found in the U.S. Notably, the opportunity for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC or primary liver cancer) treatment represents roughly half of the total worldwide, with an annual incidence of approximately 350,000. The high occurrence of HCC in China is attributed to the…