
BG Medicine Inc. (NSDQ:BGMD) inked another deal to develop a version of its galectin-3 test for heart failure, this time with Health Diagnostics Laboratory Inc.
The diagnostic test screens for the presence of a protein called galectin-3, which is both a predictor and the cause of a certain type of heart failure.
CEO Pieter Muntendam told MassDevice that the test can help identify patients whose heart muscles are gradually stiffening by tagging people with high levels of galectin-3.
Listen to more on BG Medicine from CEO Pieter Muntendam
It’s the latest instance of what Muntendam says is an innovative business model for developing and commercializing diagnostics. BG brought the test through clinical trials and the regulatory process (the test won 510(k) clearance from the FDA in November 2010 and landed CE Mark approval in the European Union earlier this year) and onto the market in a simple, "manual" form. Then it negotiated a series of deals with big-name diagnostics firms — including Abbott (NYSE:ABT), Siemens (NYSE:SI), Alere (NYSE:ALR) and BioMérieux (EPA:BIM) — to develop versions for those companies’ high-throughput automated machines.
The BG and HDL collaboration provides doctors with easier access to galectin-3 testing that complements the cardiovascular tests already offered by HDL, according to the company.
"HDL Inc. is providing a new model of laboratory testing services to over 5,000 physicians with an emphasis on markers related to cardiovascular disease," Muntendam said in prepared remarks.
Here’s a roundup of companies announcing new distribution deals and other joint ventures.
- FDA awards $39 million deal to GlobalNet Services
GlobalNet Services Inc., an information technology service provider for businesses and the Federal government, announced that the Food & Drug Administration awarded the company a $39 million contract to support the Regulatory Business Information Services (RBIS). Under the five-year contract, which includes one base year and four option years, GlobalNet Services will support all operations, maintenance, development and enhancement of the RBIS systems on behalf of the FDA, according to the company.
Read more - Gentel and Van Andel Institute announce technology for early cancer detection and prognosis
Gentel Biosciences and Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), a biomedical research institute, jointly announce the granting of U.S. Patent 7,838,634 for a new method to profile changes in the glycosylation of proteins captured on the surface of an antibody array slide. Gentel first obtained an exclusive right to commercialize the technology in 2006.
Read more - ChanTest and Molecular Devices sign cell line deal
Molecular Devices Inc. and ChanTest Corp., providers of ion channel and GPCR drug discovery tools and solutions, signed an agreement for Molecular Devices to distribute its extensive portfolio of ion channel and GPCR cell lines on a non-exclusive basis. As part of the agreement, Molecular Devices Inc. will sell ChanTest’s ion channel and GPCR cell lines and promote ChanTest’s cell optimization services to its PatchXpress 7000A, IonWorks Quattro, IonWorks Barracuda and FLIPRTETRA system customers worldwide.
Read more - West and CareFusion planning to develop needle-free vented vial access device
West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (NYSE:WST) and CareFusion, (NYSE:CFN) announced they will jointly develop and market a new, needle-free vial access device. This initiative is part of a five year global distribution and supply agreement between the two companies.
Read more - Vital Images and Bayer HealthCare Diagnostics arrange collaboration
The Diagnostic Imaging Business Unit of Bayer Vital GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany and Vital Images Inc. (NSDQ:VTAL) signed a cooperation agreement with the objective of conducting joint activities to introduce radiologists in Germany to the combination of appropriate software and contrast agents.
Read more - Tethys and Air Force collaborate on clinical trial to assess motivational impact of diabetes risk scoring
Tethys Bioscience Inc. and the United States Air Force established a collaboration to study the impact of the PreDx Diabetes Risk Score on behavioral change, the key component in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes, among the Air Force’s retirees and dependents. Type 2 diabetes is a serious, costly and growing healthcare risk within the military’s large retiree population.
Read more - Respira Health LLC makes superior offer for licensing LungExpress DX
Signal Genetics, the parent company of Myeloma Health LLC and Respira Health LLC, a privately held predictive genetic testing company focused on oncology, announced that Respira Health tendered a superior offer to license the LungExpress DX technology from Med BioGene of Vancouver, British Columbia. The new terms include $2.3M in upfront payments and an additional $1.2M in subsequent milestone payments.
Read more - NaviNet pulls up Cambridge, Mass. stakes
NaviNet, a provider of health care information technology products, is moving to Boston from Cambridge to support the growth of its now 300-person workforce. NaviNet will occupy 65,550 square feet in a five story facility at 179 Lincoln Street, two blocks from South Station. Headcount has grown 35 percent in the past year, according to a company spokesman, according to Boston Business Journal.
Read more - Sermo enters partnership to transform how physicians coordinate care for patients
Sermo Inc. entered into a strategic partnership with Janssen Global Services LLC to develop and deliver new mobile and web services that allow physicians to move their patients more easily and efficiently through the healthcare system. Both companies recognize a key ingredient missing in healthcare transformation is a physician’s ability to refer a patient for care, while ensuring continuity in that care.
Read more - WaferGen and NuGEN enter agreement to co-develop workflows for single cell analysis
WaferGen Biosystems Inc. (OTC:WGBS) and NuGEN Technologies Inc. plan to co-develop and co-market integrated workflows for gene expression profiling and target enrichment to enable researchers to more easily achieve high-throughput, high-density real-time PCR with small, degraded, and hard-to-replace clinical specimens, such as formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue (FFPE).
Read more - Accelrys and Oxford Nanopore enter partnership for DNA data analysis
Accelrys Inc. (NSDQ:ACCL) signed a partnership agreement with Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. Under the terms of the partnership, Accelrys and Oxford Nanopore will develop software to enable complex, real-time analyses of experimental data produced by the Oxford Nanopore single molecule analysis system.
Read more - Talyst Inc. partners with Sparton Medical Systems
Sparton Corp. (NYSE:SPA), a supplier of electronic and electro-mechanical products, sub-assemblies and related services to the highly regulated Medical, Defense & Security, and Aerospace markets, announces an initial contract manufacturing award from Talyst Inc. located in Bellevue, WA.
Read more - McGraw-Hill Professional and Simbionix partner to provide surgical simulation and education
McGraw-Hill Professional and Simbionix partnered to bring surgical education content from McGraw-Hill Professional’s online surgical training resource AccessSurgery to users of Simbionix’s MentorLearn system. This new collaboration will integrate visual and clinical training content from AccessSurgery into Simbionix MentorLearn to enhance simulation-based training and support surgical innovation and practice.
Read more - Misonix changes distribution of BoneScalpel bone cutting system
Misonix Inc. (NSDQ:MSON) enters an agreement for non-exclusive distribution, with the exception of certain selected accounts, of the BoneScalpel Ultrasonic Bone Cutting System in the United States with Aesculap Inc., which replaces a prior exclusive distribution agreement between the parties. The agreement is limited to clinical applications relative to the spine and cranium.
Read more - Sierra Wireless AirPrime wireless modules to power PositiveID’s iglucose mobile health diabetes management solution
Sierra Wireless (NSDQ:SWIR) and PositiveID Corporation (NSDQ:PSID) announced that Sierra Wireless AirPrime intelligent embedded modules will power PositiveID’s iglucose mobile health solution for real-time diabetes management.
Read more - The American Optometric Association and 3D@Home Consortium sign memorandum of understanding
The American Optometric Association (AOA) and its 36,000 members announced its partnership with the 3D@Home Consortium, a group of more than 45 companies, to improve the understanding of 3D/S3D viewing as a safe and appropriate technology for all viewing audiences. The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), stating their intent to share data and jointly promote vision health utilizing stereoscopic 3D displays.
Read more - Harris Corp. and Johns Hopkins Medicine announce venture to develop medical image system
Harris Corp. (NYSE:HRS) and Johns Hopkins Medicine announced a joint venture to develop next-generation medical image management solutions. The collaboration brings together Harris’ industry-leading health information and security technologies with Johns Hopkins’ renowned clinical expertise to fuel innovations in medical image management.
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