The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice
BG Medicine Inc. signed a deal with Corgenix Medical Corp. (OTC:CONX) for the manufacture of its BGM Galectin-3 diagnostic products, as BGM seeks Food & Drug Administration clearance for the heart failure biomarker.
Denver-based Corgenix makes specialized diagnostic kits for immunological disorders, vascular diseases and bone and joint disorders. Waltham, Mass.-based BGM develops molecular diagnostic products to predict patient response to drugs.
Phase Forward (NSDQ:PFWD) tapped Michael Owings to oversee its privacy and data protection efforts as its chief privacy officer.
The newly created position will have Owings ensure the security of employee, patient and customer data for the Waltham, Mass.-based clinical trial data management firm. Owings, 55, was the Phase Forward’s vice president for quality and regulatory compliance, a role he’ll continue to fulfill.
The company said Owings earned accreditation as a Certified Information Privacy Professional through the International Assn. of Privacy Professionals. He joined the company in 2000 and was named VP for quality and compliance in 2004.
ProChon Biotech Ltd. expanded a clinical trial of its Biocart knee cartilage regeneration system from one medical center to 10, a move that CEO Patrick O’Donnell told MassDevice puts ProChon on track to bring the technology to market in the U.S. and the European Union in 2014.
O’Donnell, who heads up a new management team that took over in January, said the expansion will also help raise the profile of a company that’s largely flown under the radar until now.
A federal judge in Boston dismissed a lawsuit filed against NeuroMetrix Inc. (NSDQ:NURO) by shareholders accusing the company and its management of misleading them over reimbursement for its NC-Stat device.
Judge Rya Zobel of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts ruled that the plaintiffs, the pension fund of the IBEW-NECA electrical workers’ union, failed to establish that NeuroMetrix and its then-management team misled investors in quarterly regulatory filings and in conference calls with analysts discussing quarterly results.
DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. acquired Leatherhead, U.K.-based hip implant maker Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.
Warsaw, Ind.-based DePuy Orthopaedics is a division of DePuy Inc., which houses three of its divisions in Massachusetts and is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).
Finsbury will provide DePuy with several product lines, including both ceramic and metal hip systems, a total ankle replacement and several small joint reconstructive implant lines, according to press release (PDF). Finsbury, which was founded in 1978, employs about 250 people.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) capitalized on its recent credit rating upgrade, completing a public offering of over $2 billion in senior unsecured notes.
Last week, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised BSX’s credit rating out of junk bond status, freeing the company to raise additional capital, an opportunity it quickly pounced on.
On-Q-Ity raised another $5 million from a venture capital backer to add to its $21 million Series A funding round.
The Waltham, Mass.-based oncology diagnostics maker, formed by the merger of Cellective Diagnostics and The DNA Repair Co., said Atlas Venture ponied up for the round, joining MDV-Mohr Davidow, Bessemer Venture Partners, Physic Ventures and Northgate Capital. On-Q-Ity is developing a cancer cell detection and testing platform that uses tumor samples and its proprietary circulating tumor cell technology to detect and monitor treatment-resistant cells for molecular changes. The company claims the technology can deliver real-time data about the course of treatment for cancer patients.
Aspect Medical Systems (NSDQ:ASPM) accepted Covidien’s (NYSE:COV) $58 million tender offer on a portion of Aspect’s debt as part of a $210 million acquisition.
The offer for the 2.5 percent convertible senior notes, which come due in 2014, expired Dec. 11, 2009. Holders of the $57.95 million worth of notes will get $1,012.43 per $1,000 invested, making the aggregate cost of the buy about $58.7 million. Covidien said the payout includes accrued interest on the notes up to but not including the date of payment.
Caliper Life Sciences Inc. (NSDQ:CALP) closed an $11 million deal to sell Xenogen Biosciences Corp. to Taconic Farms Inc. and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance as a result.
The Hopkinton, Mass.-based lab equipment and services provider acquired XenBio subsidiary, which supplies genetically altered small animals to drug developers, when it bought Xenogen Corp. in 2006. About 90 percent of the business involves selling genetically engineered rodents called “light producing transgenic animals,” which have been modified to produce substances that fluoresce when examined using special imaging equipment, according to Caliper’s website.
A Food & Drug Administration advisory panel recommended that the watchdog agency tighten restrictions on drugs used during MRI scans for patients with severe kidney disease, because the contrast agents have been linked to a rare but often crippling or deadly disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, according to news reports.
The Food & Drug Administration told hospital administrators across the country to stop using a popular endoscope sterilizer made by Steris Corp. (NYSE:STE) within six months, after the watchdog agency could not verify the safety of the product.
The Steris System 1 processor is typically used in surgical and endoscope suites for sterilizing and disinfecting medical devices.
