Aethlon Medical (OTC:AEMD) and InfraScan are 2 of 5 medical device companies to be recently awarded contracts worth a collective $78 million by the U.S. Defense Dept.
Aethlon said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency opted to proceed with the 4th year of a 5-year, $5.9 million contract to develop the company’s portable blood-filtering device as a possible treatment for sepsis. The company could be in line to receive $669,292 in milestone payments during the 4th year of the contract.
InfraScan, which specializes in brain injury diagnostics, was another winner. The Philadelphia-based company was awarded a 4-year, $3.7 million contract to develop a next-generation version of its hand-held hematoma detector that could be used to help diagnose traumatic brain injuries in combat troops. A version of the device, called the Infrascanner, was approved by the FDA last year.
Last March, the Marines gave InfraScan an SBIR Phase III contract for up to 250 Infrascanners, with the deal also covering parts and training.
"This contract expands the potentially life saving capabilities of the current Infrascanner by adding the detection of additional key injury mechanisms associated with traumatic brain injury," InfraScan CEO Baruch Ben Dor said in prepared remarks. "We have worked with the Marines for the past four years, modifying the Infrascanner to meet the rigors of military combat."
Also receiving DOD contracts: 3M Cos. (NYSE:MMM), which was awarded $26 million for medical and surgical supplies; CAE Healthcare, $28.5 million for medical simulation products; and Spacelabs Medical, which received a $13.5 million contract for patient monitoring equipment.