November 14th:
Boston Scientific to collaborate with Affinergy on novel
cardiovascular stent coatings.
Affinergy Inc recently signed a collaboration agreement with
Boston Scientific to investigate new coatings for cardiovascular
stents. Affinergy Inc develops site-specific biological systems
using biofriendly linkers that selectively adhere to proteins,
drugs, cells, and biomaterial surfaces in order to kickstart biology
toward an intended outcome.
November 15th:
Johnson & Johnson and Guidant Corporation Announce Revised
Acquisition Agreement with Net Value of $19 Billion
Johnson & Johnson and Guidant Corporation said today that they
have entered into a revised agreement by which Johnson & Johnson
will acquire Guidant for $21.5 billion in fully diluted equity
value. The companies originally entered into an agreement in
December 2004.
Under the terms of the revised agreement, the transaction has an
estimated net acquisition cost of $19 billion based upon Guidant's
approximately 340 million fully diluted shares outstanding, net of
estimated cash on hand at the time of closing. Each share of Guidant
common stock will be exchanged for $33.25 in cash and .493 shares of
Johnson & Johnson common stock. Valued as of the market close on
November 14, 2005, the transaction has a per share value of $63.08
to Guidant shareholders.
The revised agreement has been approved by the boards of
directors of Johnson & Johnson and Guidant Corporation. Guidant
Corporation shareholders must also vote on the revised agreement.
Pending Guidant shareholder approval, the companies expect to close
the transaction in the first quarter of 2006.
Japanese researchers develop new robotic arm for surgery
A research group at the University of Tokyo has developed a robot
arm that enables surgical procedures to be performed on a patient
while the site of disease is being imaged using MRI (magnetic
resonance imaging). Many surgical procedures on diseased tissue are
now performed using endoscopic instruments, but an endoscope can
image only the surfaces of organs.
Since MRI enables the surgeon to observe how deep into an organ
the diseased tissue goes, the precision of surgery could be
significantly improved if the surgeon could operate while viewing
MRI images. Unfortunately, typical motor-driven surgical robot arms
cannot be used with MRI because the electromagnetic motor causes
interference that distorts the image.
November 16th:
Abbott to Acquire License to Johnson & Johnson's Rapid
Exchange Catheter Delivery Technology
Following the announcement that Johnson & Johnson and Guidant ha
entered into a revised agreement by which Johnson & Johnson will
acquire Guidant, Abbott announced its worldwide licensing agreement
with Johnson & Johnson for a large portfolio of intellectual
property for developing and commercializing rapid exchange (RX)
delivery systems and related drug-eluting stents and interventional
products. The agreement, which is contingent upon closing of the
acquisition, will provide Abbott with access to patents that enhance
the company's ability to bring to market an RX catheter delivery
system. Incorporating RX into its growing product portfolio
increases Abbott's already strong presence in catheterization labs,
as the majority of interventional procedures in the United States
are performed with rapid exchange delivery systems.
November 17th:
Biogen Idec, Inc. Team Makes Parkinson's Discovery
Biogen Idec, a global biotechnology leader announced that
scientists have discovered that a receptor in the central nervous
system (CNS) may have a specific function in the neurons that
degenerate during the progression of Parkinson's disease.
This research, discovered by a team of Biogen Idec-led
scientists, is the first to suggest that inhibiting the Nogo-66
receptor (NgR1) may provide therapeutic benefit in the treatment of
Parkinson's disease. The abstract outlining this research, "Neuroprotection
and Regeneration by Nogo Receptor Inhibition in Experimental
Parkinson's Disease," was presented yesterday afternoon at the
Society of Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Pro-healing coronary stent demonstrates impressive patient
results.
The final results of the HEALING II study were presented on 21
Oct 2005 in Washington, DC at the annual Transcatheter
Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting. The HEALING II study evaluated
the safety and efficacy of the Genous Bio-engineered R stent. Unlike
drug eluting stents which inhibit tissue growth, Genous captures a
patient's endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to accelerate the
natural healing process. Once attached, EPCs rapidly form a
protective endothelial layer over the stent, providing immediate
protection against thrombus and minimizing restenosis. During the
course of this trial, 63 patients were treated at 10 centres in
Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands. The clinically driven target
lesion revascularization (TLR) rate at six months was 6.3% with an
overall major adverse cardiac events (MACE) rate of 7.9%.
Additionally, no subacute or late thrombosis was reported even with
a recommended 30 days of dual antiplatelet therapy. HEALING III will
assess the effect of statin therapy combined with EPC capture and
bare metal stents. HEALING III will be initiated in early 2006.
November 18th:
Angiotech announces positive interim safety data with Vascular
Wrap(TM) at one year
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive interim 12
month safety results from its novel and proprietary Vascular Wrap(TM)
paclitaxel-eluting mesh trial presented at the VEITHsymposium(TM) in
New York. This European first-in-man pilot study is designed to
evaluate the safety of a novel and proprietary drug-loaded Vascular
Wrap in the prevention of stenosis after peripheral bypass surgery.
This single-blind study enrolled a total of 109 patients at nine
clinical centers in Europe as well as the Dutch Antilles and
randomized patients with peripheral vascular disease in a 2:1
fashion. The treatment arm enrolled patients with a synthetic bypass
graft plus the Vascular Wrap(TM) paclitaxel- eluting mesh and the
control arm enrolled patients with a synthetic bypass graft alone.
The primary endpoint of the study was safety. The assessment at
twelve months indicated that the Vascular Wrap(TM) was safe in this
high risk patient population. Patients will continue to be monitored
at 18 months and 24 months to ensure safety of the product.
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