FoxHollow, Merck Partner to Identify Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers

FoxHollow Technologies (Redwood City, CA) and Merck & Co. Inc. (Whitehouse Station, NJ) have entered into what the companies report is the first pharmaceutical-medical device partnership focused on identifying cardiovascular disease biomarkers. It is the hope of both companies that the biomarkers could be used as diagnostics and tools for drug development.

Under the agreement, FoxHollow is providing Merck with exclusive access to atherosclerotic plaque samples collected from cardiovascular-disease patients treated with FoxHollow's SilverHawk plaque excision system. The SilverHawk, a catheter system that removes plaque blocking blood flow in arteries, is used to treat peripheral arterial disease, which affects an estimated 12 million Americans.