May 1, 2007

4 Min Read
Milestones

MILESTONES

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Santini

MicroChips Inc. (Bedford, MA), a developer of drug-delivery and biosensing devices, has received a $13.4-million round of investment funding led by Novartis Venture Fund, and Reinhard Ambros, global head of Novartis Venture Fund, has joined the company's board of directors. Other investors include CSK Venture Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, IDG Ventures, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Intersouth Partners, and Boston University Community Technology Fund. "This latest round of financing underscores the great market potential for MicroChips' biosensing and drug-delivery technology," said John Santini, CEO of MicroChips. "Novartis's leadership in pharmaceutical development complements the medical device investment of Medtronic and Boston Scientific as MicroChips develops solutions to help patients with debilitating diseases. CSK Venture Capital's experience as a pioneer of life science investments in Japan completes a global team of top investors."

Scivanta Medical Corp. (Spring Lake, NJ) reports that it has received a final payment of $2.55 million from Syntho Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Farmingdale, NY) and its principal owner, Muhammed Malik. The payment is related to a $3.1-million settlement agreement entered into by the companies and other related parties in late 2006. "Receiving the final payment from the Syntho Group ends many years of litigation surrounding the distribution of the hormone replacement therapy drug, Syntest," said David LaVance, president and CEO of Scivanta Medical. "The company will use the proceeds from the settlement for working capital purposes and to fund the development of the Hickey cardiac monitoring system, a minimally invasive two-balloon esophageal catheter system used to monitor cardiac performance. The funds will also enable us to further implement our strategic plan to identify new technologies and products for possible acquisition."

Ivivi Technologies Inc. (Northvale, NJ), a developer of noninvasive electrotherapeutic technologies, announced that its exclusive Canadian distributor has obtained approval from Health Canada for the distribution of Ivivi's Roma3 pulsed electromagnetic field therapy device in Canada. "We believe the market for wound care products in Canada, like the rest of the world, will continue to grow, driven by an aging population as well as the rise in the incidence of diabetes," said Andre' DiMino, vice chairman and cochief executive officer of Ivivi.

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Krauss

GlucoLight Corp. (Bethlehem, PA), a development-stage company focused on blood glucose-monitoring in the acute-care environment, has closed a $2-million- first tranche of C round financing. The second tranche is expected to close late in the second quarter of 2007. The financing was led by Matignon Technologies (Paris). Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a state-funded economic development organization, also participated in the round, along with other individual investors. The funding from the financing will enable GlucoLight to complete the development of its optical continuous glucose monitor. It will also help fund clinical studies leading up to an expected pivotal trial in 2008. "We estimate the size of our near-term addressable market to be at least $500 million," says Ray Krauss, CEO of GlucoLight. "In the coming months, our efforts will focus on additional product refinements to our device for the acute care environment and for eventual FDA evaluation. Eventually we will miniaturize our glucose monitoring technolo- gy and develop a consumer product that will help both type I and type II diabetics better manage their glu- cose levels, and help decrease the complications associated with this worldwide illness."

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Reitermann

The molecular imaging division of Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, PA) has announced an agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (Madison, NJ), to use Siemens's new research imaging agent in Wyeth's clinical studies of new therapies in development for Alzheimer's disease. Siemens's new Alzheimer's imaging agent recently received FDA clear- ance to begin phase I clinical trials. "Molecular imaging is already revolutionizing the detection and diagnosis of diseases like Alzheimer's, and now it is becoming an indispensable component in the development of exciting new drug therapies," said Michael Reitermann, president of molecular imaging for Siemens Medical Solutions.

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