American Immuno Tech, a small start-up biomedical company based in Costa Mesa, just signed a multi-million dollar deal with Stryker Corp. of Kalamazoo, Mich., to sell the rights to its Neptune Waste Management System, which collects and disposes of bio-hazardous fluids following a surgical procedure. American Immuno Tech will continue to maintain research and development responsibilities for the Neptune System.
The company said it will use the proceeds of the contract to finish research and development of what it hopes will be its breakout product: a system that may be used to treat septicemia, a blood-borne infection usually treated with antibiotics. The company estimates the disease afflicts some 600,000 patients in the U.S.
Called HemaCharge+, the device works similarly to a kidney dialysis machine: the blood is filtered outside of the body. AIT has tested several prototypes.
The company was founded in 1995 by Alan Davidner, an engineer, along with several scientists who had bandied around the idea of creating a product to address the global problem of multi-drug resistant infections. The company has 22 employees and is adding to that total on a weekly basis, Mills said.
Neptune is expected to be on the market next quarter, the company said.
Bits and Pieces:
Beckman Coulter announced that it has received FDA approval to market its automated tests to aid in the detection of prostate cancer. Access Hybritech PSA and Access Hybritech free PSA blood tests are used in conjunction with digital rectal examination to detect prostate cancer Micro Therapeutics Inc., Irvine, announced it has completed a private placement of 1.6 million shares of common stock, raising $11.9 million that will be used to expand product development and clinical and marketing programs Vectis Corp., Mission Viejo, the management company for Monarch HealthCare, has merged with Telesis Medical Management Inc., of White Plains, N.Y. The new organization will be called Physician WebLink and will provide management services to some 3,000 affiliated physicians nationwide. The company also will offer Internet portals for healthcare providers, health plans and consumers. Bartley S. Asner, president of Vectis, and William S. Bernstein, founder and chairman of Telesis, will be co-chairmen. Bernstein will be president of health services and Bernstein will be president of corporate development Western Medical Center in Anaheim has opened a new women’s health center called Ciguena health center (“ciguena” means “stork” in Spanish). The clinic, at 1491 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim, will provide gynecological, fertility, obstetrical and general health services. The doctors and staff members are bilingual, which will make it more convenient for patients in the Spanish-speaking neighborhood around the center Interpore Cross International, Irvine, announced it has received approval from the FDA to market its new Telescopic Plate Spacer, a titanium spacer used to replace one or two spine vertebral bodies that must be removed due to cancer The TriZetto Group, Newport Beach, announced an alliance with The PenChart Corp. of Connecticut, a healthcare technology company. The company developed The PenChart Suite, which provides medium and large ambulatory-care facilities with an electronic patient record and allows rapid data entry by clinicians on hand-held wireless tablet computers. TriZetto also announced that it will provide WellMed Inc. with online risk assessment and management tools through the website www.healthweb.net, TriZetto’s business-to-business Internet portal for healthcare professionals and administrative staff Local philanthropists William and Louise Meiklejohn have donated $10 million to help build a 53,480-square-foot critical care facility at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, which is expected to be completed in early 2002. A life-size bronze bust of the couple will stand in the pavilion. The gift marks the final stage of the hospital’s fund-raising campaign, which raised a total of $16.4 million I-Flow Corp., Lake Forest, announced that it has received FDA approval to market its 5-inch Soaker Catheter for pain management. The larger catheter will be used to manage post-operative pain for surgeries such as hysterectomies, C-sections and open-heart procedures, which require large surgical incisions. The company received FDA clearance for its 2 1/2-inch soaker catheter in November.
