IVD Technology
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IVDT Article Index
Originally Published IVD Technology June 2005
INDUSTRY NEWS
Notables
MIR Preclinical Services (MIR; Ann Arbor, MI), a contract research organization specializing in the preclinical evaluation of anticancer drug candidates, has formed a strategic alliance with Targeted Molecular Diagnostics LLC (TMD; Westmont, IL). TMD designs diagnostic tests based on molecular characteristics of cancer cells. “We have been seeking ways to enhance our position as a leader in the application of both conventional and imaging technologies to the preclinical evaluation of cancer drug candidates,” says Wilbur Leopold, PhD, president of MIR.
A report released by the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI; Cambridge, MA), “Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Innovation in the Management of Diabetes,” finds that devices taking advantage of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology will be “highly valuable tools” in diabetes management by 2010. However, for CGM to meet its potential, a number of healthcare barriers must be overcome, according to NEHI’s assessment:
• Independent research and advocacy groups must forge consensus recommendations on CGM accuracy standards.
• Public and private payers must address coverage and reimbursement for clinician services.
• Manufacturers, clinicians, and software developers must create standardized data analyses.
• Patient groups, manufacturers, clinicians, and payers must coordinate patient education campaigns.
The full report can be accessed from NEHI’s Web site at www.nehi.net.
Guava Technologies Inc. (Hayward, CA) has formed a partnership with AHF Global Immunity (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), an international initiative of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The agreement is aimed at making Guava’s EasyCD4, a direct CD4 T-cell count system, available at HIV/AIDS clinics. The system will at first be used at five sites in Uganda and South Africa. After studying the feasibility of this initial phase, deployment of the EasyCD4 may be expanded. “With many resource-limited areas of the world now gaining access to more-affordable antiretroviral drugs, accurate but simpler, more-portable, and less-costly methods of CD4+ testing are urgently needed,” says Henry Chang, executive director of AHF Global Immunity. Guava is working to develop a CD4 percentage assay and viral load assay, as well as other clinical tests, for its system.
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