Maelor plc is delighted to announce their re-branding to IS Pharma plc, following the acquisition of Speciality European Pharma International AG (‘SEPI AG’), a wholly owned subsidiary of Speciality European Pharma Limited (‘SEP’).

SEPI AG, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, has a profitable portfolio of specialist hospital pharmaceutical products. The acquisition is fully aligned with IS Pharma’s corporate strategy of building a focused late-stage pharmaceutical and medical devices business, in the specialist hospital medicines sector.

IS Pharmaceuticals Ltd (also re-branded from Maelor Pharmaceuticals Ltd) is a wholly owned subsidiary of IS Pharma plc, and is the commercial operating division of the group. IS Pharmaceuticals Ltd is a specialist hospital medicines company, responsible for the marketing and distribution of a portfolio of products for the oncology, neurology and critical care markets.

Contact IS Pharmaceuticals Ltd on 01244 625150 for more information.

IMR International Limited have announced the launch of EPG Survey (www.epgsurvey.com), a new web-based medical market research service.

Qualified and practicing Healthcare professionals in Europe are invited to join the EPG Survey panel. Membership is free and panel members are paid for participating in all online survey activities.

Applicable to both general medicine and all medical specialties, EPG Survey activities are conducted in partnership with Epocrates (www.epocrates.com) on behalf of the health and market research industries.

“Greater input and comment (from health care professionals) regarding everything from the spelling of a brand name to the development of new therapies and the efficacy of existing treatments provides the type of market intelligence much needed in today’s challenging business environment with it’s intrinsic credibility and communication issues. EPG Survey helps deliver that intelligence quickly, reliably and cost effectively whilst also - as an independent intermediary - helping to bridge the credibility gap.

“Panel members know that they can take part in market research activity without their name instantly appearing on the blackberry of the nearest rep.” - Chris Cooper, Managing Director, IMR International Limited.

EPG Survey panel members will be selectively chosen to regularly participate in relevant clinical and scientific survey activities only.

Each opportunity to participate in a survey will enable the doctor to make their own contribution to health care provision, in addition to getting paid for sharing their expert clinical opinions.

Practicing health care professionals who wish to become EPG Survey panel members can visit the EPG Survey website to learn more.

Specialist recruiters Crowther Ballantyne Associates are delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Britton as Business Manager, based from their new offices at the Oxford Business Park, Oxford.

Mark’s appointment brings an added dimension of recruitment experience to an already trusted and reputable Specialist Medical Consultancy.

The new offices in Oxford allow the organisation to provide maximum UK coverage when constructing and implementing recruitment solutions for organisation or individuals alike.

Managing Director Gavin Crowther said, “The opening of the Oxford office represents a particularly exciting time for Crowther Ballantyne Associates and enables us to continue towards our quest to build the most gifted and experienced team of recruitment professionals in the industry”.`

The new office is located at: 7200 The Quorum, Oxford Business Park North, Oxford, OX4 2JZ. Tel: +44 (0)1865 481410.

Their Head Office can be contacted at: Northgate Business Centre, Newark on Trent, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1EZ. Tel: +44 (0)1636 642830.

Mindray Medical (MR) To Buy Datascope Corporation (DSCP)’s Patient Monitoring Business for $202m
 Mindray Medical International Limited announced in March a definitive agreement...

Outcome Of Sacroiliac Joint Pain Study Looks Good For BVM’s SInergy
 Pain Specialist Dr Robert E Wright et al, have produced a clinical paper review...

New Appointments At Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd
 Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd have appointed Cathrine Greenwood as Sales Consultant...

Wellpoint Sentinel System To Monitor Drug Safety
 US health insurer WellPoint Inc. is developing a system that will use...

Professor Quentin Pankhurst To Head The Royal Institution’s New Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory
 Following its two and a half year closure for an extensive £22 million renovation...

Mindray Medical (MR) To Buy Datascope Corporation (DSCP)’s Patient Monitoring Business for $202m
Mindray Medical International Limited announced in March a definitive agreement to acquire Datascope Corp.’s patient monitoring business, creating upon completion the third-largest player in the global patient monitoring device industry.

Datascope’s patient monitoring business achieved total revenues of US$161.3 million in 2007, approximately the same revenues generated from Mindray’s home China market.

Upon closing, Mindray expects to benefit from the synergies created by combining Mindray’s strong China-based engineering and production platforms with Datascope’s established brands, long standing reputation for high-quality products and service, its large and established direct sales and service team in the United States and Europe and both companies’ leading R&D capabilities.

“This transaction represents a unique combination of strengths that will help transform Mindray from a largely China-based company into a global leader, and substantially further our strategy of building a leading on-the-ground presence in the United States and Europe,” said Mr. Xu Hang, Mindray’s chairman and co-chief executive officer.

“Datascope customers should also benefit from the combined company’s expanded product line-up and enhanced ability to tailor product functionality for specific end-user requirements, and Mindray’s customers in the United States and Europe will enjoy the support of an established direct sales and service network.”

The company plans to maintain Datascope’s existing branded product lines and to continue manufacturing Datascope products in the United States. David Gibson, Datascope’s vice president and president of the patient monitoring division & technology services division, will serve as the president of Mindray’s Datascope patient monitoring business unit upon completion of the transaction.

Mr. Li Xiting, Mindray’s president and co-chief executive officer commented, “This is an exceptional fit of complementary assets in the patient monitoring industry. Datascope’s strength in direct sales to under-300 bed hospitals, its leading market share in key niche areas, and direct sales and service team in the United States and Europe offer immediate cross-selling opportunities for Mindray’s high performance-to-price medical imaging systems.

“Also, by leveraging Mindray’s China-based R&D, we are positioned to tailor existing Datascope models for new markets and enhance product functionality. With our common culture of performance and dedication to meeting customer needs, I am very optimistic for the future of the combined business.”

Commenting on the transaction, Larry Saper, chairman and chief executive officer of Datascope said, “The addition of our Patient Monitoring business to Mindray’s business will create a global patient monitoring company better positioned to serve the healthcare market and compete on a worldwide basis.

“We expect our customers to continue to benefit from the high level of innovation, quality and service long associated with the Datascope brand. We thank our patient monitoring employees for their many years of loyal and dedicated service to Datascope, and we look forward to a smooth transition as they become important members of the growing Mindray organization.”

Upon closing, the combined business will offer over 50 products across Mindray’s three product segments. Mindray will benefit from Datascope’s patient monitoring product pipeline as well as its existing innovative, wireless monitoring solution, NetGuard, for detecting unexpected cardiac events in previously unmonitored patients which recently received FDA approval. The combined business will benefit from manufacturing synergies derived from Mindray’s efficient China-based component sourcing.

Outcome Of Sacroiliac Joint Pain Study Looks Good For BVM’s SInergy
Pain Specialist Dr Robert E Wright et al, have produced a clinical paper review entitled: ‘Radiofrequency neurotomy for sacroiliac joint pain using the Baylis SInergy Probe; a prospective clinical outcome study with 6-month follow-up’.

The Baylis Medical SInergyTM Cooled RF System is a product from BVM Medical Ltd and is used for the treatment of intracable sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain.

Complete follow-up data was obtained in 15 patients with an average of 47.9 years. 12 were female and 3 were male patients. The doctors reported that average OR time for the procedure was 63 minutes, although as experience grew, this was reduced to 45 minutes. Dr Wright like the SInergy System because it utilises technology that is designed to accommodate patient to patient anatomical variability, by creating large volume spherical lesions along the posterior sacrum.

Main findings of the study were:

• Clinically significant improvements in pain severity and functional disability were found within 4 weeks post procedure as measured on the visual analogue pain scale (VAS) and the functional pain rating index.
• Pain reduction was sustained for the 6-month duration.
• The use of opiates showed a sustained reduction over the study period, with 5 patients discontinuing usage altogether.

Dr Wright’s conclusion is that “The SInergy System can lead to real improvements in the quality of life for patients in this difficult to treat patient population.”

For more information or a copy of the Wright et al outcome study, please telephone BVM, on 01455 614555.

New Appointments At Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd
Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd have appointed Cathrine Greenwood as Sales Consultant for the UK, in response to the company’s expansion into Human HealthCare (sister company Processing Imaging Equipment Services Ltd – Veterinary market).

Cathrine will be responsible for the growth of business within Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd and will work alongside Managing Director Stuart Thornton in developing Key Accounts and Key Opinion Leaders within the NHS and private sector.

Prior to joining Medical Patient Monitors UK Ltd, Cathrine has spent some nine years in the Pharmaceutical Industry, both in Primary and Secondary Care and fulfilled a number of positions in a vast range of therapeutic areas.

Cathrine states, “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to join a company in its infancy and one that does not come along very often. It’s quite a leap jumping from Pharmaceuticals into HealthCare and one I have wished to make for a long time. I feel really positive about the expansion potential of Medical Patient Monitors due to the equipment and the service our customers receive.

“I am sure that the team here at Medical Patient Monitors will create a very healthy business and I very much look forward to being a part of that success”.

Pictured with Cathrine is Darren Pearce, Darren is one of the company’s service/calibration engineer’s, Medical Patient Monitoring being the service/calibration engineers for Goldway in the United Kingdom.

Having completed his Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering and Electronics at College, Darren then served a one year apprenticeship with Medical Patient Monitoring. Darren joined the company on a full time basis a year ago and completed his training in calibration, service and repairs of the Goldway Patient Monitors in New York in 2007.

Wellpoint Sentinel System To Monitor Drug Safety
US health insurer WellPoint Inc. is developing a system that will use its 35 million member database to monitor and more quickly identify potential safety problems of approved medicines.

Due to launch in mid-2009, the new system is expected to be capable of continually monitoring its 35m member database and identifying increases in health problems among members taking a given drug, indicating a potential for serious adverse events. WellPoint is the largest US health insurer by membership.

The new Safety Sentinel system is being developed in collaboration with US health regulators and other government and academic institutions. In theory, it should be able to uncover health risks that may surface once drugs are being used by the general population.

“When we see a signal within our claims data that suggests there may be an issue, we can very quickly work with our provider community to figure out if in fact it’s real,” Marcus Wilson, president of WellPoint’s HealthCore unit, which is developing the system, said in a statement.

In addition to data from its membership, WellPoint will work closely with healthcare providers and hospitals to generate evidence based on its findings.

The Food and Drug Administration has increasingly been requiring companies to conduct post-marketing studies as a condition of approving some drugs.

WellPoint says that data collected and reviewed under its new Safety Sentinel system could enhance understanding of dangers associated with popular medications.

“The discovery of important risks of drugs like Vioxx and Avandia has demonstrated that the health care system currently has no reliable means of quickly measuring the safety of drugs once they’re in widespread use,” Dr Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a recent press statement.

Heart risks associated with the diabetes treatment Avandia and Vioxx were not discovered until after they had been used by tens of millions of patients

It is still being worked out how information gleaned from the system will be shared with the FDA, physicians, members and drugmakers, Wilson said.

The Safety Sentinel system will be able to examine potentially hazardous combinations of treatments, especially in patients with certain diseases or health conditions, such as diabetes, WellPoint said.

“This critical information will allow health care decision-makers, including federal agencies, physicians, consumers and manufacturers, to move far more quickly than in the past in addressing potential drug risks,” said Sam Nussbaum, WellPoint’s chief medical officer.

Source: E-Health Media

Professor Quentin Pankhurst To Head The Royal Institution’s New Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory
Following its two and a half year closure for an extensive £22 million renovation, the Royal Institution of Great Britain (RI) announces Professor Quentin Pankhurst as new Director of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (DFRL). Professor Pankhurst was previously Deputy Director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL (University College London) and has been appointed to undertake research in Healthcare Biomagnetics - the application of magnetic materials to healthcare.

In his new position Professor Pankhurst will lead an ambitious collaborative research programme to build a new DFRL team of 15 resident scientists, engineers, medics and technologists to tackle major challenges in the field of Healthcare Biomagnetics. In addition, the RI-UCL programme will see at least another 35 scientists making direct use of the new DFRL facilities.

Professor Pankhurst and his team will be working to make a difference for patients the world over by perfecting new ways to sense, move and heat magnets which can be safely and conveniently introduced into the human body in the form of a magnetic ‘ink’. Examples of on-going projects include the development of:

• A hand-held scanner that helps cancer surgeons determine the progression of cancer in a patient,
• A treatment method for atherosclerosis using a patient’s own healing cells through the use of targeted magnetic force, and
• A method for targeting magnetic particles to cancer cells in the liver so that they can be locally heated to help destroy cancer cells

Baroness Susan Greenfield, Director, The Royal Institution said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Pankhurst and his team to the new Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory. This represents the latest chapter in the long and illustrious history of groundbreaking research at the Royal Institution. I am confident the DFRL will once again become a cornerstone of scientific discovery under Professor Pankhurst’s leadership.”