BiO2 Medical Inc.

Article preview from Start-Up - September, 2013

Hospitalized patients are at the greatest risk for a fatal pulmonary embolism within the first 10 days after admission, but traditional inferior vena cava filters to prevent PEs if anticoagulant therapy is contraindicated and/or ineffective are not typically placed in a patient until approximately one week into their hospital stay. BiO2 Medical Inc. is looking to address this treatment gap with its Angel Catheter, a device that incorporates the PE protection of a retrievable, self-expanding nitinol IVC filter attached to a triple-lumen, central venous access catheter.

BiO2 Medical Inc.

Article preview from Start-Up - September, 2013

Hospitalized patients are at the greatest risk for a fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) within the first 10 days after admission, according to results from the Prophylaxis for Thromboembolism in Critical Care Trial (PROTECT) study, the results of which were published in April 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In fact, the majority of PE events occur within the first 21 days in the intensive care unit (ICU), according to the study that investigated the incidence of proximal leg deep-vein thrombosis in more than 3,700 critically ill patients receiving anticoagulants. Some 344,000 confirmed or suspected PE cases are diagnosed in US hospitals annually, with 39% treated within the ICU, according to studies. Traditional inferior vena cava (IVC) filters to prevent PEs if anticoagulant therapy is contraindicated and/or ineffective are not typically placed in a patient until approximately one week into their hospital stay, thus leaving an unprotected window of time in which a deadly PE could occur. It is exactly this window of opportunity that BiO2 Medical Inc. is looking to address with its Angel Catheter,a device that incorporates the PE protection of a retrievable, self-expanding nitinol IVC filter attached to a triple-lumen, central venous (CV) access catheter. Upon admission to the ICU, CV access procedures are routinely performed in patients to allow for the administration of drugs, blood products and other fluids, and for obtaining blood for tests and cardiovascular measurements. With the Angel Catheter, PE prophylaxis could become just as common.

BiO2 Medical's core technology was invented by Luis Angel, a practicing pulmonologist and assistant professor of pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He invented the Angel Catheter in response to the crucial unmet clinical need he saw in his practice for PE prophylaxis in critically ill patients contraindicated for anticoagulants. Angel licensed the technology out of the university, filed patents for the intellectual property, and started up BiO2 Medical in December 2006.

Continued...

To read this article in its entirety, purchase now, as a PDF and recieve it immediately via email. Or get it free when you subscribe to Start-Up.

About Start-Up

No publication reviews leading edge companies and technology better than Start-Up. Each issue of Start-Up profiles the most important new product companies, identifies the hottest technology areas, reviews funds flowing into private companies and investment trends, and reports on university tech transfer licensing. Industries covered: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical equipment & devices, and in vitro diagnostics.

Plus:
To find out about more about more about Elsevier Business Intelligence's medical device publications and databases, multi-user access and/or advertising with Medical Devices Today, please contact Kristy Kennedy at (480) 985-9512