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2016
Dec 2016 | Download as pdf

Soluble Therapeutics Acquired by CytoBioscience more

Nov 2016 | Download as pdf

Young Living Essential Oils Partners with TFS Sandalwood Farms more

Nov 2016 | Download as pdf

Beaufort Memorial Using Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot to Destroy Pathogens That Can Cause Hospital-Acquired Infections more

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DNAtrix to Present Clinical Data at the 21st Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology more

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Cartersville Medical Center Unveils Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot more

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DNAtrix enters into license agreement with University of Florida to develop new oncolytic virus platform more

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DNAtrix Licenses Myxoma Virus for New Immunotherapy Platform more

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Supportive Data for the Use of Santalis Pharmaceuticals’ East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO) for the Treatment of Psoriasis is Presented at International Conference more

Nov 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Pharmaceuticals Obtains FDA Allowance To Start A Phase 2 Clinical Study For The Treatment Of Mild To Moderate Atopic Dermatitis (AD) more

Nov 2016 | Download as pdf

DNAtrix Announces First Patients Treated in Phase 2 Trial with DNX-2401 and KEYTRUDA more

Oct 2016 | Download as pdf

Robotics: Germ-Zappers Are Saving Lives more

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DHR first in RGV with xenon UV disinfection systems more

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neoSurgical® Announces CE Mark Approval of the neoClose® Laparoscopic Port Closure Device more

Oct 2016 | Download as pdf

Germ-zapping robot named 'Gronk' helped kill MRSA at Mass. high school more

Oct 2016 | Download as pdf

Doctors Hospital at Renaissance is First in Rio Grande Valley to Deploy Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots more

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Bio2 Medical's Angel Catheter successfully placed in first two patients more

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Cardiovate Develops First Bioabsorbable Vascular Graft

For patients who suffer from peripheral vascular disease (PVD), there’s a promising option being developed in San Antonio that could help improve blood flow, and ultimately, prevent amputations.
Cardiovate is a biomedical technology startup company that got its start in the labs at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Best known for its innovative blood vessel graft technology, Cardiovate recently received $150,000 from the University of Texas Horizon Fund to help commercialize its technology that was initially developed through UTSA and the UT Health Science Center.

Cardiovate has an issued patent and technology license agreement with both institutions, which allows the company the access required to continue its research and product development initiatives on its medical device. Their bioabsorbable vascular graft can help treat vascular diseases by repairing and replacing existing blood vessels.

UTSA alumna Jordan Kaufmann, UTSA Research Vice President and biomedical engineering professor Mauli Agrawal, and Steven Bailey, division chief for cardiology in the UT Health Science Center’s School of Medicine, founded Cardiovate in 2012. Kaufmann developed the graft as part of her doctoral research with the support of faculty advisers Agrawal and Bailey, who now serve on the Cardiovate board of directors.

“Cardiovate’s disruptive technology will improve outcomes for patients who suffer from vascular diseases such as peripheral artery disease,” stated UT System Innovation and Strategic Investment Associate Vice Chancellor Julie Goonewardene, who also is managing director of the UT Horizon Fund. “The UT Horizon Fund continues to support the company’s efforts to move its life-saving medical device from the laboratory to the bedside.”

Cardiovate CEO Mark Stanford was hired in 2014 and has been busy continuing the development of Cardiovate’s patented vascular graft technology in the last 12 months, with a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), recent funding from Targeted Technology Fund, and the recently announced UT Horizon funding.

Standeford is experienced in the medical device industry, having successfully developed and commercialized more than 35 new devices that have generated billions of dollars in incremental revenue. Before joining Cardiovate, Standeford held key positions at Acelity and Hill-Rom.

Vascular Grafts Improve Patient Outcomes
Vascular grafts are most often called in for patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease. PVD is a progressive disease that restricts blood flow to certain parts of the body. In extreme cases, it can block blood flow completely. Cardiovate is focused on the treatment of the most severe cases, which require bypass surgery.

Bypass grafting is one of several surgical techniques used to treat peripheral vascular diseases. Other treatments may include angioplasty and/or stenting, atherectomy, or cryoplasty.
Surgery for bypass grafting redirects blood flow around the blockage in the blood vessel, thus creating an alternate blood flow path with a graft that bypasses the blocked or damaged vessel. The graft may come from a healthy section of the patient’s own vein, or a synthetic polyester material.

While some patients have to rely on synthetic graft material because they do not have enough healthy tissue to provide their own graft, synthetics also introduce the possibility of blood clotting if the body doesn’t react well to the artificial graft.

Cardiovate’s vascular graft is, thus, a significant advancement over the commonly used synthetic graft.

“Our technology provides the immediate benefits of a vascular bypass graft to restore blood flow, which existing products do as well,” Standeford said. “We go well beyond that by allowing our device to be a tissue scaffold as well.

“This scaffold will allow the body to generate new blood vessel tissue which, in turn, will provide a clear pathway for blood flow, outlasting existing synthetic bypass graft patency results. These better long term results will reduce the overall cost of repeat treatments,” Standeford explained.
Standeford told the Rivard Report how Cardiovate is first focusing on developing its medical device for use in repairing the blood vessels in the legs.

“When a patient needs a bypass graft you typically use the patient’s own vascular tissue to create that bypass,” Standeford said. “Only about half (of the patients) are good candidates, the other half don’t have enough healthy vascular tissue so they’ll need a synthetic bypass graft (for the blood vessel).

“Common side effects include clots forming at the graft site when using synthetic grafts. You can’t keep bypassing the same area, so when clots happen in the leg, that can result in an amputation,” Standeford added.

The technology part of this biotech advance is the scaffold that provides support for the body’s cells to migrate into the scaffold and develop a brand new blood vessel. The scaffold structure, over time, is bioabsorbed by the body.

“Current synthetic materials don’t work well in the long term, as they oftentimes become clogged just like the original blood vessel they replaced,” Standeford said. “There’s nothing currently on the market like our bioabsorable bypass graft that also (acts as) a tissue scaffold for helping patients grow a new blood vessel.”

The funding is promising for a biotech company like Cardiovate that’s just getting started.
“It’s so hard to get investors in early because of the long horizon for product development for a biotech application,” Standeford said.

Cardiovate currently operates from its main business office in San Antonio as well as its lab, which is located at the University of Iowa (UI) BioVentures Center in the UI Research Park. The company is currently discussing plans to relocate the research lab back to San Antonio, where it all started in 2012.

Cardiovate currently holds the patent for its new medical device, but has not yet filed it with the FDA for approval. Cardiovate will soon begin a 12-month long-term study on the use of vascular grafts versus native tissue in a large animal study.

“Once we use this in leg blood vessels and help save people’s legs from amputation, we’ll focus on adapting the medical device for cardiac use,” Standeford said. “There should be no need to change surgical technique, we just need to make the device sizing is appropriate for use in the larger vessels in cardiac surgery.”

The use of bioabsorbable material is growing in cardiac and other medical applications – from sutures to orthopedic surgery. Cardiovate’s bioabsorbable vascular graft reflects this trend in biotech advances.

“This increased usage will help create the foundation of clinical knowledge around the use of bioabsorbables, which in turn, supports our intended use of it for vascular repair,” Standeford said. “Ultimately, we want to improve long-term patient outcomes and help reduce the overall cost of care while reducing risks to the patient.”

For patients facing possible amputation, bioabsorbable vascular grafts provide a promising alternative.

“Developing a product that has so much promise to help patients with a terrible progressive condition is inspiring on its own, and the fact that there is a significant undermet need in this area makes for a great business opportunity,” Standeford said.

Source: http://therivardreport.com/  back

Oct 2016 | Download as pdf

Funding San Antonio’s Biotech Ecosystem more

Oct 2016 | Download as pdf

A biotech groups to share in major military contract to manufacture stem cells more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

Robot disinfecting rooms at Life Line Hospital in Wintersville more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

Life Line Hospital is the First Long Term Acute Care Hospital in Ohio to Enhance Patient Safety by Deploying a Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

Robots show Marin, Sonoma hospitals the light on disinfection more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Pharmaceuticals Announces Issuance of Patent for the Use of Sandalwood Oil to Treat Cancers more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Pharmaceuticals Initiates a Phase 2 Study of Mild, Moderate and Severe Atopic Dermatitis - Enrolls First Patient Into Its Australian Clinical Trial Site more

Sept 2016 | Download as pdf

With Scaffold for Regenerating Arteries, Cardiovate Raises $350,000 more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

Bluegrass Vascular Secures CE Mark Approval and Announces Successful Commercial Use of The Surfacer® Inside-Out® Access Catheter System more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

Bio2 Medical® Closes on $3 Million of Venture Debt Financing more

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Tropical Forestry Services prepares for first Indian sandalwood shipment to China more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

Bio2 Medical® Announces 510(k) Clearance from the FDA for the Angel® Catheter, the First Ever Prophylactic Use Indication for a Medical Device for Pulmonary Embolism more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

International perfumery competition winner tours Indian sandalwood plantations in the Kimberley more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

SA biotech firm drawing global interest year after moving from Germany more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

TFS Corporation makes bond offer more

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New robot system at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital uses UV light to disinfect hospital rooms more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

DNAtrix wins $2 million FDA grant for cancer immunotherapy more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

DNAtrix Awarded FDA Orphan Products Development Grant for DNX-2401 more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

TFS Corporation - July 2016 Update more

Aug 2016 | Download as pdf

StemBioSys reaches European distribution agreement for its products more

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BRIEF-Diamyd Medical: Cellaviva appointed European distributor for StemBioSys more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

DNAtrix Receives European Medicines Agency PRIME Designation more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

DNAtrix Announces Successful Intratumoral Delivery of DNX-2401 via Alcyone's MEMS Cannula for the Targeted Treatment of Recurrent Glioblastoma more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

Australia forestry company TFS Corp gets two ratings upgrades more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

Tour of Texas: Valence, Stellarray, Flux Farms, A&M, StemBioSys more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

StemBioSys reaches distribution agreement for its products in South Korea more

July 2016 | Download as pdf

Camden Clark Medical Center Introduces Newest Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot more

June 2016 | Download as pdf

MPR Client Innovative Trauma Care Wins Gold at 2016 Medical Design Excellence Awards more

June 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results From a Study Using 10% East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO) Serum Formulation for the Treatment of Mild-to-Moderate Plaque Psoriasis more

June 2016 | Download as pdf

Texas among top states in foreign investments more

June 2016 | Download as pdf

How Your Family Drives Business Decisions more

June 2016 | Download as pdf

StemBioSys enters distribution agreement for its products in Japan more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

San Antonio biotech firm takes big step toward global expansion more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

Vidant Edgecombe Hospital adds Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot to reduce HAIs more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

This hospital spent $300,000 on giant, superbug-killing robots more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Announces First Subject Enrolled in Phase 2 Trial of East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO) to Treat Mild to Moderate Plaque Psoriasis more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

SA biotech company backing fed stem cell bill to cut red tape from regulatory pathway more

May 2016 | Download as pdf

Bexar County added 4,350 jobs last year, study says more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

Springfield Clinic unveils Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot for infection control more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

San Antonio venture capital funding fell last year more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

neoSurgical Limited Expands Indications For neoClose Device more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

Bio2 Medical Closes Series D Preferred Stock more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

TFS undertakes $60 million placement more

April 2016 | Download as pdf

Bluegrass Vascular Technologies’ catheter system used on first patient more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Cytocentrics refunds $100,000 in economic development funds to city more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Bluegrass Vascular Technologies Announces First Clinical Use of the Surfacer® Inside-Out® Access Catheter System in Europe. more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Long-term acute care facility in California implements Xenex germ-zapping robot more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Robotic housekeeper disinfects the rooms at Modesto hospital more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Aerin Medical raises $16.7M, adds new board members more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

Brokers Sniff Sweet Potential In TFS Corp more

March 2016 | Download as pdf

East Indian sandalwood oil (EISO) is the key ingredient in these grooming products for dogs more

Feb 2016 | Download as pdf

Santalis Pharmaceuticals Completes the Spin-Off of Roxy’s Remedies Inc. more

Feb 2016 | Download as pdf

TFS Corporation - January 2016 Update more

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DNAtrix's Oncolytic Immunotherapy, DNX-2401, Awarded EU Orphan Medicine Designation more

Feb 2016 | Download as pdf

Strategic partnering deal with Cytocentrics more

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Cytocentrics CEO: San Antonio to get big boost from new deal more

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GhostBuster the Lab Mix Reviews Roxy’s Remedies Pure Relief Spray Gel more

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Avera McKennan Addresses Patient Safety with Germ-Zapping Robots more

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Santalis Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Results from a Study of Pediatric Patients with Eczema more

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Santalis announces positive results for pediatric atopic dermatitis treatment more

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Here’s why the TFS Corporation Limited share price soared 28% today more

Jan 2016 | Download as pdf

Cytocentrics gaining traction in San Antonio more

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The Drugstore Acne Fighters Dermatologists Swear By more

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neoSurgical® Begins Postmarket Surveillance Study more

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Santalis Announces First Subject Enrolled in Phase 2 Trial more

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BiO2 Medical Reports Positive Advancement of the Series D Round of Funding more

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Germany’s Axiogenesis to collaborate with new San Antonio biotech company more