A Medical Device Daily

Quick-Med Technologies (Gainesville, Florida) reported that it has been selected by the U.S. Army's Small Business Innovative Research program to receive a Phase II grant to conduct research leading to the development of a prototype dressing to speed the healing of wounds from chemical blister agents.

Quick-Med successfully completed the Phase I SBIR program, and the Phase II award is estimated to be $770,000, including $40,000 of additional funding under Phase I (Option) program, for up to two years for prototype development.

The wound dressing is based on the company's Nimbus technology that creates a permanent chemical bond to materials such as cotton, cotton blends, paper or polyurethane to create high-performance wound dressings, fabrics or other medical and consumer products.

David Lerner, president of Quick-Med, said, “The potential use of our Nimbus technology in a wound dressing for the military has exciting and novel commercial applications as well.”

In a related initiative, Quick-Med said that the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense and Quick-Med has been extended to June 30, 2011. The CRADA was signed on Nov. 15, 2000, to develop a post-injury agent to the eyes and skin treatment for mustard gas exposure.

Quick-Med's two core products under development are the MultiStat family of advanced patented methods and compounds used in key skin care therapy and Nimbus.

In other grants/contracts news, PerkinElmer (Boston) reported signing a “multiyear, multimillion dollar” agreement to supply the state of Texas with instruments, software and reagents to enhance the state's newborn screening program. The technology will be used to test for metabolic disorders in the estimated 375,000 infants born in Texas each year.

PerkinElmer will provide the Texas Department of State Health Services Laboratory with tandem mass spectrometry systems, as well as reagent kits and software to support the program.

Robert Friel, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences, said, “By utilizing this leading technology, we are able to detect potentially devastating metabolic disorders at an early stage to allow for better treatment and management options, leading to an improved quality of life.”

PerkinElmer said it has now signed long-term agreements for tandem mass spectrometry solutions with nine states. In addition to Texas, they include Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

PerkinElmer bills itself as the world's leading supplier to newborn screening laboratories.