3 December, 2004
Aircast Easier Ordering For All
Aircast, the leaders in the functional management of trauma and sports injuries, have made an important move to make it easier for consultants and doctors to ensure patients receive the best support for foot and ankle injuries.

Aircast’s simple solution is a specially designed A5 order form pad.  It is easy to complete and features the company’s range of braces, walkers, bands and wraps. The GP, consultant, physiotherapist or medical professional simply has to tick a product on the form, tear it off and give it to the patient.  Totally self-explanatory, the patient can then order direct by post, telephone or email using cheque or credit card with delivery guaranteed in three days.  The system also provides an efficient method for medical professionals who wish to order Aircast’s full range of orthopaedic products direct.

Catherine Hobbs, Managing Director of Aircast UK comments: “This development is another example of Aircast making ordering as easy as possible for their clients. Given the significant benefits of early mobilisation achieved by using a brace or walker in the treatment of many foot and ankle injuries, this initiative will be of particular interest to those who need to minimise their time off work and for people in active roles, from sportsmen to young mothers, where mobility is vital in their everyday lives.”

Forms are available from Aircast UK , by calling 0870 242 3348 or by emailing info@aircast.co.uk.

26/11/04
Medtronic and Novo Nordisk Announce Agreement to Enhance and Simplify Diabetes Management
Companies expect to offer prefilled insulin cartridges of U-100 NovoLog(R) (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) for Paradigm(R) pump therapy, conduct clinical studies and expand medical education initiatives

Prefilled cartridges containing NovoLog are expected to offer a convenient option for people using Paradigm pump therapy. Currently, pump users must transfer insulin every two to three days from a vial to a reservoir that fits inside their pump. When available, prefilled cartridges will eliminate this manual transfer process, simplifying pump therapy for Paradigm insulin pump users.

In addition to developing prefilled cartridges, the companies intend to initiate clinical studies to demonstrate the advantages of NovoLog insulin and Paradigm pump therapy over other insulin therapies. The partners will also create medical education initiatives highlighting the importance of maintaining target A1C of less than 7.0 percent. A1C is the percent hemoglobin with glucose attached, and an indicator of long-term glycemic control; values less than 7.0 percent in people with diabetes are desirable, as stated in the 2004 American Diabetes Association guidelines.

An external pump delivers insulin from a reservoir inside the pump to a patient's body using an infusion set and a tiny, flexible cannula. Insulin pumps use only short- or rapid-acting insulin. Insulin is delivered using a low, continuous rate (basal) around the clock similar to a healthy pancreas, and patients also can give extra insulin (bolus) with meals to prevent excessive rises in glucose levels. Pump users can adjust their basal and bolus insulin doses according to activity and meals. This gives patients greater flexibility and improved quality of life as compared to injection therapy.

Medtronic's Diabetes business, Medtronic MiniMed (www.minimed.com), is the world leader in insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring. The company's products include external insulin pumps, related disposable products, and a continuous glucose monitoring system. Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis , is the world's leading medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic disease.

Trigen's novel oral anticoagulant, TGN 167
A safe, effective and convenient alternative to currently available anticoagulants for chronic use. The medical need for a replacement for warfarin for long term anticoagulant therapy was recently emphasised by the FDA's CardioRenal Advisory Committee on Exanta® (ximelagatran).

Trigen previously announced the successful completion of a Phase I dose escalation study on TGN 167 using a classical rapid release tablet formulation. Trigen is developing TGN 167 for safe, effective, predictable and convenient anticoagulation for chronic out-patient use in the prevention and treatment of thrombosis.

Trigen is a private UK biotechnology company, based in London , that discovers and develops novel drugs for the management of occlusive and inflammatory cardiovascular diseases. Trigen's lead programme, comprising a series of anticoagulant direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis, is in clinical development in both intravenous and oral formulations. In addition

Trigen has other programmes, focused on thrombosis and ischaemia-related diseases, in preclinical development.  For further information, please visit http://www.trigen.co.uk

For additional company information, please visit http://www.eurand.com

SOMNOsmart - a new sleep apnea therapy device

Weinmann GmbH+Co.KG has developed SOMNOsmart(R) 2, a new sleep apnea therapy device based on the APAP principle. Therapy pressure is regulated according to the sleeping patient's needs when apnea, hypopnea, flow limitations and snoring occur. The core of the new device consists of precise event recognition and a reliable algorithm that regulates therapy pressure. The accuracy in event recognition is achieved by the combination of oscillatory pressure signal (OPS), flow and snore signals. In addition,

SOMNOsmart(R) 2 can recognize the difference between central and obstructive events and identifies artefacts, leaks and mouth expiration. The device's innovative algorithm guarantees that therapy pressure is adjusted reliably and gently throughout the night. International clinical validations hav proven the device's precision and reliability and have shown that sleep apnea patients treated with SOMNOsmart(R) 2 have experienced sleep quality of previous unattained levels. SOMNOsmart(R) 2 is as quiet as all Weinmann sleep therapy devices. The device is conveniently equipped with Softstart and Autostart and can be used with the proven humidifier SOMNOclick(R).

Source: WEINMANN GmbH+ Co. KG

12 November 2004
airPharma Signs Agreement with Britannia to Bring Novel Asthma Treatment to
Market

airPharma will oversee development of AP0016, a dry powder formulation of Britannia's synthetic surfactant, Pumactant, for seasonal allergic asthma and other respiratory conditions .  Under
the terms of the agreement, airPharma will initiate a clinical programme to study the drug's efficacy for seasonal allergic asthma, followed by additional respiratory indications such as perennial allergic asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  

The symptoms of asthma have been associated with surfactant dysfunction, and it is known that endogenous surfactant has protective functions.  AP0016 is a protein-free synthetic surfactant made from the naturally occurring phospholipids, Dipalmitoylphosphatidycholine (DPPC) and Phosphatidylglycerol (PG).  When inhaled by patients, the AP0016 powder enhances the body's surfactant system, helping to protect the lungs from inhaled allergens, dust particulates and other environmental insults.  Unlike other surfactant products in development, because AP0016 is made without proteins, it can be inhaled by patients without risk of infection or allergic reaction. All subjects treated with AP0016 experienced no significant side effects.

Contact:

James A. Byrnes, airPharma
001 913-498-0700