Urodynamix Announces Second Collaboration For Development Of NIRS Prostate Treatment Device

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 26 Mar 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Urodynamix Technologies Ltd. (TSX-V:URO) announced that it has initiated a second collaborative program for the evaluation of a transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) device incorporating NIRS technology for the minimally invasive treatment of BPH.

The integration of Urodynamix's proprietary NIRS technology with existing approved and marketed TUMT treatment devices could significantly improve the efficacy of these procedures by providing an accurate measure of blood flow and necrosis in the prostate. This added feature should allow physicians to optimize the power delivery and the duration of TUMT procedures and improve efficacy and patient outcomes.

TUMT is currently the most popular minimally invasive BPH treatment in the United States. The technique uses heat from a catheter-based microwave device to destroy and shrink prostate tissue from within the urethra to relieve the obstructive symptoms of BPH. An estimated 90,000 minimally invasive, in-office BPH treatment procedures are performed in the United States each year.

The Company has initiated animal trials in collaboration with a second leading TUMT manufacturer and a multinational team of scientists and urologists. Under the agreement, these leading thermotherapy equipment manufacturers have provided equipment, supplies and technical support in exchange for access to data from the trial. Urodynamix will retain all rights to this technology.

The trials are currently underway at Capital Medical University in Beijing, where principal investigator Prof. Limin Liao, MD, PhD, Chairman of the Department of Urology, China Rehabilitation Research Center, is studying the ability of NIRS to measure changes in prostate blood flow and necrosis in test subjects before and after treatment with prototype NIRS TUMT devices. Preliminary data is expected to be available within approximately three months.

Minimally invasive BPH thermotherapy devices are currently marketed by a number of leading medical device companies including Urologix Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., American Medical Systems Inc., Gyrus ACMI and Medtronic Inc.

About BPH

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-malignant enlargement of the prostate, is a chronic condition that is often accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms and an inability to urinate normally. In the United States, approximately 20 million men over the age of 50 years suffer from BPH, resulting in an estimated 6.4 million office visits and 400,000 hospital admissions annually.

Over the last decade there has been a decrease in the number of conventional surgical procedures for BPH and a dramatic increase in minimally invasive therapies like TUMT [1]. Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicate a 38% annual growth rate in the number of TUMT procedures performed on Medicare patients between 2000 and 2005 [2]. It is believed that minimally invasive procedures like TUMT will continue to gain in popularity as the population ages and the use of more invasive surgical procedures continues to decline.

Minimally invasive therapies for BPH are performed in a urologist's office or clinic and result in less pain and faster recovery than surgical procedures such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). TUMT is also more cost effective than TURP since no hospital admission is required.

This office-based procedure is FDA approved and covered by Medicare and most private insurers in the United States, with an average in-office Medicare payment of approximately $3,100 per procedure, and in 2006 TUMT ranked among the top 110 procedures in allowed charges at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at $136 million.

 [1]    Harkaway RC and Issa MM. Medical and minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases 2006; 9: 204-214.

 [2]    Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) utilization data - Part B claims data

About Urodynamix Technologies Ltd.

Urodynamix Technologies is a Canadian medical device company developing and commercializing non-invasive medical technology based on proprietary applications of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The Company is currently focused on products that aid in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence, lower urinary tract symptoms, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and traumatic increases in intra-abdominal pressure that cause abdominal compartment syndrome. Urodynamix's breakthrough medical technology has the potential to beneficially affect more than 200 million people worldwide.

Certain information contained in this press release may be forward-looking and is subject to unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Urodynamix Technologies Ltd

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