Jun 01, 2009
ST LOUIS, June 1, 2009 – Veran Medical Technologies announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Medtronic surrounding intellectual property. Veran secured a worldwide license to intellectual property from Medtronic related to electromagnetic navigation. The Navigation division of Medtronic has developed significant intellectual property in the field of electromagnetic navigation through its StealthStation® AxiEM™ Navigation System for use in neuro, spine, and ENT surgery. The licensing of the Medtronic electromagnetic navigation and registration patents will enable Veran to expand its IG4 line of product capabilities and market breadth in the minimally invasive interventional oncology field. Veran is currently marketing the IG4 – X-Thoracic Navigation System and intends to launch an IG4 – Endobronchial Navigation System, pending FDA Approval.
“This license agreement with Medtronic represents an extremely important expansion to our existing intellectual property portfolio and product pipeline,” said Jerome R. Edwards, Veran president and chief executive officer. “Veran is now uniquely positioned with a substantial intellectual property portfolio, products that integrate seamlessly into clinical workflow, an experienced team of medical technology innovators, and an absolute commitment to improving the standard of care in minimally invasive interventional oncology procedures.”
Veran is a privately held medical device company headquartered in St. Louis, MO. The company’s mission is to empower physicians to diagnose cancer earlier and to enable precision therapy to save lives. In the United States, lung cancer kills more people each year than breast, prostate, pancreatic and colon cancers combined.
Veran has developed and commercialized an FDA cleared, next generation electromagnetic thoracic navigation platform called the SPiN Thoracic Navigation System®. Veran’s breakthrough technology has been adopted by leading cancer centers throughout the United States. Veran provides physicians with a full line of bronchoscopic brushes, needles, forceps and steerable catheters with tiny electromagnetic sensors embedded in the tips for precise navigation. The combination of these proprietary Always-On Tip Tracked® instruments and Veran’s exclusive patient respiratory gating technology enables physicians to accurately access lung nodules by accounting for nodule movement during patient breathing, a common challenge for lung specialists.
Another challenge lung specialists face is that approximately 40% of lung nodules lie outside of an airway, making them very difficult to reach endobronchially, and traditionally requiring an additional procedure. Veran’s SPiN Thoracic Navigation System® is the first and only FDA cleared technology that enables Pulmonologists or Thoracic Surgeons to safely and accurately access lung nodules outside of an airway using SPiN Perc®, a navigated transthoracic needle. With SPiN Perc®, Veran combines endobronchial navigation with percutaneous navigation, allowing physicians to access all lung nodules in a single procedure, regardless of nodule size or location. This eliminates the cost and risk of unnecessary procedures and empowers physicians to provide a same day diagnosis for their patients. The early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer has been proven to save lives.