Specialty pharmaceutical company AP Pharma has appointed the former global head of oncology at Bayer Healthcare as its senior VP and Chief Commercial Officer.

Robert Rosen will lead the launch of APF530, AP Pharma’s drug to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

He will become a director of the company once the drug has successfully establishes a market presence.

John Whelan, President and CEO of AP Pharma, said: “Robert’s deep and extensive experience commercialising oncology drugs will be instrumental as we enter the commercialisation phase of the company.”

AP Pharma specialises in developing injectable drugs using its Biochronomer polymer-based drug delivery platform, which can reduce the frequency of injection from daily to weekly or fortnightly.

APF30, the company’s lead product, is used to prevent both acute-onset and delayed-onset nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

Rosen led Bayer’s cancer drugs operation from 2005 to 2011 – including the launch of Nexavar (sorafenib) for the treatment of renal cancers.

Before that, he was VP of oncology at Sanofi-Synthèlabo, where he was responsible for launching the colon cancer drug Eloxatin (oxaliplatin).

The NHS Technology Adoption Centre (NTAC) has launched a new online system to help NHS and private health providers adopt proven medical technologies more quickly and effectively.

The new Generic Adoption Process (GAP) provides a detailed roadmap of the adoption process and access to the tools and resources needed.

GAP builds on the experience of NTAC’s Technology Implementation Projects over the past four years in improving the diffusion of proven medical technologies across the NHS.

Users of the GAP website are encouraged to navigate through each of its sections in order, thereby building relevant knowledge – however, they are free to navigate between sections as they wish.

The site is designed for use by health providers at all stages of the technology implementation process.

Sally Chisholm, CEO of NTAC, commented: “GAP has been tested by a number of key stakeholders from the NHS and industry. We believe this is a vital tool which will help drive widespread adoption of proven technologies, as GAP can provide unrivalled knowledge and information to those who do not choose to directly engage with NTAC on an implementation project, for example.

“The idea for GAP came from our recognition that there is a clear need for something which can equip clinicians, managers and other key stakeholders crucial to service development with the tools and resources they need to be able to drive change and innovation throughout the NHS.”

NTAC takes the view that the NHS often fails to adopt innovative medical technologies whose clinical and economic value is proven due to a lack of well-resourced and coordinated adoption pathways.

GAP is available at http://www.ntac.nhs.uk/GAP/GAP_Home.aspx

Revenue was up 10% in Q3 at Lundbeck to DKK 4.9 billion but profit from operations fell nearly a quarter (22%) after restructuring its R&D department.

Growth was driven by an increase in revenue from a number of its key products and milestone payments following the launch of escitalopram in Japan.

Ulf Wiinberg, Lundbeck’s President and CEO, says the company is “very pleased with yet another strong quarter” after its branded products delivered “solid results”.

Sales of Sabril increased by nearly half (47%) to DKK 77 million, compared to the third quarter in 2010, with revenue also up for Xenazine in the US by a fifth, compared with the same period, to DKK 191 million.

Lundbeck’s key products, Cipralex, Ebixa and Azilect, which grew 5%, 18% and 20% respectively, compared to the period last year, helped boost revenue from International Markets up 20% to DKK 901 million.

“We are now entering a new era with many new product launches,” said Ulf Wiinberg. “With the launch of Lexapro in Japan, the continued roll out of Sycrest and the forthcoming launch of OnfiTM in the US, we have expanded on our product diversification and strengthened our long term growth prospects substantially.”

A new technology for point of care diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is about to be become available to GPs through leading UK healthcare distributor Williams Medical Supplies.

Williams has an exclusive agreement with Finnish company Mediracer to make this groundbreaking diagnostic tool available to UK primary care.

CTS, often linked to typing or driving, is a pressure on the median nerve in the wrist that can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness or muscle damage in the hand.

The use of Mediracer’s NCS test is claimed to reduce the CTS screening cost per patient from £270 in secondary care to £67 in primary care.

The Mediracer NCS technology identifies nerve entrapments in the hand using disposable surface electrodes. The results can be used to diagnose CTS and grade its severity.

Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, said: “We have a strong presence in the primary care market, but we want to strengthen our position to help suppliers and manufacturers – like Mediracer – to win more business.

“By offering exclusivity on key products to Williams, these companies will benefit from our unparalleled market penetration and business support.”

“CTS is a high-incidence condition and our tool provides consultant interpretation within minutes, allowing GPs to do work which is normally confined to hospitals and which saves the NHS money,” commented Pasi Karsikas, Mediracer’s Sales Director.

“We chose to partner with Williams for a number of reasons – they are the UK’s leading GP supplier, with excellent customer support and unrivalled market penetration – so we are looking forward to a bright future in this marketplace.”

Based in Gwent, Williams Medical Supplies is the UK’s leading provider of medical supplies and services, used by around 9,000 of the 10,500 GP surgeries.

West Midlands home care specialist Salts Healthcare has acquired Healthlink, a Dispensing Appliance Contractor (DAC) covering Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey.

The acquisition will enable Salts to make its UK customer service network fully national, increasing its number of care centres to 17.

Sussex-based Healthlink has been run for 30 years by its founder and owner Liz Box, who is due to retire.

Family-owned Salts Healthcare, established over 300 years ago, specialises in stoma and continence care products.

The company’s home delivery service, Salts Medilink, provides specialist nurses and rapid prescription delivery via a network of customer care centres.

According to Peter Salt, Salts Healthcare’s Managing Director, the company “provides a vital service to ostomy and continence patients throughout the UK”. He added: “That passion to provide the very best service is found across the Healthlink team, and it’s that same quality of care and professional principles that attracted us.”

“This is a new chapter for both me and the company, and I’m delighted that my work will be continued with the same passion by Salts Healthcare,” said Liz Box. “As a family-owned firm, I know that Salts will look after my company, my staff and most importantly the patients.”

For Salts Healthcare, the last year has seen new product launches, significant export growth and the acquisition of UCI Healthcare.

Philip Salt, CEO, (pictured above with Liz Box and Peter Salt), commented: “Our early history shows we were originally metal workers who progressed to surgical instruments. This adaptation was borne out of our home-made but specialist skills and the desire to innovate. The same principles apply now, especially in a global economy with pressures for cheaper products coming from across the world.”

The NHS Commissioning Board has been launched initially in a shadow form.

Known as the NHS Commissioning Board Authority it will operate as an independent body from October 2013 before taking complete control in April 2013.

Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the Board, says that building the new system over the next two years is a “major challenge”.

The Authority will now oversee the establishment of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) – themselves in shadow form – which, along with the Board, will take on the responsibility for the majority of the NHS budget.

One of the Board’s first tasks will be to assist CCGs in making £20 billion of efficiency savings by 2015, whilst negotiating the new management system in the process.

“I firmly believe that what we are trying to achieve - a stronger, more innovative and more coherent commissioning system - will be critical to sustaining the NHS in years to come,” said Sir David.

Two new devices for catheter-based treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have been launched in the EU and the US.

US-based Avinger has released the Kittycat 2 catheter (pictured) in its Wildcat line and Juicebox, a battery-powered catheter accessory.

Kittycat 2 is a smaller, refined support catheter that offers extra length (150cm) to reach diseased peripheral arteries. Its spiral fluted tip can navigate tight bends and narrow spaces, and is designed for contoured anatomy.

Juicebox is a battery-powered accessory that rotates the distal tip of Avinger’s catheters at 100 rpm, enabling the surgeon to focus on guiding the catheter. It can be added or removed during the procedure.

Avinger’s Founder and CEO, John B. Simpson, said: “We are now more equipped than ever to help as many patients as possible. By making our products even more agile and easy to use, physicians can really tackle those difficult cases that have presented a challenge in the past.”

Juicebox is sent out automatically with Wildcat catheters, including Kittycat 2.

Based in California, Avinger specialises in catheter-based technologies for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Two new endoscopic devices launched in the UK promise to improve the success of surgery for treatment of chronic sinusitis.

The Cyclops Multi-Angle Endoscope and Relieva Luma Sentry Sinus Illumination System (pictured) from US company Acclarent give surgeons an enhanced field of view when navigating the sinus.

The sinuses are narrow and tortuous air spaces that can easily be blocked by minor inflammation. Sinusitis affects some 9 million people in the UK, with symptoms including headaches, facial pain, nasal blockage, toothache and fatigue.

The new Acclarent endoscopic devices enable the surgeon to see the natural opening of the sinuses directly, examining many angles with one scope.

These products add to the company’s Balloon Sinuplasty treatment platform, in which a tiny balloon is guided into the sinuses to help blockages.

Since its launch in 2005, more than 120,000 patients worldwide have been treated with Balloon Sinuplasty.

Based in California, Acclarent specialises in products for ENT surgery. The company is a business unit of Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company.

Merck Serono has launched its easypod Connect, which monitors injection data collected by the easypod auto-injector in patients receiving growth hormones, in Europe.

The medical software is designed to display patients’ injection history from the easypod electronic auto-injector on a secured online database.

Dr Annalisa Jenkins, Head of Global Drug Development and Medical at Merck Serono, said: “easypod Connect is a new approach enabling health care providers to monitor patients' adherence to growth hormone treatment, with the goal of better understanding its impact on treatment outcomes and more objectively adapting the treatment regimen to a single patient.”

easypod Connect provides healthcare professionals with reports and data from the patient’s injection history, which both monitors and analyses patients treatment adherence.

The easypod Connect Observational Study (ECOS) has already been in use since its launch at the end of 2010, offering the additional functionality to combine and manage injection patient records with growth and/or clinical outcome data.

Thomas Bols, Vice President of Corporate Health Policy and Market Access at Merck Serono, said: “By monitoring injections and thereby adherence to growth hormone, easypod Connect gives health care providers important information to consider when making decisions for their patients to improve treatment outcomes.”

easypod Connect has already been launched in Canada and Australia. The medical device has not been submitted for use in the US.

A new antimicrobial dressing suitable for severe and highly exudating wounds has been launched in the UK.

Hydrofera Blue (pictured) from Swindon-based company Synergy Health has been developed from blood purification technology.

The dressing is made from poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) foam that can absorb up to 25 times its own mass in fluids, while binding and eliminating endotoxins.

The foam is combined with two active organic pigments, Gentian Violet and Methylene Blue, which have broad-spectrum bactericidal properties.

The unique construction of Hydrofera Blue means that no antimicrobial chemicals are deposited in the wound.

The combination of pigments was invented by Dr Edward Shanbrom, a pioneer in the use of natural products to cleanse blood.

Hydrofera Blue is effective against the most common pathogens that affect wounds in the UK, including E. coli and MRSA.

The sponge-like foam base of the dressing means that it is both comfortable and durable, and contours easily to the wound bed.

The product has been used extensively in the US since 2003, but until now has not been available to the UK healthcare market. Synergy Health is currently evaluating its use in acute and community settings.

Hydrofera Blue is available in a range of sizes for wounds varying from moderate to heavily exudating. Tunnel and ostomy versions are also available.

Rachel Downham, Woundcare Product Manager for Synergy Health, said: “Hydrofera Blue provides a real step change in advanced wound care management. It has the potential to increase the rate of wound healing and improve pain and odour control, offering big advantages from both a patient comfort and a cost reduction perspective.”

Synergy Health delivers a range of specialist outsourced services to clients in healthcare and health management.