Health-care

Toronto-based Patheon Inc., a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry, announced the establishment of a Japanese subsidiary based in Tokyo. Patheon K.K. will operate from a newly established business office located in the Nihonbashi district of central Tokyo and will support Patheon’s business requirements in the region. Patheon Inc. operates a network of 10 manufacturing and six development facilities in the US, Canada and Europe, serving a customer base of 270 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Calgary-based Imaging Dynamics Company Ltd. (IDC), a provider of digital radiography equipment, announced that it has been awarded a contract by the central purchasing unit for medical hospitals in Uttrakahand, India for five X-Series 1600 DR systems with X4C imaging detectors. IDC’s regional distribution partner, CURA Medical Equipment Pvt. Ltd., will manage installation and ongoing support of the sites. CURA, a dealer, re-marketer and service provider for diagnostic medical equipment, is an IDC authorized service franchisee and IDC’s representative in India.

Montreal-based Noveko International Inc. announced plans to acquire Unitam International Management Corporation of Montreal, an international business development service agency established in North America and Asia. The purchase price will be C$250,000, plus 500,000 Class A shares of Noveko. Noveko International Inc. has several subsidiaries including S.A.S. ECM which specializes in the design and marketing of portable ultrasound scanners for use in veterinary and human medicine, and Noveko Inc.

Toronto-based Microbix Biosystems Inc. has been granted a patent by China’s State Intellectual Property Office for its Virusmax technology which enables egg-based vaccine manufacturers to increase the amount of influenza vaccine they produce each year. Virusmax already has patents in Canada, the US, India and Australia. Microbix specializes in developing proprietary biological technologies, including biotherapeutic drugs, vaccine technologies and animal reproduction technologies.

Quebec-based Noveko International Inc. announced that it has proceeded, jointly with the Ma’anshan Agriculture Committee (Anhui province), China National Service Corporation (CNSC) and Monitrol Inc. of Quebec, with the official commissioning of two farm buildings, one for breeding hogs, the other for poultry. These buildings have been fully biosecured, at the air intake level, by Noveko antimicrobial air filters, and equipped with automated ventilation systems installed by Monitrol.

Toronto-based Medipattern Corporation, a developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) medical imaging software designed to aid physicians in making biopsy decisions, announced the receipt of State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) approval in the China for its B-CAD product. Beijing Eastwide Medical Ltd., Medipattern’s reseller in China, will promote and market B-CAD throughout China. B-CAD is installed and now in daily use at the newly created Breast Imaging Center at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) 301 Hospital in Beijing.

Jubilant Organosys Ltd., an integrated pharmaceutical company based in India, and Draxis Health Inc. of Montreal, announced that they entered into an agreement whereby a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jubilant Organosys Ltd. will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Draxis for approximately US$255 million. Draxis Health, through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, Draxis Specialty Pharmaceuticals Inc., provides products in three categories: sterile products, non-sterile products and radiopharmaceuticals.

Laval-based Labopharm Inc. announced that its once-daily analgesic tramadol product has received regulatory approval from the Korea Food and Drug Administration and the Australian Department of Health and Aging, which allows for the marketing and sale of Labopharm’s tramadol product in South Korea and Australia respectively. Labopharm will now work with its marketing partners to launch the product later this year. Licensing and distribution agreements for the tramadol product were signed with WhanIn Pharmaceutical Co. in South Korea and iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty.

Calgary-based Imaging Dynamics Company Ltd. (IDC) was awarded a contract for its 1600 X-Series digital radiography system with Beijing Capital Airport. The system will be installed in the physical examination centre at the new Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 3 building to treat travelers with medical emergencies. The building is scheduled for opening in March 2008. IDC is partnering on this contract with its regional distributor Beijing East Whale Image Technology Company, Ltd., a provider of advanced medical equipment, service and support to healthcare facilities in China.

Winnipeg-based Imris, a provider of fully integrated, intra-operative imaging solutions designed to assist in the treatment of disease, announced that China PLA Hospital and Military Postgraduate Medical College has selected the Imris intra-operative MRI solution, IMRISneuro, for its expanding neurosurgical department. The hospital will be the first in China to house IMRISneuro, a fully integrated operating room that combines a movable MRI with the Imris surgical information management system.