Drug Delivery Business

Drug-Device Combinations

Taris Biomedical completes Phase I study of bladder drug-device combo

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Taris Biomedical said it successfully completed the first phase of clinical trials of its drug-device combination to treat bladder problems, but declined to release any details of the study pending scientific publication.

The Lexington, Mass.-based firm said the study of its Liris device, which stands for “lidocaine-releasing intravesical system,” was aimed at evaluating the safety, tolerability and retention of the system in the bladder for treating interstitial cystitis. Also known as painful bladder syndrome, IC involves chronic inflammation of the bladder wall.

MassDevice Q&A: Shawna Gvazdauskas

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Shawna Gvazdauskas has a knack for bringing medical devices to market. The 53-year-old is on the third start-up of her 30-year career. In March, she left insulin management maker Insulet, where she helped bring the company’s flagship Omnipod to market, for a new challenge at Isis Biopolymer Inc., which is developing a new generation of non-invasive drug delivery patches.

Taris Biomedical launches with $15 million financing round

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Taris Biomedical hit the ground running, raising $15 million from venture fund backers for its launch.

The Lexington-based drug-device developer, which is aiming to leverage lidocaine delivery technology developed at MIT to treat bladder conditions, said (PDF) Flagship Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners and Polaris Venture Partners led the investment round.

UPDATE: Insulet hits the road in Europe after landing EU approval for its OmniPod insulin system

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MassDevice caught Rob Campbell, Insulet Corp.‘s vice president of clinical research, on his way to dinner in Paris after a day spent lining up a distribution deal for the company’s flagship OmniPod insulin management system.

European Union regulators gave the nod for the device to hit the market there, meaning the Bedford-based diabetes device maker is cleared to start selling the OmniPod in countries that recognize the EU’s CE Mark.

Insulet wins Edison Award

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Insulet Corp. took home the Best New Product award in the medical and science category at the 2009 Edison Awards for its OmniPod insulin pump.

The Google-sponsored awards are given to products that “excel in marketplace, innovation, marketplace success, technological innovation, market structure, innovation, and societal impact.” Past winners include Apple Computer, Johnson & Johnson and Chrysler.

Pulmatrix raises $3 million in funding

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Mass High Tech is reporting that Pulmatrix Inc., a Lexington-based biotechnology startup that’s developing inhaled therapies for respiratory infectious diseases, raised $3.5 million.

The company, which isn’t speaking publicly about the financing and only recently came out of stealth mode, is another Robert Langer company financed by Polaris Ventures of Waltham.