InnerDyne Gets Grant To Develop Absorbable Brachytherapy Devices

InnerDyne, Inc. announced that the National Institute of Health has awarded them a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support development of a new form of cancer treatment. The InnerDyne technology allows for the concurrent delivery of drugs and radiation through the use of implantable devices that are absorbed by the body after delivering their therapeutic payloads.

The commercial objective of this project is to develop bioabsorbable brachytherapy sources for use in radiotherapy, or in simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy drug delivery. These novel combined brachytherapy/chemotherapeutic drug sources will be designed for use in the localized treatment of primary breast, prostate and brain cancers, including control of the tumor bed after removal of a tumor. The absorbable devices will differ from both current brachytherapy and drug-delivery sources, and could potentially provide a highly efficient and flexible treatment mechanism for the handling of focal cancers.

"The potential synergy of multiple treatment modalities combined in a single implantable therapeutic device represents an exciting therapeutic and commercial prospect," said William G. Mavity, president and chief executive officer of InnerDyne. "Another potential benefit of our technology is that it would not preclude the interventionalist from re-treating the tumor site, if necessary, broadening the oncologist's array of treatment options."

InnerDyne, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes minimally invasive surgical access products incorporating its proprietary radial dilation technology. The company is also pursuing applications for radial dilation in areas outside its primary market focus, and improvements in its proprietary biocompatible coatings technologies, which it intends to commercialize either internally or through strategic alliances.