RALEIGH, North Carolina, April 16 /PRNewswire/ --
DARA BioSciences(TM) (Nasdaq: DARA) announced today that Surgi-Vision, Inc., a privately held company of which DARA Biosciences owns approximately 9.8% of the outstanding shares, has entered into a licensing and development agreement with Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-safe technology.
Boston Scientific issued a press release yesterday announcing a licensing and development arrangement for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-safe technology. Physician implanters have consistently mentioned MRI-safe cardiac devices as a primary unmet clinical need. Under the arrangement, Boston Scientific will gain access to Surgi-Vision's development capabilities and will obtain a license to Surgi-Vision's intellectual property for potential use in its implantable cardiac devices. The two companies will work jointly to develop a commercial application of Surgi-Vision's technology. Previously, Boston Scientific and Surgi-Vision entered into a separate licensing and development agreement, in the area of neuromodulation, in December 2005. A complete copy of Boston Scientific's press release can be found at Boston Scientific's website (www.bostonscientific.com ).
DARA has been an investor in Surgi-Vision since 2004. Surgi-Vision is a leader in the development of next generation MRI technologies. In addition to its expertise in MRI-safety for implanted medical devices, Surgi-Vision is at the forefront of a new area of medicine that uses MRI as an imaging platform to perform real-time image-guided therapeutic interventions. This system, currently under development, is known as ClearView. The initial target application for ClearView is in the rapidly growing field of neuromodulation. Using the ClearView system, Surgi-Vision hopes to significantly improve the neurosurgical procedure for placing deep brain stimulation leads (DBS) in the brain. Additional applications under development for ClearView include MRI-guided EP to treat atrial fibrillation and MRI-guided precision delivery of drugs/cell therapies. Surgi-Vision holds extensive intellectual property in advanced MRI technologies, including 14 issued U.S. patents, 18 US patent applications and numerous international filings. Surgi-Vision's work in these fields is augmented by strong research relationships with The Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Francisco and the University of Utah.
About DARA BioSciencies, Inc.
DARA BioSciences(TM), Inc. ("DARA") is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based development-stage pharmaceutical company that acquires and develops promising therapeutic molecules. DARA focuses its therapeutic development efforts on small molecules from late preclinical development through phase 2 clinical trials. DARA has a portfolio of therapeutic candidates for neuropathic pain, metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes, and psoriasis. For more information please contact the Company at +1-919-872-5578 or visit our web site at www.darabio.com .
About Surgi-Vision, Inc.
Surgi-Vision is a leading developer of next-generation MRI technologies, focused on MRI-safety and MRI-guided therapeutic interventions for neuromodulation, cardiac EP and localized delivery of cell/drug therapies.
All statements in this news release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially for DARA from those projected. Those factors include risks and uncertainties relating to DARA's ability to develop and bring new products to market as anticipated, the current regulatory environment in which the company develops and sells its products, the market acceptance of those products, dependence on partners, successful performance under collaborative and other commercial agreements, competition, the strength of DARA's intellectual property, the intellectual property of others, DARA's ability to raise capital, and other risk factors identified in the documents DARA has filed, or will file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of DARA's filings with the SEC may be obtained from the SEC Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. DARA expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward- looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in DARA's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements are based. DARA BioSciences and the DARA logo are trademarks of DARA BioSciences, Inc.
Web site: http://www.darabio.com http://www.bostonscientific.com
John C. Thomas, Jr., Chief Financial Officer, +1-919-872-5578, or Lynn H. Morris, Sr. Manager, Investor Relations & Corporate Operations, +1-919-872-5578, both of DARA BioSciences
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