Tuesday, October 7, 2008

HepaLife buys HepatAssist tech, other assets from Arbios

By Mass High Tech Staff

Medical device company HepaLife Technologies Inc., has purchased certain assets of Waltham-based Arbios Systems Inc., picking up that company’s HepatAssist liver support technology, along with various other assets.

Boston-based HepaLife  has also purchased related patents, licenses, clinical protocols and fast-track and orphan drug designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as part of its Arbios assets buy. No financial details of the purchase were disclosed.

According to Frank Menzler, president, CEO and chairman of HepaLife (OTCBB: HPLF), the acquisition substantially speeds up the progress of bringing the company’s commercial bioartificial liver device to market.

HepatAssist, based on pig-liver cells, was evaluated in the largest-ever Phase 2/3 clinical study of a bioartificial liver assist device, and the resultant clinical data was published in 2004, HepaLife officials said.

HepaLife also reports it has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, that it will terminate the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement it has with the USDA, ARS, as of Nov. 30, 2008.

The exclusive license agreement HepaLife has for the liver cell line with the USDA, ARS, for the use of patented liver cell lines in artificial liver devices and in-vitro toxicological testing platforms remains active, however, according to the company. Last month, HepaLife expanded the license, to allow the liver cells to be used as an in-vitro infection host system for viral and protozoan agents such as malaria.

HepaLife has also named Frank J. Fabio as chief financial officer. Fabio was employed by Ernst & Ernst from 1973 to 1980. Since 1980, he has maintained a private accounting practice in New York.