PAVmed Inc. (Nasdaq: PAVM, PAVMZ) (the “Company” or “PAVmed”), a highly differentiated, multiproduct medical device company, today announced the Company and its newly formed subsidiary, Solys Diagnostics Inc. (“Solys”), have entered into definitive license and shareholder agreements with Airware Inc. (“Airware”), and its newly formed subsidiary Liquid Sensing Inc. (“Liquid Sensing”), to develop and commercialize non-invasive diagnostic products using Nondispersive Infrared (NDIR) laser technology developed by laser technology pioneer Dr. Jacob Wong, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Airware.
Dr. Wong’s NDIR laser technology, secured by intellectual property covered under the license agreement, promises to fulfill a decades-long goal of noninvasively measuring glucose, electrolytes and other important biochemical substances in patients, without the need for blood draws, needle sticks or other invasive maneuvers. These technologies have broad applications and large market opportunities in both inpatient settings, where millions of patients undergo frequent blood draws to monitor glucose and other substances, and outpatient settings, where tens of millions of patients use multiple finger sticks daily to manage their diabetes.
“For over fifty years, I have dedicated my professional life to improving the human condition through laser technology,” said Dr. Wong. “Twenty-five years ago, my colleagues and I first sought to tackle the unique challenges of using lasers to detect molecules, including glucose, in liquid and tissues. We have now honed the technology to the point where accurate, commercially viable, noninvasive measurement of blood glucose is around the corner. We are very excited to have found an ideal development and commercialization partner in PAVmed and look forward to being able to offer this technology to patients in the near future.”
“We are proud to partner with Dr. Wong and his team to develop and commercialize revolutionary, non-invasive laser-based diagnostic products, based on proprietary technology and proven results in established scientific models,” said Lishan Aklog, M.D., PAVmed’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Dr. Wong has been a legend in the field of infrared laser technology since completing his doctorate under Nobel Laureate and Stanford Professor Arthur Schawlow, the co-inventor of the laser. His scientific and commercial impact across multiple industries includes groundbreaking laser-based products for Hughes Aircraft, a predecessor of General Electric Sensing and Hewlett-Packard’s healthcare division.”
“This is PAVmed’s third such partnership with world-class innovators following our licensing of EsoGuard/EsoCheck and DisappEAR,” added Dr. Aklog. “It also falls squarely within our long-term strategy of being opportunistic, but highly selective, in expanding our portfolio with groundbreaking technologies, addressing large unmet clinical needs with low regulatory hurdles, allowing us to access large market opportunities with modest capital investments.
“The partnership provides PAVmed an immediate opportunity to quickly and efficiently develop and commercialize inpatient applications of Dr. Wong’s NDIR technology – most notably a device to noninvasively measure blood glucose using a clip on the hand, just as easily as now-ubiquitous pulse oximetry devices noninvasively measure oxygen saturation levels. Neither the initial joint development work, which is scheduled to take less than six months, nor subsequent regulatory and development work to create a first commercial product, will materially impact our overall budget. Upon completion, I expect several large companies active in the critical care monitoring space to have a strong interest in acquiring or partnering with us on the commercialization of such a product.
“Future inpatient applications within the scope of the license agreement include devices to noninvasively measure electrolytes and other common biochemicals in inpatients, without the need for daily blood draws. Finally, for no additional investment of capital, PAVmed has secured meaningful participation in the future commercial success of outpatient applications of the technology developed by Liquid Sensing, including the holy grail in this field – replacing diabetic finger sticks or continuous needle-based glucose monitoring (CGM) with a portable or wearable non-invasive blood glucose device. PAVmed has also secured an exclusive option to expand its interest in Liquid Sensing at its sole discretion through a right of first offer on future investments,” Dr. Aklog concluded.
Continuous insulin infusions, which typically require hourly blood glucose measurements to optimize control and avoid serious complications, have become a mainstay of modern intensive care. Dr. Marc W. Gerdisch, internationally recognized heart surgeon and Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis described the clinical potential of the Solys technology as follows:
“By protocol, one hundred percent of my patients, and the hundreds of thousands of patients who undergo heart surgery each year, are placed on a continuous insulin infusion starting in the operating room and continuing for a period of 24-72 hours during which we check their blood glucose every hour. My patients complain bitterly about being awoken every hour throughout the day and night for finger sticks. A noninvasive device to measure blood glucose would be a gamechanger, a ‘must-have’ technology which would immediately improve the way we care for our patients, while lowering healthcare costs.”
Source: Company Press Release
