Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ANPI; TSX:ANP) has entered into a licensing agreement to market and distribute an arterial implant that prevents pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal vein blockage that limits the amount of oxygen entering the lungs.
Designed by Pennsylvania's Rex Medical, the Option filter is implanted into a pulmonary artery that delivers deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. The filter is designed with flared struts to dissolve clot volume and preserve blood flow.
Pending regulatory approval for the filter, Angiotech expects it to be launched commercially in the U.S. and in the European Union by the end of 2008.
Financial terms of the Angiotech-Rex Medical agreement were not disclosed.
Angiotech also announced its revised financial results for 2006 and 2007.
Its adjusted net loss for 2007 was $65.9 million versus the $59.4 million it had originally reported in February. Because of a readjustment to its 2006 results, tax provisions that were originally part of its 2007 results are now being recorded for 2006.
Angiotech blamed the 2006 readjustments, which favourably affected net earnings by $6.1 million, on its use of incorrect tax rates and tax calculations.
To avoid future "material weaknesses" it blamed for the ineffective reporting, Angiotech said it will outsource its tax preparations to an independent public accounting firm.