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| Corvida's Halo--Courtesy of Corvida |
Corvida Medical is starting a research study for its technology to safely handle hazardous drugs. It's in the process of recruiting additional cancer centers to join the multicenter study designed to evaluate improvements to its first medical device, a closed system transfer device called the Halo.
The study is backed by almost $5 million in grants from the National Cancer Institute as part of a series of Small Business Innovation Research grants. The company hopes to gain FDA clearance for and to launch the Halo device next year.
The preparation and delivery of chemotherapy puts more than 5.5 million U.S. healthcare workers at risk for exposure, Corvida estimates. The potential health problems resulting from this exposure include cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, as well as other irreversible events that can occur after even low-level exposures, according to Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH).
"The NCI SBIR study is a significant effort by the company to get leading cancer institutions in the U.S. to explore applications of Halo and to demonstrate forward movement in safe handling," Kent Smith, president and CEO of Corvida, said in a statement.
The Halo is a closed system transfer device (CSTD), which mechanically inhibits the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system and the escape of hazardous drugs or vapors outside the system. The device is designed to be an improvement upon existing CSTD technology, which can leak liquid or vapor at connections between components such as drug vial adapters, syringe and line adapters, and bag spikes.
Corvida is a startup out of the University of Iowa Research Park and is backed by investors including DVG and Linseed Capital.
- here is the release