TherOx Gets OK on Guide Wire
TherOx Inc. says it received regulatory approval to sell its first product--a hollow, super-fine guide wire that’s used to treat vascular ailments in the heart and brain.
The privately held Costa Mesa-based developer and maker of medical devices says it will sell the item--which has a .014-inch diameter--in several lengths domestically for various uses in the heart and brain. Made of stainless steel and plastic, and resembling a human hair, the item can be used to penetrate a clogged vessel, support other treatment devices, and deliver drugs to tissue, says Jonathan Strauss, the company’s marketing director.
Items will be priced at about $150 apiece.
TherOx was founded three years ago by Paul Zalesky, its chief operating officer, and Dr. Richard Spears, a Detroit physician. The company runs on venture capital financing, employs 24 people, and is trying to develop a device for delivering oxygen to tissue during vascular surgery.
In the process of developing the oxygen-carrying device, TherOx came up with the guide wire product, Strauss said. It aims to distribute the line through a major device company and is in discussions with possible corporate partners.
The company said the products have been tested in clinics in the United States, England, Italy and Canada and it intends to market the devices internationally.
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Barbara Marsh covers health care for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7762 and at barbara.marsh@latimes.com
