Micro Therapeutics Gets OK to Test Onyx System

Micro Therapeutics Inc., an Irvine medical device maker, said Wednesday it has received federal approval to start a 106-patient trial of its onyx liquid embolic system to treat arteriovenous malformations.

The company said in a press release that arteriovenous malformations are clusters of abnormally formed blood vessels that connect arteries and veins. When weaker venous walls of malformations receive high pressure of blood flow, the veins can rupture, causing life-threatening bleeding in the brain.

Micro Therapeutics, which specializes in minimally invasive devices to treat vascular disease, said the Food and Drug Administration’s approval will allow it to use two patient groups in its trials.

One group’s malformations will be treated with onyx, and the other with a cyanocrylate glue, which received FDA approval late last year, the company said. The company believes Onyx has an advantage over the glue because it is nonadhesive.

Micro Therapeutics stock gained 30 cents Wednesday to close at $4.78 a share on Nasdaq.