Allen McClay, founder of Almac, has transferred part of his company into a biomedical philanthropic organization. Part of the charity's mission: fostering collaboration between academia and industry. Said McClay: "The McClay Foundation will fund projects which harness the energies of these two sectors to advance diagnosis and treatments for the prevention, control and cure of disease. By funding such projects, we will improve the lives of many people who today have limited access to suitable treatments." Here's the news release, which includes something novel—a video.

After years in which the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA were at odds over how to calculate the industry's compliance (or lack thereof) with post-marketing commitments, a peace treaty appears to have been signed. Now, suddenly, 80 percent of 1,531 post-marketing projects are on schedule, according to an FDA-commissioned consulting study by Booz Allen Hamilton. The report was completed back in April. It's not clear why the FDA needed five months to distribute the news ... unless the agency hoped it would get lost in the summer news doldrums. Here's the release.

XClinical, a supplier of electronic data capture, inked deals with a European research network and a contract research organization. Gesellschaft für Pädiatrische Onkologie und Hämatologie and the Hannover Clinical Trial Center (HCTC) will use XClinical's CDISC-certified system. "We have been convinced by the system’s user-friendliness. Also XClinical’s active membership in the CDISC organization has been an important argument,” said Heiko von der Leyen, CEO at HCTC. Here's the release.

This wire service story says the market for contract research services in China is currently $145 million and growing at an 18 percent annual rate. The source of the data: Frost & Sullivan. The article notes that with fewer animal rights activists, limited regulation and an abundant supply of primates, China is a great place for preclinical studies.

Who will take Edward Kennedy's spot as chief of the Senate health committee? Two Kennedy allies, Christopher Dodd and Barbara Mikulski, are said to be vying for the job, according to the New York Times, which cites The Pink Sheet.

BioClinica acquired CardioNow, a specialist in DICOM imaging for sharing, tracking and archiving medical images. CardioNow had been a unit of Agfa Healthcare. Terms have not yet been disclosed in public financial filings. The deal raises the possibility that imaging solutions will become an obligatory element of the top eclinical suites. BioClinica said it would soon be able to offer CardioNow technology to existing customers. Said Mark Weinstein, BioClinica president and CEO: "Once CardioNow is integrated with our current processes—[in] approximately 45 days—we can offer our clients an immediate cost savings on each of the more than 200 clinical trials that we are currently supporting."

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