ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc.
ART announces acquisition of an exclusive license to an important patent portfolio in the medical sector
Saint-Laurent, Canada (ots-PRNewswire) -
ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc. (ART) (TSE: "ARA") is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has approved the acquisition of an exclusive worldwide license to use the inventions and patents developed by Emeritus Professor Dr. Britton Chance and owned by Non-Invasive Technology Inc. (NIT) with respect to the imaging of tissue using time domain technology invented in his off-campus laboratory.
In consideration of this exclusive worldwide license, ART will pay to NIT an undisclosed amount payable partly in cash and partly in common shares (subject to TSE and other regulatory approval), and royalties on the sale of the licensed technology or on the sale of medical products to be developed by ART to the extent that they incorporate the licensed technology.
ART is in the process of bringing to market an optical imaging device, known as SoftScan(tm), which will use time domain technology to detect and diagnose breast tumours. ART is also planning to commercialise other possible medical applications of time domain technology.
"Acquiring the exclusive worldwide license rights to such an extensive patent portfolio will allow ART to complement its own intellectual property with respect to time domain imaging and will also assist ART to develop its SoftScanô technology for other applications, including the detection and imaging of brain tumour, head injuries (hematoma) and strokes" said Paul Bisson, President and CEO of ART. "Many prominent scientists believe that time domain based laser imaging technology will become the gold standard in the optical imaging sector. According to a recent Frost and Sullivan Study, the medical imaging diagnostic market sector generated 12 billion US dollars in sales in the year 2000. It is a privilege for us to collaborate with Dr. Britton Chance, world-renowned biophysicist and biochemist, and a pioneer in the field of time domain optical imaging. Our collaboration with Dr. Chance, who is also a member of our Scientific Advisory Committee, will allow ART to benefit from his extensive knowledge and expertise in the field, and will help us bring to market medical products and applications using time domain based technology in the fight against cancer and trauma" stated Paul Bisson.
About Dr. Britton Chance and Non-Invasive Technology Inc.
Dr. Chance received two Ph.D.s - the first in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940, and the second in Biology from Cambridge University in 1942, as a Guggenheim Fellow. From 1942 to 1946 he worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory where he helped develop advanced radar systems that adapted the Norden Bomb Sight for "bombing through overcast" in 1943 and made possible electronic and memory devices used in ENIAC and EDVAC computers. From 1949 until 1983 he headed Johnson Research Foundation as well as the Department of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, where he did work in the basic understanding of cell energetics and published more than 600 refereed papers. After his contract with the University of Pennsylvania was terminated in 1983, he established his off-campus laboratory and from there contributed to the early work in the use of MRI as a diagnostic tool and continued with that theme by his seminal work using light as a non-invasive diagnostic medical tool. Dr. Chance and his family have funded his off-campus laboratory. Dr. Chance remains a Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Biochemistry/Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Non-Invasive Technology Inc., the Licensor, is a patent holding company with more than 40 patents for various technologies in the field of optical imaging for medical uses.
About Art
ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc. (ART) is a North American company that is involved in the research, design, development, and marketing of laser and thermal imaging technologies used in the detection of anomalies in the clinical and industrial sectors. ART is in the process of bringing to market an optical imaging device to detect and diagnose breast cancer. The device, known as SoftScan(tm), represents an innovative imaging solution for the detection of breast cancer, without the adverse consequences associated with traditional technology. ART is also currently commercialising its ISISô line of products that are based on ART's thermal imaging technology, and is used to detect defects in assembled printed circuit boards. ART is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE: "ARA").
This press release may contain forward looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that would cause actual events to differ materially from expectations. These risks and uncertainties are described in ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc.'s prospectus filed with Canadian Securities Commissions on June 22, 2000.
Contact:
Logos and pictures are available at http://www.shc.ca/web/artp
Montreal: Simard Hamel Communications
Patricia Bouchard (e-mail: patricia.bouchard@shc.ca);
Jos e-Michelle Simard (e-mail: josee-michelle.simard@shc.ca),
phone +1-(514) 287-9811;
Toronto: BenchMark Porter Novelli
Ashley Hennesssy (e-mail: ahennessy@bmporternovelli.com);
Leigh Shand (e-mail: lshand@bmporternovelli.com),
phone +1-(416) 423-6605;
Source:
ART Advanced Research Technologies Inc.
Susan Dub (e-mail: sdube@art.ca), Director of Communications;
Jean St-Jacques (e-mail: jstjacqu@art.ca), Director of Investor
Relations, phone +1-(514) 832-0777