Ark Thera and Health Care Logistics in Kerraboot deal

UK-based drugmaker Ark Therapeutics, a specialist health care group focused on vascular diseases and cancer, says that its medical devices subsidiary, Patient Plus, has signed a pilot distribution and marketing agreement with the USA's Health Care Logistics, in relation to its Kerraboot wound care device for the management of leg and foot ulcers. The agreement, which will run for an initial one-year period, is designed to establish the product in the USA and to allow the UK firm to collect data that supports its economic benefits. Under the terms of the deal, HCL will market Kerraboot to its existing customers in the eastern parts of the USA, which includes hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care centers. Ark will supply the product at an agreed "cost plus" transfer price, in addition to providing support in establishing its usage with key opinion leaders who have shown an interest. Analysts at Piper Jaffray said that they would not be revising their sales forecasts for the product - L400,000 ($742,971) in 2006 and L700,000 in 2007, because, despite clear evidence of clinical benefit, Kerraboot has met with resistance from UK medical practitioners who use more traditional wound care treatments.