McLaren offered to buy Fernando Alonso a seat in the Indianapolis 500, but the Formula One champion told the team he was uncomfortable replacing a driver who had earned a spot in the race.
Alonso, with McLaren, failed to qualify for next Sunday's race , a humiliation for the proud racing team. Alonso is trying to win motorsports' version of the Triple Crown and Indy is his last remaining goal. McLaren was back at the 500 for the first time since it dominated in the 1970s.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown told The Associated Press the team would not buy its way into the 500 and was halting this year's effort. Bob Fernley, president of the IndyCar operation, was fired Sunday night after McLaren missed the race.
The team then made a few inquiries into buying out another driver to give Alonso a spot in the 33-car field in a non-McLaren backed effort. Brown said Alonso initially supported McLaren running a car for him if it was the right business decision to satisfy sponsor obligations. But once the Spaniard learned he'd be replacing another driver and competing for another team, he was not comfortable with that route.
McLaren had zeroed in on Oriol Servia's seat with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports because McLaren already has a partnership with Arrow.
"Fernando has done nothing wrong, he needs to be in the race and should be in the race and we do have a lot of partners who would like to be in the race," Brown told AP on Monday. "Do we buy him a seat? Well, he said 'I know what it takes to get into this race, it doesn't feel right to me to take another driver out that has earned it because my team has bought the seat.'
"There is a lot of pride within Fernando and McLaren."
The McLaren miss is one of the biggest failures in Indy 500 history. Roger Penske missed the show with Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1995, a year after dominating the race. Reigning CART champion Bobby Rahal missed it in 1993, and two-time Indy winner Rodger Ward never got up to speed to make the 1965 field.
More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2024--
Epredia, a global leader in precision cancer diagnostics and subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE: 6523), and NovaScan, Inc., a company that develops breakthrough technology for cancer detection and stratification, announce that they have signed a letter of intent for a U.S. exclusive commercial distribution agreement for MarginScan™, a medical device that will support physicians in real-time detection of non-melanoma skin cancer. Epredia has engaged Avantik, a company specializing in supporting diagnostic labs with their operations, with getting this new device into the hands of Mohs surgeons.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240502185446/en/
Skin cancer is the most common group of cancers diagnosed worldwide 1, and it is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime 2. Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common cancers in the United States, affecting more than 3 million Americans a year 3. More than 20 percent of Americans are expected to develop NMSC before reaching age 70. Most surgeries for NMSC are simple excisions, which may result in removal of substantial healthy tissue around the suspected cancer.
MarginScan™ is designed to address this challenge by supporting Mohs surgery procedures for skin cancer treatment. Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) is an operative method used to detect the presence or absence of a tumor in the margins of a surgical excision. In an MMS procedure, cancer tissue is excised in stages, then flash-frozen and assessed histologically in an onsite lab until clean margins are obtained. Previously, MMS was the only modality for skin cancer treatment that involved comprehensive margin assessment during a procedure. MarginScan™ is designed to use an electrical assessment to confirm cancer-free margins without the intraoperative histological assessment. This has the potential to allow for faster excisions that spare more healthy tissue, leading to improved outcomes for both patients and clinicians.
With this planned agreement, Epredia will serve as the primary distribution partner of MarginScan™ and will have exclusive distribution rights in the United States. Along with distribution, Epredia will be responsible for all marketing and commercial activities related to the launch and sale of MarginScan™. Epredia will work closely with Avantik to market and sell the new device to Mohs surgeons.
MarginScan™ will be the latest addition to Epredia’s world-class portfolio of precision cancer diagnostics products and services that provide a seamless end-to-end laboratory workflow, including slide scanners and printers, cryostats, tissue processors, and consumables such as slides and reagents. In addition to offering MarginScan™, Epredia will also provide consumable products that are used with the device, such as the MarginScan™ electrode and proprietary electrolytic gel used during excisions.
The two companies anticipate a 2025 U.S. launch for MarginScan™. This distribution agreement builds on a previous partnership between NovaScan and PHC Corporation, another subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation that is focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative medical testing devices. PHC Holdings Corporation is referred to collectively with its subsidiaries as PHC Group.
Steven Lynum, President of Epredia, said, “With more than 85 years supporting precision cancer diagnostics, we strive to continuously serve the changing needs of our customers by working with innovative companies like NovaScan to deliver the best solutions. Helping providers make faster, more accurate diagnoses and ultimately improving patient care is what makes this initiative so important.”
Craig Davis, CEO of NovaScan, remarked, “NovaScan is thrilled to be partnering with Epredia to bring MarginScan™ to clinical healthcare providers in the U.S. We are proud for MarginScan™ to join Epredia’s portfolio of market-leading cancer diagnostics products. We believe that MarginScan™ will play an important role in skin cancer detection and treatment.”
Mark Zacur, CEO of Avantik, added, “Our team is continually sourcing the best solutions to expand our portfolio of solutions supporting Mohs clinics with their critical work. We are honored that Epredia selected Avantik as their partner to bring this breakthrough device to our network of providers and their patients.”
About Epredia
Epredia is a global leader in the anatomical pathology field, providing comprehensive solutions for precision cancer diagnostics and tissue diagnostics. Powered by key brands, including Erie Scientific, Menzel-Gläser, Microm, Shandon, and Richard-Allan Scientific, Epredia’s portfolio includes microscope slides, instruments and consumables. Epredia was established following the acquisition of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Anatomical Pathology business by PHC Holdings in 2019. Epredia has operations in major sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and China with a total of around 1,200 employees. Epredia is committed to achieving its mission to improve lives by enhancing cancer diagnostics for patients around the world. For further information on Epredia and its products, please visit www.epredia.com.
About PHC Holdings Corporation (PHC Group)
PHC Holdings Corporation (TSE 6523) is a global healthcare company with a mission of contributing to the health of society through healthcare solutions that have a positive impact and improve the lives of people. Its subsidiaries (referred to collectively as PHC Group) include PHC Corporation, Epredia, Ascensia Diabetes Care, LSI Medience Corporation, Mediford, and Wemex. Together, these companies develop, manufacture, sell and service solutions across diabetes management, healthcare solutions, life sciences and diagnostics. PHC Group’s consolidated net sales in FY2022 were JPY 356.4 billion with global distribution of products and services in more than 125 countries and regions. www.phchd.com
About NovaScan
About NovaScan: Based in Chicago, NovaScan ( www.novascaninc.com ) is a clinical stage oncology diagnostic and stratification company that has developed a low cost, point of care platform for real time cancer detection and stratification. NovaScan’s platform is active in skin, GI, lung and breast.
About Avantik
Founded in 1971, Avantik specializes in supporting diagnostic laboratories with maintaining their critical operations. The company offers a national network of more than 250 engineers, technicians and service personnel that assist diagnostic labs with increasing their productivity, enhancing their products and streamlining their processes. It also manages a comprehensive inventory of high-quality lab equipment and consumables that it continually expands to provide labs with new products that advance their goals for fast and accurate diagnoses. In 2023, Avantik partnered with Water Street Healthcare Partners, an investment firm dedicated to building market leaders in health care, to advance its goals for expansion and building on its legacy as a trusted partner to diagnostic laboratories. To learn more about Avantik, visit www.avantik-us.com.
1 Source: World Health Organization.
2 Source: World Health Organization.
3 Source: American Academy of Dermatology.
MarginScan™ Device for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Detection (Photo: Business Wire)
