Oct. 10, 2005 — Dendritic Nanotechnologies Inc. of Mt. Pleaseant, Mich., announced it has entered into one of the first characterization collaborations with the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, an organization established by the National Cancer Institute to foster collaboration between the government and the private sector.

The agreement will focus on the characterization by the lab of Dendritic’s STARBURST dendrimers as MRI contrast agents for sensitive, non-invasive cardiovascular diagnostics. Dendritic focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of dendrimer technologies to create new products for the identification and treatment of disease.

The intent of the studies is to generate data in support of an investigative new drug filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Agency. It is estimated that the characterization efforts will take approximately 12 to 15 months.

In 2005, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Cancer Institute established the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory to perform preclinical efficacy and toxicity testing of nanoscale materials.