Medical Device Link.

Originally Published MX March/April 2006

MILESTONES

St. Jude Medical Inc. (St. Paul, MN) has completed its acquisition of privately held Savacor Inc. (Los Angeles). The acquisition, completed for an initial cash payment of $50 million and undisclosed milestone terms, complements St. Jude's development efforts in managing congestive heart failure. Savacor has heart failure diagnostic and therapy guidance products and technologies under development and in clinical evaluation, reports St. Jude.

As part of an ongoing restructuring process, Medical International Technology Inc. (Denver), which specializes in needle-free injectors for both humans and animals, is forming two divisions: a human medical technology division and an animal medical technology division. Concurrently, the company is proceeding with its acquisition of ScanView (Montreal), a manufacturer of portable ultrasound technology that also has animal and human applications.

Terumo Medical Corp. (Somerset, NJ), in an effort to strengthen its bond with vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and neuroradiologists, reports that it is ending its 15-year marketing, sales, and distribution relationship with Boston Scientific Corp. (Natick, MA) for its vascular interventional products. Terumo plans to launch its own direct sales, marketing, and distribution strategy in the United States and Latin America in April. As part of the strategy shift, Terumo has expanded its internal and external sales teams, tripled the size of its marketing team, and launched a national communications program to inform its customers of the transition.

Biophan Technologies Inc. (Rochester, NY), a biomedical device technology developer, has entered a purchase agreement to acquire a substantial minority interest in Myotech LLC (Rochester, NY), a privately held medtech company that intends to commercialize a family of products based on its patent-pending cardiac assist technology. Biophan's minority interest of about 40% will be acquired for about 4.9 million shares of Biophan stock and a cash payment of $2.2 million over a six-month period. Biophan has the option to acquire up to 54% of Myotech over the next two years.

Duravest Inc. (Chicago), a publicly traded holding company that invests in medical technologies, has acquired a controlling stake in Bio-Magnetic Therapy Systems Inc. (Munich), a medical technology firm dedicated to noninvasive treatment of osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and orthopedic injuries through its patented pulsed-signal therapy. In addition to this acquisition, Duravest, through its other subsidiary, Estracure Inc. (Montreal), is developing a next-generation coronary stent.

Vogel

Pluromed Inc. (Woburn, MA), a medtech start-up, announced that seven CEOs, former CEOs, and founders of U.S. medical device companies invested in the initial close of its series A convertible preferred stock offering. "We believe it is important to have investors that substantiate our view of the business opportunity," said Jean-Marie Vogel, Pluromed cofounder and CEO. "I feel very privileged to have the ability to access that extraordinary pool of talent, and expect it to be a major asset as we continue to seek their advice and guidance to build the value of Pluromed." A private medical device company, Pluromed has developed LeGoo, a product designed to manage bleeding during surgery and interventional procedures.

Soinski

Specialized Health Products International Inc. (SHPI; Bountiful, UT), a manufacturer of disposable devices designed to minimize the risk of accidental needle sticks, and The Med-Design Corp. (Ventura, CA), also a safety medical device supplier, plan to merge to create a leading technology provider for safety medical needles. If approved by stockholders, the combined company will be renamed Salus Medical Inc. "Due to significant overlap in capabilities, personnel, and corporate and operational infrastructure, we anticipate being able to reduce our combined annual expenses by approximately $4 million to $5 million, or approximately 70 to 85% of Med-Design's stand-alone expenses on an annual basis," said Jeff Soinski, president and CEO of SHPI.

Specialty device manufacturer American Medical Instruments Holdings Inc. (AMIH; Lake Forest, IL) has acquired Point Technologies Inc. (Boulder, CO), a component manufacturer serving the biotech, medical device, and semiconductor industries, reported Point. The company will become AMIH's contract manufacturing division, which will cater to finished medical device manufacturers.

Inion Oy (Tampere, Finland), which specializes in the development of biodegradable medical implants, has opened its European Technical Centre in Cambridge, UK. The new center will focus on researching and developing the company's next-generation biomaterials.

McMorrow

Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp. (Bothell, WA), a manufacturer of handheld ultrasound instruments, has acquired Saturn Biomedical Systems Inc. (Burnaby, BC, Canada), the privately held manufacturer of the GlideScope video laryngoscope. Diagnostic Ultrasound, which is also privately held, reports that Saturn is a profitable company with new product introductions in the pipeline. "The patented GlideScope technology improves outcomes for difficult airway patients in surgery and in the ER, and it offers a new standard of care in airway management for anesthesiologists," said Gerald McMorrow, CEO, founder, and chairman of Diagnostic Ultrasound. "We're excited about bringing this improved technology to acute care, and we're looking forward to a continued expansion of our product offerings in this rapidly growing market segment."

ATS Medical Inc. (Minneapolis), a manufacturer and marketer of cardiac surgery products and services, has entered a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of 3F Therapeutics (Lake Forest, CA), a privately held medical device company operating in the emerging field of minimally invasive beating-heart tissue valve replacement. "We are tremendously excited about how this transaction strengthens our company's position in the heart-valve therapy space and further heightens our growth potential in the cardiac surgery market," said Michael Dale, chairman, president, and CEO of ATS Medical.

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