ATS Medical (Minneapolis) has entered into a partnership with privately held Genesee BioMedical (Denver) to develop and manufacture a line of heart valve annuloplasty rings for use by surgeons for repair of damaged heart valves. Terms were not disclosed. ATS said the partnership provides it access to a "unique portfolio of patents, intellectual property, and important manufacturing and product development experience specific to heart valve repair and the related tools and accessories necessary for entry into this segment of the worldwide heart valve therapy market."

CardioTech International (Wilmington, Massachusetts) has terminated its agreement to acquire medical device contract manufacturer CarTika Medical (Plymouth, Minnesota), citing the protracted time involved in obtaining regulatory approval for the deal first disclosed in November. The deal had been slated for completion in fiscal 1Q06. CardioTech is conducting human clinical trials with its CardioPass synthetic coronary artery bypass graft and also is working to develop a drug-eluting stent.

Quinton Cardiology Systems (Bothell, Washington) and defibrillator manufacturer Cardiac Science (Irvine, California) reported that in connection with their proposed merger, they have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an amended registration statement by CSQ Holding, a corporation established to facilitate the merger. As first reported in March, the deal will involve each share of Cardiac Science being exchanged for 0.10 of a share in the combined company; each Quinton share will be worth 0.77 of a share. Cardiac Science's shareholders, together with senior note holders, will own about 51% of the combined company, and Quinton's shareholders will own roughly 49%.

WorldHeart (Oakland, California) reported the results of its offer for all of the outstanding warrants to purchase common shares of the company and its offer for all the outstanding debentures convertible into common shares of the company. The debentures and warrants were issued in the company's September 2004 convertible debenture transaction. At the expiration of the offering all outstanding warrants and all outstanding debentures were tendered in accordance with the terms of the offers. "The tendering of all of the warrants and debentures along with our shareholder approvals at our annual and special meeting allows WorldHeart to proceed with completion of the strategic acquisition of the assets of MedQuest Products [Salt Lake City] and the related financing transaction with Maverick Venture Management," said Jal Jassawalla, president and CEO.