A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Pediatrix Medical Group (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) reported that it has completed a new $350 million revolving credit facility that will provide a funding source for acquisitions, as well as other corporate purposes. The credit facility also features an option that would allow Pediatrix, under certain conditions, to increase the total borrowing capacity under the facility to $400 million.

The new facility matures in five years, and it replaces a $225 million revolving credit facility that was due to expire in 2009.

The company has successfully used its cash and credit facility to execute a growth strategy that led to a national group practice of neonatal, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology and pediatric intensive physicians and advanced practitioners. The company is also executing a new strategic opportunity to develop a national anesthesia physician group practice.

The new line of credit was provided by a syndicate of 12 financial institutions, with Wachovia Bank NA as administrative agent, Bank of America as syndication agent and U.S. Bank as documentation agent. Wachovia Capital Markets was joint lead arranger and sole bookrunner and Banc of America Securities as joint lead arranger.

Pediatrix is a provider of neonatal, maternal-fetal and pediatric physician subspecialty services and recently expanded to include anesthesiology services. It is also is one of the nation's largest providers of newborn hearing screens.

Pathwork Diagnostics (Sunnyvale, California), a molecular diagnostics company focused on oncology, reported the closing of a $20 million financing led by Abingworth, which joins the existing investors participating in this round, including Prospect Venture Partners, Advent Venture Partners, Novus Ventures, Venrock and Versant Ventures.

The funding announcement came on the heels of FDA's clearance for the Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test for diagnosis of tumors of uncertain origin, including poorly differentiated, undifferentiated and metastatic tumors.

"With this $20 million round of financing completed and the recent FDA clearance, the company is well positioned to fund important commercialization programs, including offering the Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test through an additional distribution channel, and building our pipeline," said President/CEO Deborah Neff.

In addition to offering the Pathwork test as a service through the CLIA-certified Pathwork Diagnostics Laboratory, FDA clearance of the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) kit version of the test will give Pathwork's customers the opportunity to purchase an IVD kit and run the test in their own labs.

"Our channels to market are expanding and we are building our customer support team to provide outstanding service to our customers," said Neff. "In addition, we are investigating new applications of our technology that will enable us to offer new, breakthrough diagnostic capabilities to the oncology community."

In other financing news, XDx (Brisbane, California), which develops gene expression-based tests for monitoring transplant rejection, filed to withdraw its IPO on Friday, citing market conditions? It had planned to raise $86.3 million.

The lead underwriters on that deal were JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

The company filed its IPO registration in October 2007

Earlier this month, the company reported receiving market clearance from the FDA for its AlloMap Molecular Expression Testing, a blood test used to aid in the management of heart transplant patients after surgery.

"We intend to go public sometime, [but] unfortunately the market conditions are not favorable right now," XDx President/CEO Pierre Cassigneul told Diagnostics & Imaging Week in an interview at the time of the AlloMap approval. He said the company will seek a private round of financing this year to keep moving its business forward.