A Medical Device Daily
Transoma Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported yesterday that it is postponing its initial public offering, citing unfavorable market conditions. The company said it expects to proceed with the IPO “at a future date” when it determines the more appropriate timing.
Earlier this week the company reported its IPO pricing in the $14 to $16 range. The IPO was valued at up to $54 million for 4 million shares of common stock (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 5, 2008).
Transoma first reported filing for the public offering last fall (MDD, Oct. 15, 2007). It had planned to use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, and for potential acquisitions of business, technologies and products.
Transoma makes implantable, subcutaneous, wireless diagnostic and monitoring products. The company is focused on the chronic cardiovascular disease market, through its Patient Management Device division, and the biomedical research market, through its Data Sciences International division.
In other financing activity:
• Point Biomedical (San Carlos, California) said it closed $25 million, the first tranche of a $50 million private equity financing led by Vendanta Capital. Point said it expects to draw the second tranche in 2Q08, upon achieving certain milestones.
The company said it would use the proceeds to complete the clinical development of its lead product, CARDIOsphere.
“CARDIOsphere has the potential to allow patients to undergo evaluation for coronary artery disease [CAD] in a cardiologist’s office without the radiation exposure of currently available perfusion technologies,” said Larry Posner, MD, a Vedanta partner.
Posner and Parag Saxena, co-founder and managing partner of Vedanta, will join Point’s board.
Other investors in the financing include Amberbrook, CHL Medical Partners, De Novo Ventures, Fininvest, Institutional Venture Partners, INVESCO Private Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners, Saints Capital, Saratoga Ventures, and William Blair Capital Partners.
Point is developing products designed for the management of ischemic diseases. Its initial focus is on myocardial ischemia caused by CAD.
• Safeguard Scientifics (Wayne, Pennsylvania), a holding company, reported co-leading a $7.7 million Series A financing round for Alverix (San Jose, California), a point-of-care diagnostics provider, with New Venture Partners.
Alverix said it would use the proceeds for hires, product development and commercialization of its POC assay devices.
Gary Kurtzman, MD, VP of Life Sciences at Safeguard, and interim CEO for Alverix, and David Tennenhouse, partner at New Venture Partners, will join Alverix’s board.
“Alverix’s technology is well positioned to exploit portions of the $9 billion fragmented POC and $18.7 billion central laboratory markets where its devices are applicable,” Kurtzman said. “This disruptive technology delivers more functionality, in particular greater sensitivity and accuracy at a greatly reduced cost. The company’s technology platform allows it to expand accessibility of existing and new diagnostic tests and promotes the next generation of diagnostics that will be designed for broad use by physicians and patients.”
According to Safeguard, two macro trends are fueling increased demand for POC rapid tests: the cost and efficiency of the delivery of healthcare augmented as more diagnostics tests are performed POC; and consumers taking greater ownership of their own healthcare.
Alverix’s product focus is handheld reader devices with the accuracy and precision of laboratory instrumentation. Alverix, founded last year, is a spin-out from Avago Technologies (San Jose), a supplier of analog interface components for communications, industrial and consumer applications.
• Mediware Information Systems (Lenexa, Kansas) said it has authorized a plan for the repurchase of up to $4 million of its common stock at such times and prices as the president/CEO or CFO determines appropriate.
Mediware develops blood and medication management software systems designed to encapsulate information supporting patient therapies, reinforce patient safety practices and improve efficiencies to lower costs.