A Medical Device Daily

Invitrogen (Carlsbad, California), a provider of life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, reported an agreement to buy CellzDirect (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), for $57 million in cash.

CellzDirect provides hepatocyte-based cell products and related services used in the testing of new drugs. Primary human hepatocytes are the most accepted model for predicting a compound’s effects on enzymatic metabolism in the liver, the company said.

Such testing, recommended by FDA, can prevent costly failures in clinical trials. For this reason, CellzDirect’s products are mainly used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies in research and development, the company noted. Primary hepatocytes are also used in biomedical research to study liver diseases and to understand downstream implications of cellular function.

“CellzDirect’s high-value products and services will greatly complement Invitrogen’s market-leading portfolio of complete cell systems, including primary cells, media, matrices and growth factors,” said Greg Lucier, Invitrogen CEO/chairman. “The purchase of CellzDirect follows our strategy of investing in high growth areas of the market, specifically specialty cell systems.”

CellzDirect was founded in 2001 and employs about 90 at its sites in North Carolina and Austin, Texas. Revenue for calendar 2007 is expected to be about $18 million.

“CellzDirect has distinguished itself from other primary cell providers through scientific leadership, consultation with scientific and industry leaders, and constant communication with the medical community and regulatory bodies,” said Nicolas Barthelemy, Invitrogen’s senior VP of cell systems.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. The acquisition is expected to be EPS neutral in fiscal 2008, becoming accretive in fiscal 2009.

In other dealmaking activity:

• NovaMed (Chicago) said it has acquired The Buying Group (Minneapolis), an optical products purchasing organization, for about $7 million.

NovaMed acquires, develops and operates ambulatory surgery centers in partnership with physicians. It also owns and operates two wholesale optical labs and an optical products purchasing organization. Following the divestiture of two surgery centers held as discontinued operations, NovaMed will have majority ownership interests in 34 surgery centers in 17 states.

• I-many (Edison, New Jersey) has entered into an agreement to buy the “ClaimRight” data validation software business from Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX; Louisville). Closing is expected within the next several weeks, the companies said.

I-many provides contract management software and services for the enterprise.

GHX says it enables healthcare providers and suppliers in North America and Europe to reduce costs and improve margins by automating processes, reducing operating expenses and increasing knowledge-based decision-making. Products and services include trading partner connectivity, order and contract management and validation, data synchronization, sales force automation and business intelligence.