A Medical Device Daily

Intermagnetics General (Latham, New York) said the Securities and Exchange Commission has declared effective the proxy statement for its acquisition by the Philips Holding USA subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics.

The merger plan was reported by Philips and Intermagnetics in mid-June (Medical Device Daily, June 16, 2006).

The merger will be presented for the approval of Intermagnetics shareholders at a special meeting scheduled for Sept. 26, at which shareholders who held shares as of the record date of Aug. 16 will be entitled to vote.

Completion of the transaction remains subject to the approval of Intermagnetics' shareholders at the special meeting, to European regulatory approval and to the satisfaction or waiver of other conditions and terms of the merger agreement. It is expected to close during 4Q06.

Intermagnetics also said that it had reached an agreement in principle to settle two class actions filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Albany County, that challenged the merger agreement and related transactions.

Intermagnetics said it has technical leadership in the MRI market as well as its expanding businesses that encompass Invivo Diagnostic Imaging (focusing on MRI components & imaging sub-systems) and Invivo Patient Care (focusing on monitoring & other patient care devices).

The company has a 35-year history as a manufacturer of superconducting materials, high-field magnets, medical systems and components, and other specialized high-value-added devices.

People in Places

• Dilys Gore, PhD, was named European manager of Avery Biomedical Devices (ABD; Commack, New York). She also will be ABD's representative to the European Union. Previously, Gore worked in sales, technical support and surgical assistance for breathing pacemakers at companies such as Straumann AG and Avery Laboratories. Avery makes breathing pacemakers for ventilator-dependent patients with quadriplegia, central sleep apnea and diaphragm paralysis.