A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

IDX Systems (Burlington, Vermont) reported that it has agreed to acquire the assets of RealTimeImage (RTI; San Bruno, California/Tel Aviv, Israel), a developer of web-based medical specialty imaging solutions, for an estimated deal value of $15.5 million.

RT's Pixels-on-Demand image streaming and multi-frame, cine-motion image viewing technology is integrated into the recently unveiled IDX Imagecast for cardiology product offering, and IDX said the agreement is part of its strategy to acquire "leading-edge technology and expertise."

With RTI technology, Imagecast for Cardiology integrates cardiology information and imaging data across multiple modalities and locations. IDX said that the technology extends its own technology, named Infrastructure for Procedural Medicine, which it terms "a strategy for providing specialists with procedural medicine and workflow-based solutions operating on a common architecture."

James Crook Jr., CEO of IDX, called the proposed purchase of RealTimeImage "the latest milestone in our 36-year track record of innovation . . . The Imagecast product offerings have been ranked as a leading solution in the diagnostic imaging market. We expect that increased focus in this area will result in greater customer success and enhanced value for our shareholders."

Zvi Eintracht, CEO of RTI, said that the merger enables his company to take its technology to a wider market. "Our company's vision for delivering [to] cardiologists secure, real-time access to image data over any network connection can be realized through integration into IDX's leading healthcare technology solutions."

Imagecast for Cardiology's PACS system features unified database architecture with the Imagecast workflow product line. This approach provides role-based workflow and access to all related images.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

RTI was established in 1996 and reports more than 500 organizations using its technology.

Founded in 1969, IDX Systems reports its systems used by about 150,000 physicians and installed at more than 3,400 sites, including more than 850 group practices and about 370 integrated delivery networks serving more than 500 hospitals.

BD Diagnostics (Sparks, Maryland) said that it has acquired the technology and other assets of FFE Weber (Munich, Germany), a privately held company that specializes in the separation and fractionation of complex proteins.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

BD Diagnostics, a unit of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.; Franklin Lakes, New Jersey), said FFE Weber's technologies are targeted at the emerging field of proteomics, which is of growing importance in the academic research, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical diagnostic markets.

Noting the need for new techniques for both clinical sample collection and processing, William Kozy, president of BD Diagnostics, said, "The complexity and dynamic range of proteins within a human plasma sample make it difficult to detect the very low abundance proteins that may prove indicative of a disease state."

He said the protein separation technology acquired from FFE Weber "provides an important pre-analytical separation step that will help proteomics researchers to find, characterize and validate new classes of biomarkers."

Located near the Max-Planck Institute in Munich, FFE Weber manufactures the Free Flow Electrophoresis protein separation system. The technology enables a pre-analytical protein separation step that, when used in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography, 2-D gel and mass spectrometry-based protein analytical procedures, allows deeper interrogation into the plasma proteome than is possible with current methodologies, BD Diagnostics said in a statement.

The German company was founded by Dr. Gerhard Weber, who has functioned as owner and lead inventor for many years. Weber, who will continue to work closely with BD, said the U.S. company "has proven expertise in bringing important new technology platforms from pure research application into clinical utility."

He said that although the current focus for his firm's protein fractionation platform is academic protein analytics and biomarker discovery, "the clinical diagnostic potential for proteomics cannot be ignored. BD Diagnostics will ensure the proper application of this technology in the research segment and its potential evolution into clinical laboratory workflow."

Edward Ludwig, BD's chairman, president and CEO, said, "This acquisition represents an important step in [our] strategy to invest in emerging technologies which position the company in areas that hold promise for new diagnostic methods, such as the evolution of protein biomarker research into the clinical diagnostic lab of the future."

In other dealmaking news:

Siemens Medical Solutions USA (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG (Erlangen, Germany), reported the expiration of the initial offering period of its previously announced tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of CTI Molecular Imaging (CTI: Knoxville, Tennessee) and the commencement of a subsequent offering period.

Siemens in March unveiled the $1 billion blockbuster-sized deal to acquire CTI, thus expanding its imaging offerings into the positron emission tomography (PET) sector. The deal has been proposed for closing this quarter.

The tender offer expired at midnight April 28. A total of somewhat less than 39.1 million shares, representing about 80% of the outstanding common stock of CTI, were tendered prior to the expiration of the offer, Siemens said. Somewhat more than 5.77 million additional shares, representing about 12% of the outstanding common stock of CTI, were tendered, subject to guaranteed delivery.

The following day, Siemens launched a subsequent offering period for all of the remaining untendered shares to meet the goal of acquiring at least 90% of the shares of CTI and to give CTI's non-tendering stockholders the opportunity to participate in the offer and to receive the $20.50 price on an expedited basis.

Procedures for tendering shares during the subsequent offering period are the same as the initial offering period with two exceptions: shares cannot be delivered by the guaranteed delivery procedure and pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission rules, shares tendered during the subsequent offering period may not be withdrawn.

CTI Molecular Imaging develops products and services for PET, a diagnostic imaging technology for detection and treatment of cancer, neurological disorders and cardiac disease.

Motion DNA (Phoenix) reported that its board, in a majority vote, has approved an acquisition offer made last week by Formula 51-2. Two members of the board approved the buyout, while a third voted "in favor of pursuing other suitors," the company said.

After receiving the initial $2.50-a-share offer, Motion DNA officials submitted a counteroffer of $4.20 per share, or about $100 million. The counteroffer was rejected, and the two parties then agreed on a $3.125-a-share price.

The deal, valued at $75 million, includes cash and stock for all Motion DNA shares held by control persons and cash to reacquire all of the company's public shares at a price of $3.125 each.

Motion DNA officials also said they are discussing a "plan to reward the company's long-term shareholders prior to the completion of the acquisition."

Motion DNA provides diagnostic testing for medical professionals and sports organizations. It says that its "biomechanical analyses and detailed reports" are designed to prevent injuries, identify physical limitations, diagnose pre-existing injuries related to biomechanics and improve physical performance levels.

Formula 51-2 is an Arizona investment company. The company was organized in 2003 by former NFL football player Jamir Miller.