A Medical Device Daily

Intimate Bridge 2 Conception (lb2C; Pittsburgh), a direct-to-consumer company that is focused on reproductive health, said that it has closed on a $4.3 million Series A financing. The round was led by a private, Pennsylvania-based investment group and was joined by the PLSG Accelerator Fund. Ib2C will use the proceeds of this round for manufacturing and marketing to prepare for the launch of its first product in 2012.

Ib2C is developing healthcare products to assist women and couples to achieve their reproductive goals. Ib2C's lead product, the Stork, is a proprietary device that is intended to assist couples with conception in the privacy of their own homes. The Stork is designed to address the unmet need of a growing market of couples that grapple with fertility challenges. It is a simple, private, affordable, non-pharmaceutical product that will provide couples with an alternative to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), which can involve invasive procedures, trips to physician offices, long delays, and can be both expensive and unpredictable. The Stork is currently being evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. The technology behind the Stork has been shown historically to achieve results that are comparable to those of intrauterine insemination.

“Today, one in six women seeks help conceiving. This segment of the population has very few options, most of which are slow, invasive, costly and frequently awkward. We are delighted to offer them an option that can deliver technology, hope and control in the privacy of their own home,“ said Ib2C's founder/CEO Steve Bollinger. “This financing will enable us to launch our first product and begin to help families in 2012,“ he added.

In other financings activity; Golden Meditech (Hong Kong), an integrated healthcare enterprise, said that the it has further repurchased its shares from the market, accumulating a total of 36,976,000 shares in December 2011, equivalent to 1.81% of the group's total outstanding shares at a weighted average price of HK$0.83 per share.

KAM Yuen, chairman/CEO of the the company, reiterated, “The management believe the company's current share price does not adequately reflect the true value of the underlying operation. Hence to reciprocate our shareholders, the company has repurchased its shares from the open market. We will continue to monitor our share price and undertake appropriate actions to repurchase shares when appropriate in consideration to the benefit of our shareholders. On a personal level, my family and I have also been accumulating the company's shares from the market and now own 21.64% of the company's shares.“