A Medical Device Daily

QuantaLife (Pleasanton, California) said it has closed a $17.2 million Series B financing. The majority of the proceeds will be used to establish commercial operations for introduction of its first product, the Droplet Digital PCR platform, into the life sciences research market early next year and accelerate development of targeted diagnostic tests, the company said.

Paladin Capital Group, together with other existing investors, reiterated its support and was joined by Merieux Development and Vital Financial, as new investors. QuantaLife has developed third generation PCR technology that quantifies DNA molecules by Droplet Digital PCR.

“Droplet Digital PCR establishes a new standard for nucleic acid measurement, including the absolute quantification of DNA, RNA, and miRNA,“ said Bill Colston, CEO and founder of QuantaLife. “It has a myriad of potential uses – in the research laboratory and in the clinic. With the completion of this financing, we have diversified our world-class investor base and are well positioned for a successful transition to commercialization. We look forward to bringing a cost-effective and reliable product to the research community.“

According to the company, Droplet Digital PCR measures target nucleic acid target molecules with unrivaled absolute quantitative resolution and sensitivity. Applications include copy number variation, mutation detection, and gene expression analysis. The company's mission is to provide tools that accelerate new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of inherited disorders, cancer, and infectious disease.

In other financing activity:

• Kindred Healthcare (Louisville, Kentucky) said it has completed an amendment to its revolving credit agreement to increase the available credit capacity from $500 million to $600 million. The company agreed to a 50 basis points increase to the floating interest rate pricing levels under the credit agreement.

• Senior Housing Properties Trust (Newton, Massachusetts) said the underwriters of its secondary offering have exercised, in full, their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 1,875,000 shares of beneficial interest, raising additional net proceeds of roughly $36.8 million.

The joint book-running managers for this offering are Jefferies & Co., BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. The co-lead managers for this offering are Citi, Morgan Keegan, RBC Capital Markets, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities. The co-managers for this offering are BB&T Capital Markets, Janney Montgomery Scott and Oppenheimer & Co.