A Medical Device Daily

Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) reported that its board of directors has authorized a new stock repurchase program under which LabCorp may purchase up to an aggregate of $250 million of its common stock from time to time.

The company said it purchased a total of $500 million of its common stock under its previous stock repurchase program, $95.2 million of which was completed since the end of 2Q09.

LabCorp develops diagnostic technologies and claims to be the first in its industry to embrace genomic testing.

In other financing activity:

• Integrated Medical Systems (IMS; Signal Hill, California) said it has received a commitment for roughly $3.25 million in funding from the U.S. Army's Medical Research Material Command for acquisition and ongoing development of the company's MedEx 1000 "suitcase" intensive care unit (ICU).

"Following last fall's FDA clearance of the MedEx 1000 product," said Todd Kneale, president/COO of IMS, "this order for MedEx 1000 units is the next step towards transforming critical care, both on the battlefield and here at home. In addition, the contract will allow further enhancements of the product, demonstrating the Army Medical Department's Development and Acquisition agency commitment to continuously improving healthcare."

Initial deliveries of the FDA-cleared MedEx 1000 began last month, the company noted. IMS expects to have secured CE mark certification this month.

The MedEx 1000 is a portable unit intended to supply ICU functionality for adult and pediatric patients. According to IMS, the MedEx 1000 combines the following medical device capabilities into a single platform: physiological monitoring (electrocardiogram, invasive pressure monitoring, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, temperature, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate); low rate and high rate infusion pumps; a fluid warmer; a ventilator with carbon dioxide monitoring capabilities and the ability to deliver oxygen to a patient. The functions of the system are controlled from a central user interface. The MedEx 1000 may be operated using either hot-swappable battery power or an external source, the company noted.

• Venture fund Domain Associates (Princeton, New Jersey) has closed a $500 million fund to invest in early-stage drug and medical device companies with "meaningful portion of its efforts going towards the diagnostics and instrumentation sector."

The fund is the 24-year-old company's eighth round. It has offices in San Diego as well as Princeton, and much of its active portfolio is based in California. Other companies include Apnex Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota), and Esperion Therapeutics (Plymouth, Michigan).

In addition to investing in companies, Domain said it would continue to create companies through the money in its fund.