A Medical Device Daily

Encorium Group (Wayne, Pennsylvania), a multinational contract research organization (CRO) that provides design, development and management capabilities for clinical trials and patient registries, said its board of directors has approved amended terms to the previously disclosed letter of intent with Pierrel (Milan, Italy), an international CRO, for the sale of its U.S. business. The sale is expected to close on June 30.

Subject to the negotiation of a definitive agreement, Pierrel has the right to purchase the company's U.S. line of business for a purchase price equal 17% of the company's U.S. backlog at closing, less the amount that assumed current liabilities exceed acquired current assets by more than $500,000, as opposed to $350,000, as was provided for in the original letter of intent. Encorium said it anticipates that backlog as of June 30 will be about $11.5 million. It is estimated that at closing, the liabilities assumed by Pierrel will exceed the assets transferred by the company by more than the $500,000 deficiency allowance. As a result, Encorium does not anticipate it will receive cash from Pierrel at closing.

Encorium said it is proceeding with negotiations and diligence with respect to the sale of its subsidiary Encorium OY to a leading full-service CRO based in the United States and with operations globally. The company anticipates that this transaction will close in the third quarter of 2009.

In other dealmaking activity:

• NeuroTherm (Wilmington, Massachusetts) reported the acquisition of the Micron Catheter from private owners in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

"This acquisition provides the opportunity to offer our customers another exceptional product," said Larry Davis, VP of U.S. sales for NeuroTherm. The company said it has an established distribution network currently selling a wide range of products to interventional pain specialists in the U.S. and internationally. "This is a logical expansion of our current product offering; many of our physicians have been waiting for us to provide an epidural catheter as part of our product mix."

The Micron Catheter is used in a procedure called Epidural Lysis of Adhesions; a common interventional pain procedure used to remove scar tissue. The scar tissue, which typically result from back surgery, inflame surrounding nerves creating a source of chronic pain.

"The Micron Catheter was particularly interesting to us because of a revolutionary design that includes a continuous coil guide wire and a tip that is not a fused cap. This removes any danger of the tip breaking during procedure," says Bill Rittman, CTO of NeuroTherm. "We are excited about offering this product, along with the opportunity to improve and expand the catheter line going forward."

NeuroTherm manufactures products used in the field of interventional pain, including radio frequency generators and related consumables used in the treatment of chronic pain.

• Solon Manufacturing (North Haven, Connecticut), a maker of single use disposable products, reported its acquisition of certain assets of PurFybr (Munster, Indiana). The purchase, which specifically includes PurFybr brand rights and trademarks, technology, equipment and inventory, was concluded Friday.

"We are very excited to add the PurFybr lineup of products to our family of brands," said Ken Shaw, VP of Solon. "PurFybr has an outstanding reputation for high-quality specialty diagnostic swabs." PurFybr products are the standard worldwide for DNA and influenza virus testing, including H1N1 (swine flu) virus, the company noted.

Duane Ehlers, president and owner of privately held PurFybr, will join Solon as a consultant.

PurFybr says it was one of the first companies to spin polyester, rayon, and calcium alginate onto thin wires. Its products are designed to minimize the risk of irritation and contamination during the collection of specimens for a range of diagnostic testing, including rapid viral tests. Among its products, the company's ultra micro fine wires have been shown to be highly effective in testing for and collecting specimens for sexually transmitted diseases, the company said.

Solon said it expects to meet all current and future PurFybr orders and has scheduled the transfer of equipment and inventory during the two-week period PurFybr typically shuts down each year. The PurFybr production facility closed Friday.

Following the move to its FDA-registered facility in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Solon said it would perform machine, product and quality process validations prior to resuming production of PurFybr products on July 5.