A Medical Device Daily

Cardiovascular Systems (CSI; St. Paul, Minnesota), a medical device company focused on developing interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, reported that it has successfully closed its previously reported merger with Replidyne (Louisville, Colorado).

The transactions included the merger of CSI with a subsidiary of Replidyne. In connection with the merger, Replidyne changed its name to Cardiovascular Systems and its shares have been approved for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol CSII.

Shareholders of both companies approved the transactions on Feb. 24. Through this transaction, an additional $37 million in net assets, primarily cash, is available to CSI's business. The company plans to use the proceeds to advance its medical products, including its Diamondback 360 Orbital Atherectomy System, and expand its sales and marketing organization.

The merger was first disclosed last November (Medical Device Daily, Nov. 5, 2008).

"This is great news for our company and for the many Americans who are afflicted with peripheral arterial disease," said David Martin, president/CEO of Cardiovascular Systems. "Given current market conditions, this merger was our best path for raising capital and to become listed on a major U.S. stock market. With additional resources, we will expand our sales and marketing organization to drive revenue growth, and continue to invest in infrastructure and product development for future market expansion."

The company's total common shares outstanding are about 13.7 million, after giving effect to the 1-for-10 reverse stock split of Replidyne's stock immediately prior to the merger and assuming the conversion of all of the outstanding shares of CSI upon the terms of the merger. Under terms of the merger agreement, the former CSI and Replidyne shareholders are entitled to receive about 83% and 17% of the combined company respectively.

The combined company will be headed by Martin and the CSI executive team.

Cellatope (formerly StageMark; Philadelphia), a cell analysis company developing research and diagnostic products and services for autoimmune diseases, said it has completed the sale of certain rights and intellectual property to its technology platform based on cell-bound complement activation products (CB-CAPs) to Cypress Bioscience (San Diego).

Cellatope has been developing the technology principally for the diagnosis and monitoring of systemic lupus erythematosus. The companies believe the technology may have applications in other fields of medicine in addition to Lupus, such as diagnosis and monitoring of other autoimmune conditions and monitoring of rejection in patients undergoing organ transplantation.

In connection with the asset purchase, Cypress has assumed the license held by Cellatope from the University of Pittsburgh and received intellectual property and certain other intangible assets owned by Cellatope, including CB-CAPs assay formats and protocols that were being developed by the company for commercial use. Cypress said it plans to complete the development program and add important Lupus personalized medicine services to its Avise product line, which includes tests for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring or the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

In other dealmaking news, Healthcare staffing company Medical Connections Holdings (MCH; Boca Raton, Florida), which specializes in allied health, nurse and physician staffing and recruiting services, has agreed to acquire Oklahoma On-Call (Stillwater, Oklahoma), a company that provides temporary coverage and permanent placement for physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners throughout Oklahoma and the Midwest.

MCH President Anthony Nicolosi, said, "The Midwest region offers us an excellent strategic opportunity to expand our presence in an area of the country that can provide stable growth and a valuable work force."

MCH identifies and places medical professionals — from nurses and physicians to pharmacists and medical scientists.