A Medical Device Daily

Yankee Equity Solution (YES; Boston) said it has launched a $50 million YES Medical Technology Fund, a private equity vehicle to help Massachusetts-based med-tech companies with revenues and profits to expand their commercialization efforts. Specifically, the YES Fund will provide growth capital to med-tech companies that have revenues of at least $10 million, are profitable (minimum $2 million EBITDA), and have the potential to be No. 1 or No. 2 in their target market, YES said.

YES Fund's managing director, John Williams, has built and sold several public and private healthcare companies, including a med-tech company specializing in the brain-monitoring sector, which was sold to Hospira (Lake Forest, Illinois), according to YES.

"The YES Fund is looking to invest in med-tech companies that are fundamentally well-managed, but which possess unrealized commercial potential that can be unlocked with the help of financial resources, as well as strategic and operational expertise," said Williams. "Our aim is to build on a company's existing strengths by helping management fuel growth by fine-tuning operating processes and executing a driven expansion plan."

Williams noted that, "all of our capital comes from one source, thereby empowering us to be flexible, patient and focused."

In other financing activity:

• Health Robotics (Bozen, Italy) reported an agreement with Devon International Group (DIG; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) and its strategic partner Itochu International (New York) whereby DIG and Itochu have acquired the exclusive rights to make and sell Health Robotics' robots in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands.

According to the company, CytoCare is the world's first automated robotic system for the safe preparation of hazardous, patient-specific chemotherapy medications. Originally developed for Oncology Pharmacy, CytoCare can now also produce Monoclonal Antibodies Therapy IV Admixtures to treat patients with Crohn's disease, organ transplants, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Infectious Diseases, the company noted.

DIG and Itochu will invest $60 million in Health Robotics' products and will immediately take over Health Robotics' existing North American customers and employees. In addition, DIG has agreed to acquire a 13.33% equity stake in Health Robotics, whereby DIG President/CEO Dr. John Bennett will join the board of Health Robotics in December.

DIG also acquired exclusive rights to Health Robotics' i.v.Station pending, an automated robotic solution for non-hazardous IV Admixtures to be demonstrated at the upcoming ASHP mid-year clinical meeting in Orlando, Florida, next month.

A new subsidiary, Devon Robotics, will soon be announced by DIG with the purpose to house Health Robotics' U.S. operations, DIG said. The company said it would also execute sales activities with MedSurg Specialty Devices, a subsidiary of Itochu, and will seek strategic healthcare partnerships with other North American companies to optimize the manufacturing, marketing, delivery, implementation, and support of Health Robotics' products throughout North America.

• MicroPhage (Longmont, Colorado) reported its latest round of financing, which brings total capital raised to $11 million. Investors in this round were a combination of existing and new investors, the company said. All funds to date have come from private investors.

MicroPhage said it would use the proceeds from this financing to complete the validation and launch preparation of its initial diagnostic products, which address the growing need for simple, rapid and highly accurate tests for hospital-acquired infections, such as MRSA.

• Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, British Columbia) said it has been notified by Ares Management and New Leaf Venture Partners that they have elected to terminate a note purchase agreement dated July 7. Angiotech reported on Sept. 22 that it had notified Ares and New Leaf that it did not expect to satisfy the condition in the note purchase agreement with respect to the minimum level of cash and cash equivalents required to be held at the time of the transaction's close, and that it intended to take a series of actions to reorganize and restructure its businesses.

Angiotech says it has been pursuing financing alternatives to address its working capital needs for its business initiatives, as well as to "address potential liquidity issues likely to arise in the near term relating to the company's current balance sheet structure."

• Escalon Medical (Wayne, Pennsylvania) said it has completed a $1.1 million private placement of common stock and common stock purchase warrants to accredited and institutional investors. The company sold 1 million shares of common stock at $1.10 a share. The investors also received warrants to buy an additional 150,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.21 a share. The warrants cannot be exercised for 181 days.

The net proceeds to the company from the offering, after fees and expenses, will be about $1,029,000. Barrett & Co. (Providence, Rhode Island), was placement agent on behalf of Escalon in the private financing.

As the result of the private placement, Escalon will have 7,413,930 shares of common stock outstanding, not including the shares issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.