A Medical Device Daily

XDx (Brisbane, California), which develops gene expression-based tests for monitoring transplant rejection, filed to withdraw its IPO on Friday, citing market conditions. It had planned to raise $86.3 million.

The lead underwriters on that deal were JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

The company filed its IPO registration in October 2007.

Earlier this month, the company reported receiving market clearance from the FDA for its AlloMap Molecular Expression Testing, a blood test used to aid in the management of heart transplant patients after surgery (Medical Device Daily, Sept. 3, 2008).

"We intend to go public sometime, [but] unfortunately the market conditions are not favorable right now," XDx President/ CEO Pierre Cassigneul told Medical Device Daily in an interview at the time of the AlloMap approval. He said the company will seek a private round of financing this year to keep moving its business forward.

Eye care company Alcon (Huenenberg, Switzerland) reported that it intends to repurchase up to 1 million common shares by Dec. 31.

The company said it will purchase the shares from the public to cover employee equity compensation plans. Neither Nestlé (Vevey, Switzerland) nor Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) will participate in the program. Alcon has about 70 million shares that are publicly traded out of total outstanding shares of about 300 million.

Alcon has been engaged in share repurchases to cover employee equity compensation grants since going public in 2002. Earlier this year, the board suspended share repurchases under all of its prior plans due to the anticipated share purchase and sale between Nestlé and Novartis, the first step of which was accomplished in July (MDD, July 9, 2008).

Nestlé currently owns about 52% of outstanding common shares and Novartis currently owns just under 25% as a result of that transaction. Those percentages are not expected to change materially as a result of the share repurchase plan.