A Medical Device Daily

Minimally invasive spinal surgery devices maker Spineology (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported closing on a second round of financing valued at $1.5 million from Minneapolis-based venture capital firm Affinity Capital Management. This investment comes just weeks after Spineology closed on a $7.5 million private placement (Medical Device Daily, July 16, 2008).

Additionally, Ed Spencer Jr., founder and chairman of Affinity, will join the Spineology board as the company evolves its commercialization and product development efforts in the $4 billion spinal market.

"Following so closely on the heels of an earlier private placement, the investment by Affinity expands our capital resources and solidifies our expansion plans," said John Booth, CEO for Spineology. "The addition of Mr. Spencer broadens our board expertise, as we venture ahead."

Founded in 1997, Spineology's OptiMesh deployable grafting system is designed to enable spine surgery to be done in a "dramatically less invasive manner," the company says. The system works by allowing implants to be inserted empty and then deployed, once in position, to their full size. OptiMesh is FDA-cleared and CE-marked.

Since the company reported the $7.5 million private placement in July, it said it has added eight direct sales representatives, while expanding its distributor network.

MIV Therapeutics (Atlanta), a developer of next-generation coatings and advanced drug-delivery systems for cardiovascular stents and other implantable medical devices, reported that it intends to take steps to delist its Reg. S stock from the Frankfurt Exchange.

The company's primary market for its shares of common stock is the OTC Bulletin Board and the company believes that the separate listing of Reg. S stock on the Frankfurt Exchange is unnecessary.

In connection with the delisting, the company said it has initiated an exchange offer in which each holder of record as of the record date of Aug.15, will receive one share of company common stock for each share of Reg. S stock outstanding and currently trading on the Frankfurt Exchange under WKN 911285

The company said the exchange will have no effect on any other shares of common stock of the company trading on the Frankfurt Exchange, namely, there will be no effect on the company's common stock trading under the identification "MIV Therap. NEW DL-001 (ISIN US55306V2051, WKN A0Q48S)."

The company also notes that as a result of its recent 1-for-10 reverse stock split, effective as of June 27, 2008, each share of Reg. S Stock outstanding was automatically consolidated on a 1-for-10 basis, and accordingly, when exchanged for new stock will reflect the post-reverse stock split share amounts.