A Medical Device Daily

Precision Optics (PO; Gardner, Massachusetts) reported the sale of its custom optical thin film product line to Optometrics (Ayer, Massachusetts), a subsidiary of Dynasil (West Berlin, New Jersey).

The assets sold include equipment used in the development and production of optical thin film filters. In addition to the $250,000 purchase price, Precision will receive royalty payments over the next three years on sales of optical thin film products to existing customers over $300,000 annually.

The company said the transaction is part of a major initiative to concentrate its resources on its medical visualization business. Utilizing recently developed Lenslock and Microprecision technologies, PO says it is bringing to the medical marketplace a number of next-generation endoscope products, including a 5 mm diameter laparoscope utilizing Lenslock technology, and a new product line of micro-endoscopes with diameters as small as 0.5 mm. PO said it will continue to maintain an in-house thin film coating capability to support development and production of these and other company products.

In other dealmaking news:

• Nexcore Technology (Waldwick, New Jersey), an original equipment manufacturer, said it has licensed all the intellectual property rights for the development of what it termed a "major advance in fluid management during endoscopic surgery." Financial terms were not disclosed.
  The patents on the system are held by Drs. Atul and Alka Kumar. Atul Kumar, a pioneer in hysteroscopic surgery, is scientific director of the Women's Health Center (Jaipur, India). Alka Kumar is the director of the Women's Health Center. Financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
  The new system is designed to provide greater control over the inflow/outflow of fluids during a procedure.
  Nexcore is designing and developing the new system and will organize testing and FDA approval.
  According to Milton Frank, president/CEO of Nexcore, "The new system maintains a constant preset cavity pressure during operations regardless of how the flow rate of the irrigational fluid is varied allowing for optimal visualization. The system measures the intravasation rate and total fluid intravasation." Intravasation is fluid that is absorbed into the blood vessels during a procedure, which can cause severe injury, or even death, if not properly monitored.
  The system can be used in any endoscopic surgery. It distends the body tissue cavity by utilizing continuous flow irrigation.
  The invention is designed to increase surgical efficiency, effectiveness and safety by maintaining a constant pressure on the mechanical distension of the cavity and increases and maintains visibility for the surgeon.
• Bederra (Houston) reported it has agreed to acquire the assets receivables and liabilities of privately held Lumar Diagnostic Imaging (Houston). Financial terms were not reported.
  Lumar was formed to provide multi-modality diagnostic imaging services such as MRI, CT, ultrasound and pain management. The facility is located adjacent to the Houston Texas Medical Center.
  Graham Williams, president of Bederra, said that the transaction is based upon using cash and debt financing.
  Projected gross revenues from this acquisition for FY08 are anticipated to be more than $3 million, with profits.
• Beckman Coulter (BC; Fullerton, California) said it has signed four agreements with National University of Ireland (NUI; Galway) to direct assay research and acquire licenses for intellectual property that would enable development of infectious disease tests for the company's future molecular diagnostic instrument. Research will begin early this year, BC said.
  The research relies on NUI Galway nucleic acid detection technology for both bacterial and fungal targets along with Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization (SPRI) and other technologies from BC, the company said.
  BC makes products designed to simplify complex biomedical tests.
• Caldera Medical (Agora Hills, California), a manufacturer of specialized devices for the gynecology, urology, and urogynecology markets, said it has entered into a license agreement with Coloplast (Copenhagen, Denmark). Financial terms were not disclosed.
  The agreement provides Caldera with rights to patents related to the transobturator method for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence. With this license, Caldera said it becomes the only privately-held company in the world to have access to this intellectual property.
  The company said that the transobturator method is one of the most common methods for treating incontinence and has enjoyed broad acceptance amongst the worldwide surgical community since its introduction. The agreement also allows Caldera to protect the uniqueness of their proprietary products and to continue developing new technology for the growing global women's health market.
• Hologic (Bedford, Massachusetts) said it will to sell full rights for the Gestiva to KV Pharmaceutical (St. Louis), pending FDA approval, for $82 million in cash.
  KV would pay $7.5 million at closing and the rest upon FDA approval and the production of a quantity of Gestiva "suitable to enable the commercial launch of the product," Hologic said.
  If FDA approved, Gestiva could be used in the prevention of preterm birth in pregnant women with a history of at least one spontaneous preterm birth, Hologic said. Development of the drug was started by Adeza Biomedical, which was acquired by Cytyc on April 2. Hologic acquired rights to Gestiva from Cytc on Oct. 22.