A Medical Device Daily

QLT (Vancouver, British Columbia) reported that following a months-long business and portfolio review, it will implement several initiatives designed to enhance shareholder value.

These initiatives include the sale of QLT USA, whose primary assets include the Eligard product line for prostate cancer, Aczone, a dermatology product for the treatment of acne vulgaris, and the Atrigel drug delivery system, either in a single transaction or series of transactions.

Eligard is an extended-release injectable depot available in one-, three-, and four-month formulations. That product was acquired through QLT’s 2004 acquisition of Atrix Laboratories (Fort Collins, Colorado) and is partnered with Sanofi-Aventis (Paris).

The company also said it would sell the land and building associated with and surrounding the company’s corporate headquarters in Vancouver and reduce by 115 its employee headcount with planned future reductions as assets are divested.

As part of its ongoing review, the board on Nov. 28 said that it had formed a committee to explore alternative ways to maximize shareholder value, including transactions involving the sale of all or part of the assets of the company.

The board then on Dec. 11 reported hiring Goldman, Sachs & Co. to assist with this evaluation. The board and Goldman, Sachs & Co. have reviewed a variety of alternatives in pursuing these initiatives.

The company said it intends to retain “adequate proceeds” from these sales in order to repay the outstanding convertible debt in September 2008. In addition, it will evaluate options for the optimal use of the balance of cash proceeds from the asset sales and will provide updates on these options at the appropriate time.

“Following a comprehensive review of available options, the QLT board has concluded that seeking offers for the sale of QLT USA as a whole or of its assets is a key initial step in executing our strategy,” said Boyd Clarke, QLT’s chairman.

QLT said it plans to focus its ongoing business primarily on its Visudyne franchise and its clinical development programs related to its punctal plug delivery technology and its photodynamic therapy dermatology technology.

QLT’s develops pharmaceuticals in the fields of ophthalmology and dermatology. In addition, it utilizes three technology platforms, photodynamic therapy, Atrigel and punctual plugs with drugs, to create products such as Visudyne and Eligard and future product opportunities.

In other dealmaking news: Regeneration Technologies (RTI; Alachua, Florida) and Tutogen Medical (Alachua) reported that with the proposed merger of the two companies, they will ask RTI shareholders to approve a new company name – RTI Biologics.

The stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol RTIX.

The newly combined and newly named company of RTI Biologics will be positioned as a leader in biologics, a growing area in the healthcare industry and a key strength for both companies, they said.

A special meeting of the stockholders of RTI, to consider and vote upon the transactions contemplated by the proposed merger with Tutogen, has been scheduled for Feb. 27 at RTI’s headquarters. RTI stockholders of record as of the close of business on Jan. 16, 2008 will be entitled to vote at the special meeting.

A special meeting of the stockholders of Tutogen, to consider and vote upon the transactions contemplated by the proposed merger with RTI, has been scheduled for Feb. 27 at Tutogen’s headquarters.

The deal, described as a stock-for-stock exchange, was first disclosed last November (MDD, Nov. 14, 2007). Tutogen shareholders will receive 1.22 shares of newly issued RTI common stock in exchange for each share of Tutogen common stock they own. Upon completion of the merger, RTI stockholders will own about 55% of the combined company and Tutogen stockholders will own 45% of the company, on a diluted basis.

RTI processes allograft and xenograft tissue into shaped implants for use in orthopedic and other surgeries. It also holds the patents on BioCleanse, a tissue sterilization process validated to eliminate viruses, bacteria, fungi and spores from tissue without impacting the structural or biomechanical integrity of the tissue.

Tutogen manufactures sterile biological implant products made from human (allograft) and animal (xenograft) tissue. It utilizes its Tutoplast Process of tissue preservation and viral inactivation to manufacture and deliver sterile bio-implants used in spinal/trauma, urology, dental, ophthalmology, and general surgery procedures.