Medical Device Daily

Alma Lasers (Caesarea, Israel), a maker of non-invasive energy-based aesthetic treatment systems, reported filing for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission for up to $86 million and the intention to be traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol ALMA.

The company said the products in its portfolio feature multiple energy sources, including laser, intense pulsed light and radio frequency, which can be used to treat a broad range of skin types and indications.

The company said it markets our products in 64 countries, including the U.S., and generated 53% of its revenue outside of the U.S. for the nine months ended Sept. 30.

For the same period, the company said it recorded revenue of $62 million, with a 67.5% gross profit margin and a 30.4% operating profit margin. As of Nov. 30, 2007, it had sold more than 3,300 aesthetic treatment systems since its inception in 1999.

The company said it would use the proceeds from the offering to pay down on its debt and for general corporate purposes, including for strategic acquisitions and investments.

The underwriters for the IPO were Citigroup Global Markets, UBS Securities, William Blair and Co. and Jeffries and Co.

The company’s products include the Harmony multi-application platform for aesthetic treatments utilizing laser and intense pulsed light; the third generation Soprano diode laser system for hair removal on patients of all skin types; and the second generation Accent radio frequency-based aesthetic treatment system for treating wrinkles and cellulite, body sculpting and smoothing and tightening skin.

In the risk factors category, the company noted that it is involved in legal proceedings involving claims against it by Lumenis (Santa Clara, California) and Thermage Hayward, California), related to intellectual property disputes

In April, the company settled a patent infringement and trade dress suit brought against it by Palomar Medical Technologies (Burlington, Massachusetts) (Medical Device Daily, April 7, 2007).

Alma agreed to pay Palomar a 9.5% patent royalty plus interest on prior sales of its laser- and lamp-based hair removal systems, beginning with initial sales in 2003, and a 1.5% trade dress fee plus interest on prior sales of their Harmony and Aria systems.

It said it will also pay Palomar for its legal costs incurred during the lawsuit. From March 28, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2007, Alma will pay Palomar an 8.5% patent royalty and, beginning from Jan. 1, 2008, will pay Palomar a 7.5% patent royalty on future sales of current and any new light-based hair removal systems.

Gelesis (Boston), a private developer of treatments for obesity, reported raising $16 million in its first institutional financing. OrbiMed Advisors led the round and existing investors participated.

Gelesis was co-founded in 2006 by PureTech Ventures and ExoTech Bio Solutions with the participation of a group of obesity experts and scientists. Gelesis is also the recipient of a $1 million grant from the BIRD Foundation, established by the U.S. and Israeli governments in 1977 to generate cooperation between the private sectors of the U.S. and Israeli high-tech industries.

Rishi Gupta of OrbiMed Advisors and OrbiMed Advisors Chairman Jonathan Silverstein were named to Gelesis’ board. The new directors will join the existing board, which includes Gelesis CEO Yishai Zohar (formerly a partner at PureTech Ventures where he co-founded Gelesis), Ronald Cape (partner, PureTech Ventures), and Mendy Axlerad (co-founder and CTO, ExoTech Bio Solutions).

In other financing news: Research Corporation Technologies (RCT; Tucson, Arizona) reported that it has granted Biosound Esaote (Indianapolis) a non-exclusive license to patents that it said broadly cover ultrasound tissue harmonic imaging (THI). Terms of the licensing were not disclosed.

Biosound is a medical imaging company that says it specializes in “high-performance ultrasound systems.”

RCT manages the THI technology for its partner, the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York). Research by P. Ted Christopher, PhD, at the university’s Center for Biomedical Ultrasound resulted in a new mode of ultrasound imaging. Christopher’s invention showed that the second and higher-order harmonic response of native tissue to a propagated ultrasound beam could be employed to produce a sharper, higher-contrast image than that of the fundamental emitted frequency.

RCT received U.S. Patent No. 7,104,956, in September 2006; U.S. Patent No. 7,004,905 in February 2006; and U.S. Patent No. 6,206,833 in March 2001. Two other U.S. patents are pending.

Biosound joins Acuson (Malvern, Pennsylvania), a Siemens (Munich, Germany) company, Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) as a licensee of the THI technology.

RCT describes itself as a technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for biomedical companies and technologies from universities and research institutions worldwide.