A Medical Device Daily

Diagnostic test maker BG Medicine (Waltham, Massachusetts) reported that it plans an initial public offering of its common stock and expects to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today, though the number of shares and pricing have yet to be determined.

Biosciences researcher BG Medicine primarily provides drug research and development services to such top global pharmaceutical makers, US government agencies, and to the healthcare product divisions of companies.

BG specializes in using biomarkers, substances used to detect disease at a molecular level, to enable research into the causes of disease and the effectiveness of drugs used to treat them. In addition to performing R&D for its customers and partners, the company intends to develop its own drugs. Products in the planning and discovery stages include treatments for heart disease and cancer among others.

In August, the company filed for an IPO of up to $80 million in stock on the Amsterdam exchange of NYSE Euronext under the symbol BGMDX.

Orthopedic imaging company biospace med (Paris/Atlanta) reported the closing of $18 million (112 million) in venture capital financing led by NBGI Ventures and Cr dit Agricole Private Equity. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and UFG PE, current investors in the company, also have subscribed to the current round of financing. Aelios Finance served as financial advisor to biospace med.

Infusion of new capital from these venture funds, combined with their strong expertise in the medtech industry, will allow the worldwide market expansion of EOS ultra low dose 2D|3D Xray imager, the company said.

“This is a quantum leap in technology for the orthopedic and imaging communities, which have been waiting for a solution to address their specific needs,” said Marie Meynadier, biospace med president/CEO. “This new round of financing will accelerate the worldwide commercial deployment of EOS, which already is installed in several European countries and Canada. With the recent FDA approval to market EOS in the United States, this financing package will accelerate our market penetration there as well.”

EOS captures a whole or partial body image in a single scan without the need for any digital stitching – all at a reduced dose. In addition, the system allows simultaneous bi-plane image acquisition (frontal and lateral). Information submitted to FDA in support of the company’s marketing application demonstrated up to 10 times reduction in dose when compared with commercially available film systems – without compromising image quality. EOS can also generate a 3-D skeletal reconstruction from the two simultaneously acquired planar images. This product will also feature automatic measurement software designed to calculate a variety of length and angle calculations between individual bones and joints, potentially helping to evaluate global balance and posture.

In other financing news: ResCare (Louisville, Kentucky) reported that it has amended its senior secured credit facility. The amended credit facility increases the revolver capacity by $50 million to $250 million.

A $50 million “accordion feature” remains in place, which allows the company to expand its total borrowing capacity to $300 million. The amendment also makes some definitional and technical changes. The credit facility expires on Oct. 3, 2010, and is secured by a lien on the assets of the company and its subsidiaries. The credit facility will be used primarily for working capital purposes, letters of credit required under its insurance programs and for acquisitions.

ResCare is one of the largest providers of home care to the elderly and those with disabilities.