A Medical Device Daily

HealthpointCapital Partners II, a private equity fund that specializes in orthopedic device firms, said that, through its Healthpoint (Luxco) II subsidiary, it has acquired Ideal Medical Products (Paris) in an all-cash deal.

Ideal Medical is the principal shareholder of spinal implant developer Scient’x.

The acquisition is a two-step process. An initial 142.3 million cash payment will purchase the privately held Carli family interest in Ideal Medical, and then a tender offer will be made for the public minority interest of the company for EUR 21.56 cash per share.

In a separate deal, Carli will acquire the majority of the company’s hospital engineering assets for 17 million.

John McCormick, a managing director of HealthpointCapital, said that the deal “will allow our firm to directly invest in and grow Scient’x by maintaining and leveraging our existing distributor relationships, investing in product innovation, surgeon training and clinical data programs globally, and conducting FDA clinical trials in the U.S.”

HealthPoint said Scient’x, established in 1989, “is recognized worldwide as a spinal product innovator, having invented key devices used every day in modern spinal fusion and other surgeries.”

The company sells more than 25 products for spinal fusion, motion preservation and total disc replacement.

Olivier Carli, president of Ideal Medical, said that the transaction “will allow all minority shareholders of Ideal Medical Products to achieve a significant cash premium for their holdings. I look forward to continuing to grow Scient’x with HealthpointCapital as our investment partner.”

HealthpointCapital is focused on the musculoskeletal sector, specifically orthopedics and dental. It manages $650 million of institutional capital.

Diagnostics firm in $12 million round

Vivacta (Sittingbourne, UK) reported that it has raised $12 million from a successful Series B financing round to be used to drive the commercialization and launch of its first point-of-care immunoassay system, based on its piezofilm sensor technology.

Neil Butler, CEO of Vivacta, said, “We were pleased to have the deal co-led by two very strong European venture capital firms, AGF Private Equity and HBM BioVentures. Our existing investors, Spark Ventures and Viking, both chose to follow on which is a very strong endorsement of Vivacta’s technology platform and our approach to its commercialization”.

Two well-known diagnostic industry executives — Gerry Moeller and Gerard Vaillant — will join the Vivacta board of directors. Moeller was CEO of the Boehringer Mannheim group and after its acquisition by Roche joined that company’s management board. Vaillant chaired the diagnostics division of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey) and served as president/CEO of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics and Lifescan, both units of J&J.

Vivacta said it is finalizing development of the reader and cartridge for its POC immunoassay system. It plans to begin clinical evaluation of its first application, TSH, in 2008. The company is in the process of doubling the size of its facility in the Kent Science Park, allowing it to add a pilot manufacturing line for the disposable cartridge.

Two generic contrast agents launched

Insight Agents (Heidelberg, Germany) has launched two new generic contrast media solutions for injection. Magnegita 500 Micromol/ml (gadopentetate dimeglumine) is about to be introduced for MRI in 22 European countries, and Iopamigita 300 mg Iod/ml (iopamidol) will be available for X-ray/CT in Germany.

The company said it plans to launch the products in other countries excluding the U.S. as soon as authorization for the respective countries is granted. It said it also is looking for distributors worldwide.

“Our one-stop product range with surprisingly wide indication lists has a significant substitution potential in MRI and CT. As of today, our pro-active ingredients contribute to considerable cost savings in the health care sector,” said Dr. Johannes Schmidt-Tophoff, CEO of Insight Agents.

Insight Agents is a subsidiary of Curagita and has branch offices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Belgium, as well as distributors in several other countries. It said it plans to expand its portfolio to include a full, internationally available line of generic contrast agents.

1st Belgian order for Sectra system

Sectra (Stockholm, Sweden, said the St. Trudo regional hospital in Belgium has ordered the company’s digital mammography system, Sectra MicroDose Mammography, representing the first Belgian order for the system.

The company said about 2 million Belgian women undergo mammography examinations — both diagnostic and screening procedures — each year.

The St. Trudo order includes Sectra’ breast imaging PACS, which will be integrated to the existing hospital image management system and combined with Sectra MicroDose Mammography to form a complete digital solution.

”The Belgian market for digital mammography is taking off and most hospitals are now digitizing their mammography operations,” said Wim Schuur, vice president of sales and marketing for Sectra’s medical operations in the Benelux region. We are well positioned to take advantage of this growing market.”

Sectra said the MicroDose Mammography system “generates by far the lowest dose of radiation among all of the systems offered on the market. The lowest radiation dose combined with good ergonomics and a well-conceived workflow enables mammography nurses and radiologists to work more efficiently and safely.”

Finnish firm establishes U.S. subsidiary

IMIX ADR, a Finnish developer of digital radiography products, reported the opening of new U.S. headquarters in Sterling, Virginia.

IMIX Americas said the new headquarters in the metropolitan Washington area will support the company’s North American business efforts.

Sigrid Smitt-Jeppesen, president and CEO of IMIX Americas, said, “IMIX ADR has been a significant player in the Asian and European markets for digital radiography for several years, and an increased presence in the U.S. market was a logical next step.

“We believe radiology and imaging professionals are ready for a digital radiography provider that is committed to high-quality, value-driven products and exceptional customer service and support.”