A Medical Device Daily

Inverness Medical Innovations (IMI; Waltham, Massachusetts) reported that it is offering to sell 7 million shares of its common stock in accordance with to a shelf registration statement in an underwritten public offering.

Certain selling stockholders of the company are also offering to sell up to 165,698 shares of common stock in the offering. And the company said it expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to another 1,074,854 shares of common stock to cover any over-allotments.

IMI said it intends to use the proceeds from the offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including the financing of potential acquisitions or other investments, and for capital expenditures.

It said it may also may use a portion of the proceeds to fund its pending $37 million acquisition of Panbio (Brisbane, Australia), a developer of diagnostic tests including those used in the diagnosis of flaviviruses and other arthropod-borne viruses (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 9, 2007).

UBS Investment Bank, Jefferies & Co. and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith are the joint book-running managers for the offering. Leerink Swann and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. are acting as co-managers for the offering.

Derma Sciences (Princeton, New Jersey), a manufacturer of wound care products, reported completing two separate financing transactions totaling up to $20 million.

It said that Merrill Lynch Capital, a division of Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services, provided a $6 million term loan and has made available an additional $8 million under a revolving line of credit.

The company also raised $6 million through a private placement of 8.6 million shares at 70 cents a share with two institutional investors, Lehman Brothers and the Panacea Fund, managed by William Harris Investors. The investors also received 2.1 million common stock purchase warrants exercisable at 77 cents per share. Oppenheimer & Co. acted as placement agent for the offering and provided advisory services.

The company said the net proceeds of the transaction will be used to finance acquisitions and ongoing R&D, as well as for general corporate purposes.

“We’re pleased to have obtained additional capital to further our strategic growth plan through the advancement of differentiated internal programs and the acquisition of synergistic businesses. The additional capital will help finance the recent acquisitions of the first aid division of NutraMax [see Deals roundup p. 4] and the Angiotensin Analog technology license from USC,” said CEO Edward Quilty. “These transactions significantly expand our private label capabilities and position us to capitalize on a potentially major pharmaceutical treatment for wounds and scars.”

In other financing activity:

Cardica (Redwood City, California) reported the pricing of a previously disclosed public offering of 1.5 million shares of its common stock for sale by the company, and 2,579,795 shares of its common stock for sale by a selling stockholder, at a price to the public of $8.50 a share (MDD, Oct. 30, 2007). Cardica also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to another 611,969 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

The company could raise gross proceeds of up to $17.95 million from the offering.

Cardica is a provider of automated anastomosis systems for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

William Blair & Co. is acting as the sole book-running manager of the offering. Allen & Company, Needham & Co. and Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. will act as co-managers of the offering.

•Celsion (Columbia, Maryland) reported that it has closed on a $6.5 million credit facility with M&T Bank. The terms of the agreement allow for draws against the facility in amounts up to $1.5 million per month, up to a maximum of $6.5 million. The loan bears interest at LIBOR plus 2.75% and is due and payable on June 21, 2008.

“Given that we will receive a portion of proceeds from the sale of Prolieve in installments over the next 2 years, this credit facility enhances the continuity of our operations by providing access to additional funding sources, if needed, between installment dates,” said Michael Tardugno, Celsion’s president/CEO. “Consistent with our commitment to minimizing financial risk this credit line allows Celsion to have a steady stream of cash funding while it initiates its Primary Liver Cancer pivotal study and develops plans to advance the Recurrent Breast Cancer at the Chest Wall study.”

Celsion is a developer of oncology drugs including tumor-targeting treatments using focused heat energy in combination with heat activated drug delivery systems.