A Medical Device Daily

Omnicell (Mountain View, California), a provider of patient safety technology, reported that it will offer to sell, subject to market and other conditions, 3.9 million shares of its common stock in accordance with a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

At last Monday's closing price of the company's stock at $22.15, the offering would raise more than $85 million.

The company also will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to another 585,000 shares of its common stock. All of the shares are being offered by the company.

The underwriters of this offering will be Merrill Lynch & Co., acting as sole book-running manager, with Piper Jaffray & Co., First Albany Capital Inc. and Caris & Company, acting as co-managers.

Omnicell is a provider of systems and software solutions targeting patient safety and operational efficiency in healthcare facilities. The company's medication-use product line includes solutions for the central pharmacy, nursing unit, operating room, and patient bedside. Its solutions range from large central pharmacy "smart" inventory carousels to small handheld devices.

Novadaq Technologies (Toronto), a developer of imaging systems and image-guided therapies for the operating room, reported increasing its previously reported private financing to about $30 million.

The syndicate of agents led by RBC Dominion Securities and including Blackmont Capital and Versant Partners, will offer about 4 million shares at $7.50 a share. The company originally reported a placement of 2 million common shares at $7.50 a share for proceeds of about $15 million (Medical Device Daily, May 8, 23007).

Closing of the offering is expected on or about May 23, subject to customary conditions, including approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange.Novadaq said the offering proceeds will be used to fund ongoing R&D, sales and marketing and recent acquisitions. Novadaq develops imaging systems and real-time image guided therapies for use in the operating room, its proprietary imaging platform used to visualize blood vessels, nerves and the lymphatic system during surgery.

In other financing activity:

• Pegasus Biologics (Irvine, California), a developer of bioimplants for soft tissue repair and wound care for diabetic ulcers, reported closing a $20 million Series C financing led by Onset Ventures (Menlo Park, California).

Other investors in the up-round include existing investors Three Arch Partners, Frazier Healthcare Ventures and new investor Affinity Capital Management.

Pegasus said that the new funding brings its total equity investment to just under $32 million, enabling it to expand its markets, increase usage of its current products and bolster its development pipeline.

"This highly successful round reflects unprecedented enthusiasm from surgeons for the OrthADAPT Bioimplant and Unite Biomatrix," said France Dixon Helfer, founder and president of Pegasus. "Our sales figures continue to increase monthly, and our new products in development are on track."

Pegasus also added two new members to its board: Leslie Bottorff, general partner with Onset, and Gary Restani, president/COO of Hansen Medical.

Bottorff said, "We believe this round of funding will enable Pegasus Biologics to stake its claim as a dominant player in several key markets."

Onset is a provider of start-up, follow-on and intellectual capital to entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures.

• SpectraScience (San Diego) reported completing a placement of common shares to accredited investors, raising $1,135,000.

Jim Hitchin, company CEO, said, "The funding will be used to complete a clinical trial, seek FDA approval and initiating sales to gastrointerologists worldwide for our patented and proprietary WavSTAT Optical Biopsy System. The device will be used by physicians to diagnose tissue to determine if it is normal, pre-cancerous, or cancerous within one second.

The WavSTAT System is approved by the FDA for use in detecting cancer in the colon. The company said that a new application for detecting pre-cancers in the throat, called Barrett's esophagus, is being tested in a clinical trial.

Cancer of the esophagus is more than 90% fatal and may develop as a result of chronic heartburn or GERD.

• Health Care REIT (Toledo, Ohio) reported that a proposal to amend its certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of preferred stock from 25 million to 50 million was approved by a vote of the holders of its shares of common stock and a majority vote of the holders of its shares of preferred stock.

As previously reported, the company's annual meeting of stockholders was adjourned in order to give all stockholders the benefit of additional time to vote.

Health Care REIT invests across the spectrum of healthcare and senior housing real estate.

• Ventas (Louisville, Kentucky) reported that it will offer 23.4 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. The underwriters will have an option to purchase up to another 3.51 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

Proceeds will be used to redeem all of the company's preferred equity tranche and to repay a portion of the debt tranche of its interim financing facility that it used to fund a portion of the acquisition of Sunrise Senior Living Real Estate Investment Trust on April 26.

Ventas is a real estate investment trust with a portfolio of 249 seniors housing communities, 218 skilled nursing facilities, 43 hospitals and 22 medical office and other properties.

• Hydromer (Branchburg, New Jersey) reported that it will offer, subject to market and other conditions, up to $250,000 of restricted common stock in a private, unregistered offering to accredited investors.

Hydromer said it has successfully tested, in vitro, the result of its long-term development in a new polymer for cardiovascular stent coating. The proceeds are intended to finance a 28-day in vivo study of cardiovascular stents coated with the Polymer F202, at a facility subject to FDA regulations and guidelines.

The company says that Polymer F202 has complexed Heparin in the matrix, resulting in long-term anti-thrombogenic effects, and the Polymer Complex F202, has shown reductions in smooth muscle cell proliferation during in vitro testing.

Hydromer manufactures specialized polymer and hydrogel products for medical device, pharmaceutical, animal health, cosmetic, personal care and industrial uses.