A Medical Device Daily

Rosetta Genomics (Rehovot, Israel) reported that its initial public offering of 3.75 million ordinary shares has been priced at $7 per share, significantly less than the $11-$13 a share it had called for in its initial Securities and Exchange Commission filing back in September (Medical Device Daily, Sept. 8, 2006).

All shares are being sold by Rosetta. The company also increased the amount of shares from the 3 million it called for in its filing. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 562,500 additional shares from Rosetta to cover any over-allotments.

If all the shares are exercised, the company could raise up to $30.19 million before expenses.

The shares will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol ROSG.

Currently, directors and executive officers of Rosetta own about 38.1% of the company.

Rosetta is seeking to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic products based on a recently discovered group of genes known as microRNAs, believed to play an important role in regulating protein production. Rosetta's current programs are focused on the development of microRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic products for various cancers and infectious diseases.

Safeguard Scientifics (Wayne, Pennsylvania), which says its role is to build "value in growth-stage technology and life sciences companies," reported a $25.5 million Series C financing round for Advanced BioHealing (ABH; LaJolla, California). Safeguard said it led the round with $8 million.

ABH said it intends to use the proceeds from this financing to complete the launch and expand the market for Dermagraft, its FDA-approved product for the treatment of full-thickness diabetic foot ulcers.

Focused specifically on regenerative medicine, ABH recently reported its launch of Dermagraft, as well as the start of a pilot human clinical trial for Celaderm, its next-generation bioengineered product that ABH believes will accelerate the healing of venous leg ulcers as compared with optimal standard therapy.

"Dermagraft provides us with a strong foundation from which to create a portfolio of complementary products in the area of wound healing, as well as to expand into indications where our technology is most effective," said Kevin Rakin, CEO of ABH. "As a result of the Series C funding provided by Safeguard and a syndicate of venture capital groups and investors, ABH is in a position to more aggressively pursue its goal of being a leader in commercializing regenerative medicines."

ABH has two approved products: Dermagraft and TransCyte. The company's development pipeline also includes a bioengineered wound therapy for which two investigational device exemptions have been approved by the FDA.

In other financing news

• Purkinje (St. Louis), a service and software partner of physicians, reported that it closed a $10 million Series D round of financing.

Purkinje said it brings new innovations to the healthcare IT market, combining professional services with clinical and practice management technology that incorporates context-specific decision support at the point of clinical and financial decision making.

Leading the round were Purkinje board members John Doerr and Michael Long.

Purkinje, which has raised $27 million to date, said it will use the new funds to expand its professional services, sales, marketing and business development.

• GE Healthcare Financial Services (Chicago) has provided Life Care Centers of America (LCCA; Cleveland, Tennessee) — an operator of skilled nursing, assisted living, retirement, home care and Alzheimer's centers — with first mortgage debt financing of $22 million.

This loan will enable LCCA to finance the acquisition of two skilled nursing facilities, it said. Additionally, the company will use the loan to refinance an existing construction loan on a third facility.

• Healthnostics (Bethesda, Maryland) reported a special restricted stock distribution of one share of Healthnostics' common stock for each 10 shares of Healthnostics common stock held by shareholders of record as of March 12.

The special stock distribution will be executed "as soon as practical" after the record date.

Additionally, on March 8, Healthnostics said it will effect a capital structure change in which all account holders with less than 100 shares per account will have their shares cancelled and exchanged for cash at $.026 per share. This price is based upon Healthnostics' closing bid price on February 26.

Account holders with less than 100 shares will not be eligible to receive the special stock distribution shares.

The company said it has elected to undertake the capital structure change in order to more effectively serve the majority of its shareholders and efficiently execute the stock distribution. Additionally, it said the move will substantially reduce upcoming costs associated with the pending spin-off of MedBioWeb, its subsidiary that is currently in registration with the SEC.

Healthnostics provides patient clinical monitoring and risk management systems to acute care hospitals and utilizes its Internet portals to deliver medical and bioscience resource information to industry professionals as well as to the general public.

• Hanger Orthopedic Group (Bethesda, Maryland) reported that it is seeking certain amendments to its existing senior secured credit facilities that include reducing the margin over LIBOR that the company pays as interest under the existing Term Loan B.

The outstanding balance on the Term Loan B is about $228.9 million.

Hanger is a provider of orthotic and prosthetic patient care services.

• Illumina (San Diego) reported that it has executed a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan to purchase up to $75 million of its common stock over a period of six months.

A Rule 10b5-1 plan allows Illumina to repurchase its shares during a period when the company would normally not be active in the market because of its own internal trading windows.

The program will be funded with a portion of the proceeds from Illumina's recent $400 million convertible cenior notes offering. Repurchased shares will be held in treasury.

Illumina develops tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.