Diagnostics & Imaging Week Executive Editor
And D&IWs

Inverness Medical Innovations (Waltham, Massachusetts) reported that underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full to purchase another 900,000 shares of its common stock in connection with its initial public offering that priced earlier this month and closed on Jan. 31.

Including the over-allotment shares being purchased, the company sold 6.9 million shares at $39.65 a share for gross proceeds of about $273.59 million.

The exercise of the over-allotment option is expected to close on Feb. 5, subject to customary conditions.

Jefferies & Co. and UBS Investment Bank acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Cowen and Co. and Leerink Swann & Co. acted as co-managers for the offering.

Inverness is a developer of diagnostic devices, exploring opportunities for its electrochemical and other technologies in a variety of professional diagnostic and consumer-oriented applications

In other financing activity:

• AmeriPath (Palm Beach, Florida), a provider of physician-based anatomic pathology, reported that AmeriPath Intermediate Holdings, the newly formed subsidiary of AmeriPath Holdings and direct parent of AmeriPath, expects to commence an offering of $125 million principal amount of senior unsecured floating rate PIK toggle notes, due 2014, in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The notes will be general unsecured obligations of the Issuer.

The net proceeds from the offering are expected be used to repay the amount outstanding under AmeriPath’s revolving loan facility and for general corporate purposes, including consummating various contemplated acquisitions.

Subject to acceptable market and interest rate conditions, the consummation of an amendment to AmeriPath’s credit facilities, and other customary conditions, the Issuer anticipates that the offering will be completed this month.

• Newport (Irvine, California) reported that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, about $150 million in convertible subordinated notes, due 2012, through an offering to institutional buyers. The interest rate, conversion terms and offering price are to be determined by negotiations between Newport and the initial purchaser of the notes.

Newport said it also intends to grant the initial purchaser of the notes a 30-day option to purchase up to another $25 million amount of notes, to cover over-allotments.

The company said it would use up to $48.2 million of the proceeds from the offering to prepay all indebtedness owed to Thermo Electron (Waltham, Massachusetts) and $40 million of proceeds to purchase shares of the company’s outstanding common stock. Newport said it will use any remaining proceeds of this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions.

Newport develops technology products and solutions for fields such as research, life and health science, aerospace and defense, industrial manufacturing, semiconductors and microelectronics.

• BioBehavioral Diagnostics (BioBDx; Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported securing an $8.5 million Series A financing, co-lead by Sevin Rosen Funds and Tullis-Dickerson.

BioBDx says it has created a diagnostic system for measuring the core elements of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to aid in accurate diagnosis.

The BioBDx solution measures symptom severity data to evaluate a patient’s response to either a given dose and type of medication or to a non-pharmacologic treatment, which is then compared to a database to determine whether a treatment is producing full or partial improvement. The company said the product is expected to be commercially available in 2008.

Its lead product — the McLean Motion and Attention Test for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MMAT/ADHD system) — is a non-invasive, FDA-approved diagnostic providing measures of the core symptoms of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. BioBehavioral says: “While stimulant treatment can be remarkably effective in treating ADHD, individual patients can respond variably to different medications and improved diagnostic techniques could enhance outcomes for clinicians and patients alike.”

The funds raised will be used to commercialize the MMAT/ADHD system, which the company said it plans for U.S. launch in 2008.

“The MMAT/ADHD system may provide real hope for patients and families who struggle with ADHD and ineffective treatments for ADHD, including medication overuse and misuse,” said Eric Gordon, CEO and founder of BioBDx.

The MMAT/ADHD system is currently FDA-approved for use by clinicians for the diagnostic assessment of ADHD and it is now finishing commercial development. In late 2006, the company filed a 510(k) application with the FDA for the added use of the systematic evaluation of a patient’s response to either a given dose and type of medication or to a non-pharmacologic treatment.

BioBDx’s products include ADHD diagnostics for children, adolescents, and adults.