A Medical Device Daily

Fluidigm (South San Francisco), a leader in integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) for life science, has raised $37 million via the issuance of Series E preferred stock and Series E convertible notes and note commitments, which represents the bulk of its Series E Financing goals.

Fluidigm said it will use the capital to boost sales and marketing of its BioMark system and Topaz system for protein crystallization and to develop new products in the pipeline.

The company said the closing includes a major public funds manager, leading small cap firm Wasatch Advisors, and its private equity affiliate, Cross Creek Capital, as well as existing investors.

Gajus Worthington, CEO of Fluidigm, said, “These are exactly the high quality investors you want holding your shares. Rarely do large public funds invest in a privately held company, unless due diligence shows significant future value.”

Fluidigm recently launched the BioMark system for real-time qPCR, which consists of instrumentation and specialized IFCs called dynamic arrays and digital arrays. The company says that IFCs “have the potential to replace microwell plates in many applications because of their greater efficiency.” Bioassays are assembled within a microscopic network of channels and valves, eliminating much of the liquid handling that characterizes the current microwell plate-based paradigm.

• GMP Companies (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) reported completion of its Series A-1 convertible preferred stock private placement, raising $17.2 million.

GMP said that the proceeds will be used to fund the growth of LifeSync (Fort Lauderdale), its wholly owned subsidiary, a company developing the LifeSync Wireless System, a wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) data communication system used in hospital and outpatient settings where cardiac ECG and respiration monitoring are required.

The LifeSync System is based on Bluetooth technology and interfaces with existing patient monitoring equipment to allow healthcare facilities to monitor patients wirelessly. The system is used with LifeSync LeadWear disposable products which replace traditional reusable lead wires. LifeSync’s several clinical benefits include increased accuracy of patient alarms and decreased risk to patients of hospital acquired infections.

LifeSync’s systems are sold to hospitals and stress labs across the U.S.

Investors in the private placement included Janus; MPM Capital; BBT Fund, a Bass family affiliate; and Louisiana Ventures.

• MIV Therapeutics (Atlanta), a developer of biocompatible polymer-free drug-eluting stents and advanced drug delivery systems, reported two recent financings totaling $4 million.

The company said the money will accelerate its development of next-generation stents and support recent acquisition activity.

MIVT recently ratified and completed a private placement for $4 million pursuant to the terms and conditions of certain private placement subscription agreements. Each unit is comprised of one share of the company’s restricted common stock and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant.

MIVT recently acquired BioSync Scientific (Gujarat, India), a cardiology company that develops cardiovascular stents, and Vascore Medical (Suzhou City, China), one of the world’s fastest growing cardiovascular stent markets. The company said that the expected acquisitions are the latest steps in its plan to become “a world leader in the $8 billion plus interventional cardiology market.”

MIVT president, Dr. Mark Landy said, “We will leverage these funds to promote the various strategic initiatives that are currently positioning MIVT to capitalize on the growing international markets for stent technology.”

Further to the offer memoranda of Dec. 14, in which IsoTis (Irvine, California) reported its exchange offer for the outstanding shares of IsoTis SA (Lausanne, Switzerland) (Medical Device Daily, Dec. 18, 2006) and indicated that it may issue additional shares in a transaction following the exchange offer, IsoTis said it intends to raise $30 million-$40 million by offering newly issued NASDAQ-listed shares of its stock in a public offering.

IsoTis said it will offer the shares after it becomes a NASDAQ-listed company and after it consummates the exchange offer for the outstanding shares of IsoTis SA. If the conditions to the exchange offer are met, IsoTis Inc. expects to become a NASDAQ-listed company on Jan. 26, 2007, and to consummate the exchange offer in February 2007.

Assuming IsoTis Inc. proceeds with the offering, it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to support sales, marketing and general administrative activities; clinical research and product development activities and to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes.