A Medical Device Daily

Talyst (Bellevue, Washington) reported receiving $20 million in funds that it said will enable it to pursue “go-to-market” for its systems that automate the distribution of patient medications.

The funding is co-led by Ignition Partners and OVP Venture Partners. Both said that Talyst “represents a new category of investment that combines information technology and the healthcare supply chain.”

Talyst provides automation for central pharmacies, by integrating medication handling technologies, including packaging, labeling, inventory and storage, driven by its proprietary AutoPharm Software. The firm, now four years old, says it has systems in more than 200 U.S. hospitals and expects to double that number in the coming year.

Talyst said that its solutions connect with all major brands of pharmacy equipment and hospital information systems to implement of medication barcoding and supply chain tracking.

“Today, fewer than 10% of American hospitals are using barcoded medication doses to assure safety and efficiency. In the next 10 years, nearly all will be,” said James Torina, president/CEO and chairman. “This investment ... will fuel our continued growth in acute care, while facilitating our expansion into other pharmacy automation markets.”

“Ignition is very excited about Talyst. The company is delivering products which close critical gaps in delivering patient safety and hospital efficiency, while integrating with other, existing systems,” said Richard Fade, venture partner at Ignition Partners. “We are impressed by the management and by the progress to date. We look forward to supporting the company’s continued success.”

Talyst’s prior institutional funding was for $9 million, from AIG Horizon Partners Fund, in March 2005. At the time, the company was operating under its original name, Integrated Healthcare Systems . The Talyst name was adopted last December.

In other financing news:

• Ivivi Technologies (Northvale, New Jersey) reported a worldwide distribution agreement with Allergan (Irvine, California), giving Allergan the exclusive right to distribute certain of Ivivi’s products worldwide for aesthetic and bariatric medical procedures.

Ivivi is entitled to receive an initial payment and milestone payments (upon initiation of commercial sales of the products in the U.S. and Europe) of $1.5 million, $500,000 payable to Ivivi within five days of signing the agreement. Ivivi also will receive a specified price per unit and royalty payments.

Ivivi has agreed to manufacture and supply Inamed with the products. The agreement has an eight-year initial term beginning on the date of the first commercial sale, and Inamed may extend the term for two years without further payment and may extend the term for up to eight years by paying an extension fee.

”We are extremely excited to have reached an agreement to work with Allergan in the aesthetic and bariatric medical procedure markets,” said David Saloff, president/co-CEO of Ivivi. “We expect that Allergan’s market share in the breast aesthetics, facial and worldwide bariatric surgery markets and the depth of its sales force will greatly enhance Ivivi’s ability to gain market share.”

Ivivi is an early-stage company focused on developing electrotherapeutic technologies which use electric or electromagnetic signals to relieve pain, swelling and inflammation and to promote healing processes and tissue regeneration.

• Thermage (Hayward, California) last week revised the pricing of its initial public offering (IPO) from that which it stated in a recent Securities and Exchange filing, saying it is pricing 6 million shares of common stock at $7 a share.

Thermage has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to another 900,000 shares at the IPO price to cover over-allotments.

The common stock will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol THRM.

Thermage is developing radiofrequency technologies used to reduce wrinkles and tighten skin.

• Emdeon (Elmwood Park, New Jersey) reported that it will amend its previously reported tender offer and offer to purchase up to 140 million shares of its common stock at $12 a share.

The company confirmed that it does not intend to further increase the number of shares to be purchased in the tender, subject to its right under applicable securities rules and regulations to purchase up to another 2% of the outstanding common stock without amending the offer.

The number of shares proposed to be purchased will now represent about 50% of the company’s outstanding shares. The last reported sales price per share of the company’s common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on Nov. 9 was $11.39 a share.

The tender offer will expire at 5 p.m., EST, Dec. 4, unless extended.

If stockholders tender and do not withdraw more than 140 million shares, the company will purchase shares tendered by those stockholders owning fewer than 100 shares, without proration, and all other shares tendered will be purchased pro rata. Stockholders whose shares are purchased in the offer will be paid $12 a share, less any applicable withholding taxes and without interest, promptly after the expiration of the tender offer period.

Emdeon is a provider of business, technology and information solutions for healthcare delivery.