A Medical Device Daily

Anodyne Medical Device (Los Angeles) reported that it has executed definitive agreements to purchase Anatomic Concepts (Corona, California) from Anatomic Global. The transaction is expected to close on or before Sept. 30. Terms were not disclosed.

Anatomic Concepts makes medical support surfaces and medical patient positioning devices, including mattresses, mattress overlays, mattress replacements, operating room patient positioning devices, operating room table pads and related accessories.

“We are excited about the opportunity to utilize Anatomic Concepts' proprietary patented technology to extend Anodyne Medical Device's foam mattress product line and to significantly expand our patient positioning device business, particularly within the area of operating room positioning devices,” said Mark Bidner, CEO and chairman of Anodyne.

Anodyne was formed in February by Hollywood Capital and Compass Group Investments to acquire AMF Support Surfaces (Corona, California) and SenTech Medical Systems (Coral Springs, Florida). It is a maker of specialty support surfaces and patient positioning devices.

bioMerieux (Durham, North Carolina), a maker of in vitro diagnostics, has acquired Bacterial Barcodes (BB; Athens, Georgia), which makes the DiversiLab system used for automated microbial genotyping, offering solutions to track hospital-acquired infections and for environmental control for product safety. Terms were not disclosed.

According to Eric Bouvier, president/CEO for North American operations at bioMerieux, “The addition of this innovative and timely solution to bioMerieux's technology portfolio is perfectly aligned with the company's strategic commitment to focus on infectious diseases, as well as on industrial applications. It will advance bioMerieux's rapid growth in the field of molecular biology.”

The DiversiLab technology is focused on the identification of outbreak and contamination source tracking and is applicable in the hygiene market for tracking antibiotic resistant microorganisms causing hospital-acquired infections and in the industrial markets for food, agricultural, pharmaceutical and environmental contamination testing. It may also be used for characterizing biothreat agents and identifying potential outbreaks in the biodefense market.

In other dealmaking news:

• Continucare (Miami) said its shareholders “overwhelmingly” approved the company's proposed acquisition of Miami Dade Health Centers and its affiliated companies. The company said it expects that the transaction to close in 4Q06.

Continucare provides primary care physician services on an outpatient basis through a network of medical facilities and independent physician affiliates (IPAs) in the State of Florida. The company has 15 medical offices. It also provides health practice management services to IPAs who practice primary care medicine in facilities similar to the company's medical offices.

• LHC Group (Lafayette, Louisiana), a provider of post-acute healthcare services primarily in rural markets in the southern U.S., said it plans to acquire the Florida-based assets of Lifeline Home Health Care (Somerset, Kentucky).

Agreements have been signed to complete the transfer upon approval by the state licensing authority. Until then, LHC will takeover management of the Lifeline entities in Florida.

The acquisition, which marks LHC Group's expansion into Florida, will include Lifeline Home Health Care's locations in Lakeland, Ocala, Sebring, Marathon, Sarasota, Port Charlotte and The Villages.

• Almost Family (Louisville, Kentucky) reported the acquisition of the assets and operations of home health agencies located in Sunrise, Florida, and Delray Beach, Florida. The agencies operate under the name Camellia Home Health. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Almost Family said this is its seventh home health agency acquisition in the last two years and that it will continue to seek home health agency candidates.

The acquired agency generated about $1.8 million in Medicare revenue in the last 12 months. It is not expected to have a material effect on Almost Family's results of operations in 2006.