A Medical Device Daily

Positron (Houston), a manufacturer of positron emission tomography (PET) systems, reported completing the purchase of IS2 Medical Systems (IS2; Ottawa, Ontario), a manufacturer of nuclear imaging devices.

Through a majority-owned subsidiary, Imaging PET Technologies (IPT), formed in a joint venture with Quan-tum Molecular Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian radiopharmaceutical company, Positron acquired all of IS2's assets in a transaction negotiated with IS2's secured debtholders. Terms were not disclosed.

IS2's flagship product is its PulseCDC compact digital cardiac camera, providing high-quality images, Positron said, “at the lowest price in the industry.” It noted that IS2's scientific team offers “more than 125 years of expertise in nuclear medicine, physics, mathematics and engineering.”

Positron's investment to purchase IS2, it said, is its first transaction from proceeds of its recent financing targeting expansion of its cardiac camera and clinic businesses. Positron said it would benefit from IS2's “top-tier technical resources, marketing expertise and credibility in the nuclear medicine marketplace.”

Joseph Oliverio, president of Positron, said the companies “will integrate select resources and expertise . . . [for] increased sales, greater software development capabilities, more efficient and effective marketing and R&D budget and to the ability to meet the production timelines that both companies sales cycle demands. We are ideally positioned to execute our business plan and take a leadership role in nuclear medicine.”

Steve Horvath, president of IS2, said the transaction would be a catalyst to develop “new technologies in PET, cardiac and general purpose imaging as well as the development of specialized technologies including breast, brain, and prostate imaging.”

Positron's Posicam systems incorporate technology for the diagnosis and treatment in cardiology, oncology and neurology, with units installed at several leading medical facilities.

IS2 reports double-digit revenue growth “for multiple years” through sale of its PulsedCDC small-footprint cardiac camera, reporting more than 150 cameras sold in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.

Clinical research organizationPRA International (Reston, Virginia) reported that it would acquire Pharma Bio-Research (PBR; Zuidlaren, the Netherlands), a clinical development company, for about EUR 85 million, funded with a mix of cash, assumed debt and PRA restricted stock representing about 15% of the price.

With a 140-bed capacity in two locations, bioanalytical services and data management capabilities, PBR ranks among the top Phase I/IIa service providers in Europe, PRA said. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Pat Donnelly, president and CEO of PRA, said, “We will quickly integrate PBR to better serve our biotech and pharmaceutical clients earlier in the drug development cycle, providing high-end first-in-man clinical services as part of our global platform.”

PRA's Phase I operations in Lenexa, Kansas, will be combined with PBR's platform to provide early development phase services in both the U.S. and Europe to benefit PRA's client base.

Dr. Willem Jan Drijfhout, PBR's chief scientific officer, will join PRA as senior vice president of early developmental services.

PBR's trailing 12-month unaudited revenue as of March 31 totaled EUR 40.8 million. Nearly one-third of PBR's revenue comes from large pharmaceutical companies, 21% from biotech and 46% from mid-sized firms.

In other dealmaking activity:

• Providential Holdings (Huntington Beach, California) reported receiving $5.5 million from Northern Healthcare Capital, including a $2.5 million revolving working capital line that may be increased to accommodate future sales growth, for the acquisition of key assets of Western Medical (Phoenix), a provider of durable medical equipment and services.

Providential will purchase key assets, valued at about $15 million, of Western Medical for $5.25 million in cash. Western Medical has filed a Chapter 11 petition and currently awaits the decision of the bankruptcy court, which may assert and approve higher and better bids.

Closing of the transaction is expected to occur no later than 10 business days following entry of a final sale order by the court.

Providential says it “acquires and consolidates” opportunities in selective industries and provides financial consultancy to U.S. and foreign companies.

• Kroll Laboratory Specialists (New Orleans), the substance abuse testing subsidiary of Kroll (New York), a risk consulting company, reported completing the acquisition of Express Analytical Laboratory (EAL; Marion, Iowa), a privately-held SAMHSA-certified laboratory. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“The acquisition of EAL represents a continuation of our strategy to acquire and consolidate key laboratories and Point of Collection Testing distributors, reinforcing our industry leadership and expanding our market share in the Midwest,” said John Peterson, president of Kroll Laboratory.

Kroll Laboratory said the acquisition is its 14th since 1994, and the second since last year, when it gained an additional SAMHSA-certified laboratory,Scientific Testing Laboratory (Richmond, Virginia).

EAL, founded in 2001 by Carolyn Cooper, its president, provides substance abuse testing services to Midwest-based clientele.

Kroll Laboratory, a subsidiary of Kroll since 1998, says it is now one of the top five substance abuse testing companies in the U.S.

• Axeda (Foxboro, Massachusetts) reported that Ventana Medical Systems (Tucson, Arizona) has licensed Axeda software for its new CareGiver remote support program.

The program will support Ventana's recently launched Symphony one-touch H&E slide preparation system, a primary staining system for use in clinical histology and drug discovery laboratories. Terms of the licensing were not disclosed.

Dave Flaten, vice president/general manager, Ventana, said that the Axeda technology “allows us to capture instrument data, while maintaining HIPPA compliance. The solution also allows us to retain a full audit trail of all activities on the system, which is a capability not available on standard remote access products.”

Dale Calder, president and CEO of Axeda, said, “Ventana joins more than 20 medical/life sciences customers who use the Axeda platform as their remote service foundation.”

Ventana manufactures instrument/reagent systems that automate slide preparation and staining in clinical histology and drug discovery laboratories worldwide.

Axeda, founded in 2000, bills itself as the leader in the market for enterprise software enabling high-value remote services.

• ICON (Dublin, Ireland), a provider of development services to the pharma, biotech and medical device industries, said it will acquire Ovation Research Group (Highland Park, Illinois), a developer of patient registries, outcomes research and health economics services. Terms were not disclosed.

Ovation serves medical device, pharma and biotech companies with the design and conduct of prospective pharmacoeconomic and quality-of-life analysis, statistical analysis, disease and product registries and health outcomes research.

Peter Gray CEO of ICON, said that Ovation's expertise “will be integrated into ICON's late-phase group to strengthen our existing service offerings, in what is an increasingly significant market.”