A Medical Device Daily

Somanetics (Troy, Michigan) reported the pricing of its previously disclosed public offering of 2 million shares at $24 per share. The estimated net proceeds, after deducting the underwriting discount and the estimated expense of the offering, are about $44.6 million.

The company has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 300,000 additional shares to cover any over-allotments

Citigroup Global Markets was the bookrunning manager of the offering, with Cowen & Co. as co-lead manager and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey as co-manager.

Somanetics, which first disclosed the offering early last month (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 8, 2006), said it intends to use the net proceeds for the expansion of its direct sales team and other sales and marketing activities, to sponsor additional clinical trials, to expand research and development efforts, and for working capital and general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions of complementary products, technologies or businesses.

The company received 510(k) clearance last November to market its Invos system to monitor changes in blood oxygen saturation elsewhere in the body in somatic, or skeletal muscle, tissue in patients with or at risk for res-tricted blood flow.

Allscripts (Chicago) reported closing its public offering of common stock. In the offering, the company sold 8,395,000 shares of its common stock, including 1,095,000 shares upon the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of common stock, at a price per share of $17.75. After deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, net proceeds to Allscripts were about $141.6 million.

The company said it intends to use all of the net proceeds from the offering to finance the proposed $272 million cash and stock acquisition of A4 Health Systems (Cary, North Carolina), first disclosed in January (MDD, Jan. 20, 2006).

If the acquisition is not consummated, the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, the company said.

The offering was led by Lehman Brothers and UBS Investment Bank as joint book-running managers. Jefferies Broadview, William Blair & Co., Piper Jaffray and Goldman, Sachs & Co. were co-managers.

Allscripts is a provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare.

In other financing news:

• Akorn (Buffalo Grove, Illinois) reported that it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional and other accredited investors with respect to the private placement of 3,356,113 shares of its common stock at a price of $4.50 per common share, for gross proceeds of about $15.1 million.

Investors also will receive warrants to purchase 1,174,642 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.40 a share.

“We intend to use the proceeds to invest in manufacturing upgrades at our Decatur, Illinois, facility and to invest in clinical product development efforts, as well as for general corporate purposes,” said Arthur Przybyl, president and CEO.

The transaction is expected to close within the next few days.

Akorn manufactures a line of hospital and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals.

• Medistem Laboratories (Scottsdale, Arizona), a company developing next-generation medical therapies from non-controversial adult stem cell sources, said it has closed a $1.5 million private placement financing involving convertible preferred stock and warrants.

The company said the proceeds from the financing will be used to fund its strategic initiatives to develop medically valuable therapies and intellectual property based on its adult stem cell technology.

Central among these initiatives is the planned launch of clinical trials to develop stem cell therapies for stroke patients, and for other neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy. Other uses of the financing proceeds involve the installation of advanced laboratory equipment.

The private placement involves approximately 4.28 million shares of convertible preferred stock at 35 cents, and about 4.28 million shares each of Series A and B warrants, at exercise prices of 50 cents and 75 cents, respectively.

“This financing provides Medistem the working capital necessary to continue to advance our key strategic initiatives and to launch and carry out clinical trials to develop our proprietary therapies,” said Neil Riordan, PhD, chairman and CEO of Medistem.

Based on previous research, Medistem has determined that its initial clinical trials will focus on the development of treatments for stroke. Current medical therapies have shown limited effectiveness in the restoration of movement and other neurological functions impaired by stroke, it said.