A Medical Device Daily

Bovie Medical (Melville, New York), a maker of electrosurgical products, said it has acquired technology for a new endoscopic modular instrument from Henvil (Amherstburg, Ontario). Financial terms were not disclosed.

The modular forceps are ergonomically designed to provide surgeons added comfort and improved safety while reducing per-procedure costs. The forceps offer a simpler assembly process for laparoscopic procedures and is the first modular design for the arthroscopy market, according to Bovie.

Commercial prototypes have been developed and, based on current projections, the company said it expects to begin marketing during FY06.

The estimated annual worldwide market size for instruments in this area is believed to exceed $200 million.

"The instruments are reusable and have a disposable component and constitute a step forward in the evolution of surgical instruments that will benefit patients, surgeons and cost conscience administrators," said Steve Livneh, president and founder of Henvil.

Medis Technologies (New York) reported that its scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the use of the CellScan System, allowing much longer survival of cells and the opportunity for their measurement.

Given this success, the company said it planned to form a separate CellScan company.

"Now that we have achieved these capabilities for the CellScan, we are moving forward with a program for commercializing it through relationships with clinical laboratories and medical centers," said Robert Lifton, chairman and CEO of Medis. "In parallel, we have decided that the best way to enhance value for our shareholders is to separate the CellScan into a distinct company. This new entity is called Cell Kinetics Ltd. We are in the process of interviewing talented executives for the position of CEO of Cell Kinetics Ltd. and we expect to fill that position in the near future."

At the same time, he said the company has begun to discuss with financing sources, initial financing for the new company, separate from Medis. "We are looking for ways to create the most value for the shareholders of Medis, which may include selling shares of Cell Kinetics or spinning shares off to the shareholders of Medis or some other way of realizing value."

Medis has developed a new version of the CellScan Cell Carriers which hold up to 10,000 individual cells, particularly in providing various new coatings of the Cell Carriers. The new Cell Carrier allows the cells to survive and be measured for over 48 hours, providing an opportunity for measuring the reaction of different cells and separating out those cells whose reaction warrants further stimulation or study, including testing the efficacy of drugs on those cells.

Medis said that this breakthrough paves the way for contributions in various areas of cancer research, including in the area of cancer stem cells, as well as new drug development.

Medis' primary focus is on direct liquid fuel cell technology. Its business strategy is to sell its products to end users through retail outlets and service providers. Medis has also developed the CellScan with many potential applications relating to disease diagnostics and chemo sensitivity.

In other dealmaking news: VirTra Systems (Arlington, Texas) said it has signed a definitive agreement with VirTra Merger to acquire three private electronics manufacturing firms: Altatron International, Altatron EMS (both Moorpark, California) and Dynalyst Manufacturing (Taylor, Texas).

VirTra will acquire these companies in a stock-for-stock merger transactiMon. The acquisitions should increase the company's revenue 10-fold, it said.

Altatron is an ISO 9001:2000 original equipment manufacturer in the medical devices, consumer electronics, computer, telecommunications and networking industries. Dynalyst is focused on high-end design engineering and fabrication for the semiconductor industry.

VirTra said it will use the new technological and manufacturing capabilities diversify it into the electronics manufacturing services industry.