A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Biophan Technologies (West Henrietta, New York) reported the formation of the Biophan Business Development Group, a new unit designed to capitalize, it said, "on the company's extensive intellectual property portfolio through expansion of licensing agreements" to its global biomedical customers.

Biophan said it would fund activities of the new development unit through a new facility provided by SBI Bright-line XI.

It reported canceling a previous financing and entering into a new agreement with SBI Brightline, providing the $30 million fixed-price stock financing for up to 10 million shares at an average price of $3 per share, with a range from $2 to $4 a share. The financing must be taken in sequential tranches of 1 million shares each.

Unveiling of the Business Development Group comes on the heels of Biophan's announcement in July that it would enter the cardiovascular device sector by developing and acquiring new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies in that sector. In last week's announcement, Biophan said it is "reviewing" several cardiovascular technologies that have "potential for exclusive licensing in, and subsequent product development and licensing out."

John Lanzafame, president of Biophan's Nanolution drug-delivery division, will be corporate vice president of the new group, his responsibilities including sales, marketing and business development activities for all of Biophan. Biophan said Lanzafame currently is recruiting to expand its sales capabilities.

It said the new unit has been established to accelerate its exploitation of technologies for improving the performance of biomedical devices and pharmaceutical compounds, "leading to a corresponding competitive advantage by the third-party companies that license Biophan's solutions."

Formation of the group also follows Biophan's recent agreement with Boston Scientific (Massachusetts), with that pact including a payment of $750,000 and annual maintenance fees, in addition to royalties of 3% to 5% and milestone payments up to several million dollars per product category readied for market.

In addition, Biophan recently secured a favorable line of credit facility of up to $2 million from Biomed Solutions, an affiliate.

"We established the Biophan Business Development Group following .... successful attainment of a number of critical strategic goals and in recognition that we had achieved decisive growth steps enabling us to progress from an early-stage technology development company toward the next phase that includes the generation of significant revenues and continued shareholder value," said CEO Michael Weiner.

He said the new sources of capital will "enhance Biophan's standing in the marketplace at a time when our unique nanotechnology and other proprietary solutions have already demonstrated their effectiveness. The need for our solutions within several multi-billion-dollar biomedical segments has been validated repeatedly by several independent sources throughout both the scientific and medical community ...."

Biophan develops technologies that enable implanted medical systems such as pacemakers, interventional surgical devices such as catheters and guidewires, and devices such as stents to be safely MRI-imaged, with other applications including drug delivery and power systems derived from body heat.

Four Biophan technologies include advances in nanotechnology and thin-film coatings. It reports that its licensors now hold a total of 144 U.S. patents, licenses or applications. Biophan also has development and licensing agreements with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration's Ames Center for Nanotechnology.

Global nanotechnology company pSivida (Perth, Australia) reported that it has raised $4.2 million (A$5.6 million) before costs via the private placement of 650,000 American Depository Receipts (ADRs) to predominantly U.S. investors at $6.50 each (A$8.61). Each ADR represents 10 ordinary shares.

New York-based securities dealers placed the ADRs in an offering that was structured as a PIPE (private investment in a public entity).

The ADRs have an attached 1 for 10, three-year warrant exercisable for $12.50 per ADR. They are expected to become tradable on Nasdaq upon filing of a registration statement by pSivida with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is expected to take up to 120 days.

"The funding will be utilized to further our expansion into the U.S., the world's largest healthcare and financial market," said Gavin Rezos, managing director of pSivida.

The company's focus is the development and commercialization of a modified form of silicon (porosified or nano-structured silicon) known as BioSilicon, which the company believes offers multiple potential applications across the high-growth healthcare sector, including controlled-release drug delivery, targeted cancer therapies, tissue engineering and orthopedics. Potential diagnostics applications are being developed through its subsidiary, Aion Diagnostics.