A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

InSite Vision (Alameda, California), an ophthalmic diagnostics, therapeutics and drug-delivery company, said it has entered into definitive agreements for a $9 million private financing of common stock and warrants for common stock.

The terms of the agreements provide for the sale of about 16.4 million newly issued shares of common stock at 55 cents per share, and the issuance of warrants to purchase about 4.9 million shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.6325 per share.

The warrants have a term of five years, but will not be exercisable or transferable for six months following the closing of the financing.

Paramount BioCapital (New York) is serving as the placement agent for the financing. The private placement is to be made to a small group of independent institutional investors and accredited individual investors.

The company said proceeds from the financing would be used for continued development and completion of its Phase III pivotal trials with AzaSite for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.

Pending successful completion of and satisfactory results from current ongoing Phase III clinical trials and the subsequent filing of a new drug application and approval from the FDA, the company expects to commercially launch AzaSite in the U.S. in 2006.

InSite is focused on ocular infections, glaucoma and retinal diseases.

Fisher Scientific International (Hampton, New Hampshire) filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for issuing up to $1 billion of debt and equity securities.

This statement replaces the existing shelf-registration of $750 million, filed Sept. 3, 2003. The company said it has no immediate plans to offer or sell any of its securities.

No securities may be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.

Fisher is a provider of products and services to the scientific community. It serves pharmaceutical and biotech companies; colleges and universities; medical research institutions; hospitals; reference, quality-control, process-control and R&D labs in various industries; as well as government agencies.

In other financing activity:

HTG (Tucson), a provider of array-based gene expression assay technology and services to the life sciences, said it has closed on $3.4 million in Series B financing.

Solstice Capital, Valley Ventures, Emerging Technology Partners, Deimos Ventures, Village Ventures, members of the Tucson Desert Angels, and HTG founder Bruce Seligmann participated in the round.

The company said it would use the funds to further expand manufacturing, sales and marketing activities; hire additional personnel; and increase product trials in support of its patented ArrayPlate qNPA (quantitative nuclease protection assay) technology.

Solstice Capital, Valley Ventures and Village Ventures also participated in HTG's first round of financing in 2002. To date, the company has raised more than $4.6 million.

HTG provides qNPA technology and services for the life sciences industry enabling, it said a "new era of drug discovery and diagnostics." The qNPA technology platform is designed for the measurement of molecular signatures through the multiplexed analysis of RNA directly from whole cells, tissues or organisms.

The company said researchers can obtain much higher-quality gene expression data faster than ever before, in days rather than months.

Paradigm Medical Industries (Salt Lake City) reported completing a $2 million to $5 million financing involving the sale of secured convertible notes. The financing was obtained through the NIR Group (Roslyn, New York) and Laidlaw & Co. (New York).

The notes will be purchased in three tranches: the first is for $850,000, which Paradigm Medical received upon the signing of definitive investment agreements on April 25; the second is for $800,000, upon the filing of a registration statement with the SEC; and the third is for $850,000, upon the effectiveness of the registration statement.

"The company plans to use the proceeds for stepped up sales and marketing, particularly for the manufacture and sale of the P60 ultrasound biomicroscope, our new, fourth-generation device that recently was awarded the CE mark," said CEO John Yoon. "We will also increase research and development activity, especially for the development of a new-generation blood flow analyzer. These two products now account for 50% of the company's overall revenues."

The notes are due three years after issuance and are secured by the company's assets, including inventory, accounts receivable and intellectual property. The notes are convertible into shares of Paradigm Medical common stock at any time during their term.

As further consideration to the purchasers, the company will issue warrants to the investors to acquire an aggregate of 16,534,392 shares of Paradigm common stock at an exercise price of 20 cents per share.

The warrants will have a five-year term from the date of issuance, with cashless exercise permitted in the event there is not an effective registration statement registering the warrants.

Paradigm currently makes diagnostic and surgical and consumable products.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp; Burlington, North Carolina) said its board of directors has authorized a new stock repurchase program under which LabCorp may purchase up to an aggregate of $250 million of its common stock from time-to-time.

Any purchases under the stock repurchase program may be made from in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions and may be initiated and discontinued at any time.

The company said that common stock acquired through the program would be available for general corporate purposes. There are currently no specific plans for the shares that may be purchased under the program.

LabCorp is a developer of diagnostic testing technologies and one of the nation's largest providers of lab testing services. It offers clinical assays ranging from blood analyses to HIV and genomic testing.