A Medical Device Daily

Hansen Medical (Mountain View, California) said it has purchased certain assets – primarily intellectual property (IP) – of endoVia Medical (Norwood, Massachusetts).

The IP includes a portfolio of 33 issued and pending patents and patent applications, many of which are related to minimally invasive surgery (MIS) instruments and surgical robotics.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“This acquisition strengthens the intellectual property at the core of our enterprise and creates a solid foundation of intellectual assets to support our overall business strategy,” said Frederic Moll, MD, founder and CEO of Hansen Medical. “We believe the combined technologies from Hansen and endoVia position us to streamline interventional procedures through the power of instinctive catheter movement, while improving patient care and reducing overall costs to patients and the healthcare system.”

Hansen Medical is developing technology that allows the controlled manipulation and precise positioning of percutaneous catheters within chambers of the heart. The Hansen Catheter Control System (CCS) is designed to provide precise catheter control and 3-D navigation, enabling physicians to access hard-to-reach anatomy, repeat procedure steps and maintain stability during procedures.

The workstation is compatible with fluoroscopy, ultrasound, 3-D surface map and patient electrogram data.

The company said that by bringing together robotic technology with computed movement algorithms, the remote control of catheters is made possible from a physician workstation. It added that the Hansen system allows physicians to place the control workstation in a location where radiation exposure may be decreased.

The Hansen CCS is transportable and does not require construction of a specialized room. It can, for instance, be moved among catheter lab suites already in place in a hospital or medical facility.

The company initially is developing the CCS for electrophysiology and interventional cardiology, and is researching expanded applications in neurovascular, peripheral vascular and other endoluminal body cavity applications.

Hansen Medical was founded in 2002. The company said it anticipates that its system, once approved for sale, “will enhance the speed and safety of catheter-based therapeutic procedures by offering physicians precise control over catheter placement not achievable with existing interventional techniques.”

endoVia Medical was founded in 1996 by scientists from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and physicians from the department of surgery at the Boston University Medical Center. It has been developing second-generation, physician-guided robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery including general surgery, urology, gynecology and bariatric surgery.

The German Federal Cartel Office has given its clearance to the previously announced tender offer under which Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pennsylvania), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG (Munich, Germany), will acquire all the outstanding shares of CTI Molecular Imaging (Knoxville, Tennessee).

The clearance included granting early termination of the waiting period prescribed by the German Act Against Restraints on Competition.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary, MI Merger Co., Siemens Medical Solutions commenced on April 1 a tender offer for all of the outstanding common shares of CTI Molecular Imaging for $20.50 a share. The deal is valued at about $1 billion.

The tender offer remains open until 12 midnight EDT on April 28, unless extended. Following completion of the tender offer, any remaining shares of CTI Molecular Imaging will be acquired in a merger at the same price.

The boards of directors of both companies have approved the agreement. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close during 2Q05.

CTI Molecular Imaging is a leading supplier of products and services for positron emission tomography (PET), an imaging technology used for detection and treatment of cancer, neurological disorders and cardiac disease. It reported sales of $402 million in fiscal 2004.

In other dealmaking news:

• Stressgen Biotechnologies (Victoria, British Columbia) said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its bioreagents business to Stressgen Bioreagents Corp., a newly formed company funded by Ampersand Ventures (Wellesley, Massachusetts/San Diego), for about C$8 million.

The transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days.

As part of the agreement, Stressgen Biotechnologies will provide transitional administrative service, which will provide it with additional revenue. Twenty-six of the company’s 103 employees will join the new bioreagents firm.

Ampersand is a private equity investment firm with investments across a broad range of industry sectors, including life sciences and healthcare.

Stressgen Biotechnologies also reported that it has elected to withdraw the amended and restated preliminary prospectus dated Feb. 24, in connection with a proposed offering of common shares in Canada. “The decision to withdraw the prospectus was a result of unfavorable market conditions in the biotechnology financing sector and the company’s current valuation,” said Gregory McKee, president and CEO. “The board and the company decided to pursue other options to minimize dilution to the company and its current shareholders.”

Stressgen is developing vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. Its lead compound, HspE7, is designed for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases caused by the human papillomavirus.

• PainCare Holdings (Orlando, Florida) has acquired the non-medical assets of Colorado Pain Specialists (CPS), an advanced interventional pain management practice operating six clinics in the Denver area. In connection with the purchase, PainCare Holdings will provide ongoing management and administrative services under a long-term management agreement.

The terms of the acquisition provide for PainCare to pay Scott Brandt, MD, and Bradley Vilims, MD, total consideration of up to $8.5 million, payable in equal cash and stock payments, with 50% of the total consideration, or $4.25 million, paid at closing and the remaining balance of $4.25 million to be paid over three years pursuant to certain predetermined earnings benchmarks being achieved by CPS.

PainCare said it expects the practice to contribute about $3 million in annual revenue and $1.7 million in operating income to the company each year.