A Medical Device Daily

Milestone Scientific (Livingston, New Jersey) reported that it has entered into binding subscription agreements for an approximately $3 million private placement of 101,044 units to institutional accredited investors.

Each unit consisted of 10 shares of common stock and two warrants and was priced at 10 times the average closing price of a share of common stock on the American Stock Exchange during the first 10 of the 12 trading days immediately preceding the execution of the subscription agreements.

Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase a share of common stock at $4.89 per share through the close of business on Feb. 16, 2009. Milestone's escrow agent has received about $1.5 million and expects to receive the balance in the next few days.

I-Bankers Securities acted as placement agent for Milestone in this transaction.

"The additional capital will help accelerate the development of commercial products using our . . . new CompuFlo technology for safely administering injections of local anesthetics and other medications and aspirating bodily fluids," said Leonard Osser, chairman and CEO of Milestone.

Specifically, Osser said that the funds would expedite the filing of the company's FDA applications for its epidural anesthetic injection device and the commercialization of its single-tooth anesthetic injection device, both of which use the CompuFlo technology.

Additionally, he added that the placement "goes a long way toward resolving continued listing questions for our securities on the American Stock Exchange."

Milestone Scientific is the developer of CompuMed and CompuDent computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery systems for medical and dental applications. The company also has developed its CompuFlo technology, which is designed to advance the delivery and removal of an array of fluids from the human body by providing real time displays of pressures, fluid densities and flow rates.

The company received clearance from the FDA in 2003 to market its SafetyWand, which incorporates engineered sharps injury protection features to aid in the prevention of accidental needlesticks.

Life Medical Sciences (LMS; Little Silver, New Jersey), a biomaterials company engaged in the development and commercialization of anti-adhesion and drug delivery products, said it has received about $800,000 through the exercise of warrants to purchase the company's common shares.

The warrants were otherwise scheduled to expire this past Saturday.

"The proceeds will primarily be used to support our ongoing product development programs in post-operative adhesion prevention and cardiac drug delivery," said Robert Hickey, president and CEO of LMS.

The company is conducting a multi-center pivotal clinical trial for Repel-CV, its anti-adhesion product designed for use in cardiac surgery.

The warrants, which were exercisable at 12 cents a share, were issued as part of a $1.2 million private equity placement to private and institutional investors in Europe that closed in March 2003.

The warrant exercise resulted in the issuance of about 6.6 million shares of common stock. All of these shares are restricted and are subject to registration rights granted to the investors in the private placement.

In other financing activity:

AmerisourceBergen (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania) reported that it has entered into an agreement effective March 30 to repurchase 5,264,400 shares of its common stock in an accelerated share repurchase transaction with Bank of America at a price per share of $55.80.

The accelerated repurchase transaction will complete the company's previously authorized 5.7 million-share repurchase program, it said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bank of America or its affiliates will subsequently purchase an equivalent amount of shares of the company's common stock in the open market, which is expected to be completed by the end of April.

The shares repurchased by the company are subject to a contingent purchase price adjustment based on the volume weighted average price of the equivalent number of shares purchased by Bank of America or its affiliates during the subsequent purchase period.

AmerisourceBergen is one of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical services companies. Servicing both pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers in the pharmaceutical supply channel, it provides drug distribution and related services designed to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.