A Medical Device Daily

Pacific Biosciences (Menlo Park, California) reported that it has secured $100 million in a Series E private equity financing round.

The company said the proceeds will be used to fund the development of its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing platform.

The transaction was co-led by Deerfield Management and Intel Capital. Other new investors include: Morgan Stanley, Redmile Group, T. Rowe Price, and a large financial institution, unnamed. All previous investors participated in the financing, including Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Alloy Ventures, Maverick Capital, AllianceBernstein, DAG Ventures, and Teachers' Private Capital.

"With the backdrop of a difficult market, we believe that this substantial investment by our current and new investors validates the promise of our SMRT technology to change the field of DNA sequencing and spark a true revolution in medical care," said Hugh Martin, CEO and chairman of Pacific Biosciences. "These funds ... will enable us to surge forward with an aggressive development program and stay on track to commercialize our technology in 2010."

Elemé Medical (Merrimack, New Hampshire) a private venture-backed aesthetics company with an initial focus on treatment of cellulite, reported that it has raised $18 million in a Series C financing led by L Capital Partners.

The round also included new investor Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management, as well as returning investors Three Arch Partners and EDF Ventures.

The company said it will use the funds to commercialize its FDA-cleared SmoothShapes system and also to develop its pipeline of body shaping technologies. Ting Pau Oei, a partner at L Capital Partners, and Daniel Omstead, PhD, president/CEO of Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management, will join the board of Elemé.

In other financing news:

• Spineology (St. Paul, Minnesota), manufacturer of the OptiMesh deployable grafting system and a developer of minimally invasive spinal surgery devices, said it has closed on $7.5 million in new financing.

The company said it expects to use the proceeds to fund additional commercialization, product development and clinical research efforts.

"We're at a pivotal stage in our growth process," said John Booth, CEO for Spineology. "The company has made significant strides in many areas over the last few years with very limited capital resources. With this new capital, we are well positioned to expand on all fronts of the business."

This financing was a private placement led by Oakridge Financial (Minneapolis) and includes multiple investors. The finance announcement follows the recent addition of eight direct sales representatives and the ongoing expansion of Spineology's distributor network, it said.

Founded in 1997, Spineology's OptiMesh system is designed to enable spine surgery to be done in a "dramatically less invasive manner," the company says. The system works by allowing implants to be inserted empty and then deployed, once in position, to their full size. OptiMesh is FDA-cleared and CE-marked.

• Medical Properties Trust (MPT; Birmingham, Alabama) reported filing a shelf registration statement with the SEC on July 11 for the resale of shares of the company's common stock, issuable upon exchange of the 9.25% exchangeable notes, due 2013, issued by its operating partnership, MPT Operating Partnership.

The shelf registration became effective upon filing. The operating partnership's initial issuance of the notes, in aggregate principal amount of $82 million, was completed in March, 2008 through a private placement to institutional buyers.

The notes will become exchangeable on or after Jan. 1, 2013, or prior to that date under certain circumstances. The notes will be exchangeable for cash up to their principal amount and shares of the company's common stock for the remainder, if any, of the exchange value in excess of such principal amount.

MPT describes itself as a self-advised real estate investment trust formed to acquire and develop net-leased healthcare facilities. These facilities include rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, regional acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other single-discipline healthcare facilities, such as heart hospitals and orthopedic hospitals.