A Medical Device Daily

Bioheart (Sunrise, Florida) made headlines as the only biotech firm to raise money through an initial public offering (IPO) on the U.S. markets last year — though it raised only $5.8 million through the sale of 1.1 million shares at $5.25 each.

But the firm now has received written notification from Nasdaq that its listing was discontinued as of last Friday.

The move followed Nasdaq's determination that the company failed to comply with certain listing requirements, including the market value of its common stock and either minimum stockholders' equity or net income from continuing operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or two of its last three most recently completed fiscal years.

Bioheart CEO Howard Leonhardt said in a press release that it is unfortunate that the company's stock price "has been so adversely affected by the general decline in the securities market that it could not maintain a Nasdaq listing." Bioheart, which develops devices and biologics for cardiovascular diseases, said it is in the process of engaging a market maker for its common stock and is applying for listing on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board.

Meanwhile, the firm continues to develop its lead product candidate, MyoCell, a muscle-derived stem cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells to improve cardiac function in people who suffer chronic heart failure.

Bioheart's shares, which were listed Friday on the Pink Sheets, fell 30 cents, or 35%, to close at 55 cents.

In other financing news:

• Response Genetics (Los Angeles) reported that it has entered into a purchase agreement with certain affiliated funds of Special Situations Funds to raise $2 million from the private placement of 2 million newly issued shares of its common stock, at a purchase price of $1 per share. The closing of the sale of the shares is expected to occur today.

Response is focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer. Its technologies are designed to enable extraction and analysis of genetic information from genes derived from tumor samples stored as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens. In addition to diagnostic testing services, it generates revenue from the sales of its analytical pharmacogenomic testing services of clinical trial specimens to the pharmaceutical industry.

• Tenet Healthcare (Dallas) reported the completion of its offer to exchange up to $1.6 billion aggregate principal amount of its outstanding notes maturing on Dec. 1, 2011, and June 1, 2012, for an equal aggregate principal amount of two new series of senior secured notes maturing in 2015 and 2018.

A total of $1.4 billion of the outstanding notes were exchanged, consisting of $915 million or 91.5% of the 2011 notes and $484 million or 80.7% of the 2012 notes. In completing the exchange, the company will issue $1.4 billion of new notes consisting of about $700 million of 6-year notes and $700 million of 9-year notes with fixed coupon rates of 9% and 10%, respectively.

The new notes will be guaranteed by and secured by a pledge of the capital stock and other ownership interests of certain of Tenet's subsidiaries.

Tenet owns and operates acute-care hospitals and related healthcare services.

• Waters Corp. (Milford, Massachusetts) reported that on Feb. 27, its board authorized the company to repurchase up to $500 million of its outstanding common shares over the next 24 months. The previous $500 million share repurchase program authorized in February 2007 had expired and was substantially completed. Purchases will be made through open market transactions, subject to market conditions and trading restrictions.

Waters operates as an analytical instrument manufacturer primarily in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Asia. It makes high-performance liquid chromatography, ultra-performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry instrument systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.

The company also makes thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments, which are used in predicting the suitability of polymers and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods, and healthcare products.