A Medical Device Daily

InSightec (Tirat Carmel, Israel) reported that it has closed an internal round of financing totaling $15 million from its existing investors.

Elbit Imaging invested $7.5 million on Wednesday. An additional $7.5 million will be invested by its existing investors within the next 12 months, InSightec said.

The investment will take the form of Preferred Shares B, which are convertible to InSightec's ordinary shares subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions stipulated in the agreement.

InSightec reported that the funds would be used to expand its R&D efforts, for marketing and sales activities, and for general corporate purposes.

"We are very proud [of] the ongoing trust we are receiving from our investors that share our vision that this technology is the enabler of the next generation operating room that will be a non-invasive and outpatient operating room," said President/CEO Dr. Kobi Vortman.

Kortman said that the ExAblate 2000 treatments of uterine fibroids continue to grow globally with "excellent" clinical results driving market adoption in more than 70 leading sites globally and over 4,500 women treated worldwide.

In parallel, InSightec is expanding its research into the oncology areas: bone metastases, prostate cancer, breast cancer, liver tumors and brain tumors. Kortman noted that recent publications have shown that magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) with the ExAblate system has the potential to be an effective noninvasive pain-relieving treatment for tumors that have spread to the bones (bone metastases).

InSightec is conducting a phase III pivotal trial for the treatment of pain palliation of bone metastases. In addition, a Fertility Enhancement study is being performed evaluating the potential of ExAblate fibroids' treatments to enhance fertility when other potential causes of women's infertility have been ruled out.

According to the company, the ExAblate is the first system to use the MR guided focused ultrasound technology that combines MRI - to visualize the body anatomy, plan the treatment and monitor treatment outcome in real time - and high intensity focused ultrasound to thermally ablate tumors inside the body non-invasively. MR thermometry, provided uniquely by the system, allows the physician to control and adjust the treatment in real time to ensure that the targeted tumor is fully treated and surrounding tissue is spared. The ExAblate system was approved by the FDA in 2004 as a treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids. ExAblate 2000 received the European CE Mark certification for pain palliation of bone metastases in June 2007.

InSightec is a privately held company owned by Elbit Imaging, GE Healthcare, MediTech Advisors, and employees.

In other financing activity

• MedAptus (Boston) said it has secured $6 million in capital in a financing led by existing investor Boston Millennia Partners. This investment will enable MedAptus to further support the growth of its Intelligent Charge Capture suite of products, the company said.

"The realities of today's economy require provider organizations to look at financial performance more closely than ever," said MedAptus CEO Dennis Mitchell. "This means that our offerings have become must-have for hospitals and physician practices in order to grow and thrive. This financing will allow us to innovate in ways that drive unparalleled revenue integrity and optimization for our customers."

According to MedAptus, its "powerful, yet easy-to-use, electronic charge capture technologies are practice-proven to maximize revenue, enhance compliance efforts and increase billing process transparency." Offerings include solutions for professional, facility and infusion services coding and billing, as well as complementary modules for PQRI and other clinically oriented tasks.

• Alexandria Real Estate Equities (Pasadena, California) reported the pricing of its follow-on public offering of 7 million shares of common stock at $38.25 a share, upsized from an originally sized offering of 4.5 million shares. Merrill Lynch & Co., Citi and J.P. Morgan acted as joint book-running managers and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Scotia Capital acted as co-managers in connection with the public offering. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,050,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on March 24, subject to customary closing conditions.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to reduce the outstanding balance on its unsecured line of credit. Alexandria said it anticipates that it will then borrow funds under its unsecured line of credit to pay down $25 million of the company's senior secured term loan. The company may then also borrow from time to time under its unsecured line of credit to provide funds for general working capital and other corporate purposes, including the repayment of debt and selective redevelopment and development of existing or new life science properties.

Alexandria is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused principally on science-driven cluster formation through the ownership, operation, management and selective redevelopment, development and acquisition of properties containing technical environments, including office/laboratory space. Its properties are designed and improved for lease primarily to institutional, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, product, service, biopharmaceutical and translational entities, as well as government agencies.