September 2005 issue
No Sticking Points Seen Here --
FDA-Approved Device Adds Precision and Speed to Common Procedure
Luminetx signed a distribution deal to get its first product, the Vein
Viewer, out on the market.
...
Mergers and Acquisitions
The Long-Term Care sector sees the only deal in the billion-dollar range,
and the Home Health Care sector gets a little action.
...
Venture Capital Market
Health care venture capital funding in August totaled more than half a
billion dollars in deals, plus a new firm makes its first investments.
...
Public Equity Market
All three health care companies that completed an initial public offering
during August are trading above their IPO prices, plus several secondary
offerings were made, including a few by selling shareholders.
...
Private Equity Market
Health care companies secured close to one billion dollars in private equity
financings last month, including two mega-deals.
...
Notes & Briefs
...
Key Contacts
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headlines.
Companies Mentioned in this issue:
September 2005
20/10 Perfect Vision Optische p8
3i p7, p8
A
Active Service p5
Advanced Life Sciences p3
Aerogen p5
Alba Therapeutics p7
Alder Biopharmaceuticals p8
Alexion Pharmaceuticals p3, p4
Allen & Company p8
Allion Healthcare p5
Allon Therapeutics p11
Alta Partners p7
Alteer Corporation p8
Amedisys p4, p5
American Red Cross p12
Amnis p8
AmSurg p5
Amylin Pharmaceuticals p3
Anadys Pharmaceuticals p3
Arbor Surgical Technologies p8
Arboretum Ventures p8
Ariad Pharmaceuticals p3
Arrow Pharmaceuticals p5
ArthroCare p5
Aspen Therapeutics p4
Astellas Ventures p7
Astralis p11
Atlas Ventures p8
AtriCure p3
Aureon Laboratories p8
Auxilio p11
Avitar p4
Avlar BioVentures p7
AVONTEC p8
B
Baird Venture Partners p8
Battery Ventures p8
Bear, Stearns p3
Beech Street p5
Beverly Enterprises p4, p5
Bio Fund Management p8
Bio-Sight Capital p8
BioAdvance Ventures p8
Biophan Technologies p11
Birchmere Ventures p8
Blue Cedar p11
Boston Life Sciences p11
Boston Scientific p6, p11
BrainsGate p8
Brittany Capital p11
Brookdale Senior Living p3
BW-Venture p8
C
C.E. Unterberg, Towbin p11
Callisto Pharmaceuticals p11
Cambridge Gateway Partnership p7
Canaan Partners p6
Cantel Medical p5
CapitalSource p4
Catella Healthcare p8
CDIB BioScience p7
Cell Therapeutics p12
Cellomics p5
Celltech Manufacturing p5
Cephalon p9
Cerenis Therapeutics p7
Cerexa p6
Charles River Laboratories p9
Chelsea Therapeutics p3
Chicago Growth Partners p8
China Medical Technologies p3
CIBC World Markets p4
Citigroup p3
Clinical Pathology Lab. p5
CMEA Ventures p9
Coley Pharmaceutical p3
Coley Pharmaceuticals p11
Concentra p5
Conceptus p11
Conemaugh Health p5
Consejo de Latinos Unidos p12
Covance p5
Credit Suisse First Boston p4
Crosstex p5
Curagen p3
Cynosure p3
D
Daou Systems p5
Diomed p2
dj Orthopedics p3, p5
Domain Associates p6
Dutchess Private Equities p11
E
Eastland Medical p5
Echo Hlthcare Acquisition p3
EDF Ventures p7
EGS Healthcare p7
Electro-Optical Sciences p3
Elite Surgical Supplies p5
Elron Electronic p8
Enable Medical p4
Encore Medical p3
eninsula Pharmaceuticals p6
Exelixis p3
Experance BioVentures p7
Eyetech Pharmaceuticals p5
F
Fisher Scientific p5
Five Star Quality Care p3
Fortis Securities p10
Frazier Healthcare Ventures p6
Frontier Pharmacy p5
G
Genoptix p8
Genta p11
GFI Clinical Services p5
GlaxoSmithKline p6
Goldman, Sachs p3
Greenway Capital p11
Group Health p5
GTC Biotherapeutics p9, p11
H
Health Cap p7
HealthCap p7
Healthcare Acquisition p3
Healthcare Acquisition Corp. p3
HearUSA p11
Hepalife Technologies p3
Hoffman-LaRoche p4
Human Genome Sciences p10
Hunter World Markets p11
I
IMI International Medical p11
Inhibitex p10
InNexus Biotechnology p11
Innovative Spinal Technologies p6, p7
Inotek Pharmaceuticals p7
Intarcia p3
Intercytex p7
Intraop Medical p11
Inyx p5
iPIX p1
Isis Pharmaceuticals p10
ISTO Technologies p8
Ivory Capital p3
IVREA Pharmaceuticals p8
J
Jefferies & Company p11
Johnson & Johnson Development p7
JP Morgan p3
JPMorgan Partners p7
K
KFx Medical p8
Kingsbridge Capital p11
Kosan Biosciences p4
KPS Health Plans p5
L
L Capital Partners p7
LabOne p5
Ladenburg Thalmann p3
Large Scale Biology p11
Lazard Capital Markets p10
Leerink Swann p10
Lehman Brothers p3
LifeMed Media p8
Long Term Rx p5
Lovelace Sandia Hospice p5
LumiCyte p5
Luminetx p1
M
MAKO Surgical p8
Manhattan Pharmaceut. p11
MannKind Corporation p11
Maryland TEDCO p7
Maryland Venture Fund p7
Maxim Group p3
Meda AB p5
Medicure p11
MedImmune Ventures p7
Mediscience Technology p11
MedVenture p8
Merlin BioSciences p7
Merrill Lynch p3
MicroMed Technology p11
Ministries of Health p12
Mintz Levin p11
MIP Technologies p8
MIV Therapeutics p11
Montreux Equity Partners p7
Morgan Keegan p1
Morgan Stanley p4
Mpex Pharmaceuticals p6
MPM Capital p7
N
Nanyang Innovation Fund p8
Nastech Pharmaceutical p3
National Diabetic Pharm. p5
NCARE p5
NDCHealth p5
Needham & Company p10
Nektar Therapeut. p5
Nektar Therapeutics p11
NGN Capital p8
NIF Ventures p7
NLV Partners p6
Non-Invasive Monitoring p11
North American Senior Care p4
NovoStent p8
Nutra Pharma Corp. p11
NuVasive p5
Nuvelo p11
NxStage Medical p9
O
Oak Venture Partners p7
Occupational Health p5
Odyssey Health p5
OncoGenex Technologies p8
OrbiMed Advisors p7
Orion Securities p11
OSI Pharmaceutic. p5
Oxford Immunotec p8
P
PainCare Hldgs. p5
Panacos Pharmaceuticals p3
Paramount BioCapital p11
Pathology Partners p9
Per-Se Technologies p5
Pharmaceutical Resource p5
Pharmacopeia p11
Piedmont Ctr. for Spinal p5
Piper Jaffray p3, p4, p11
Pitango Venture Capital p7
PolyMedica p5
Porton Capital p8
Predix Pharmaceuticals p3
Prelude Ventures p8
Priority Healthcare p4
ProCare One Nurse p5
Profos p8
Protedyne p8
Protez Pharmaceuticals p8
Provident Healthcare Partners p1
Proxicom p5
pSivida Limited p11
Punk, Ziegel p11
Q
QIAGEN p5
Quaker BioVentures p8
Quest Diagnostics p5
R
RBC Capital Markets p10
Red Abbey Venture Partners p7
Regado Biosciences p8
Regeneration Technol. p11
Regeneration Technologies p9
Reliant Pharmaceuticals p3
Rho Ventures p7
RITA Medical Systems p11
RiverBend Design p5
Rodman and Renshaw p11
Roth Cap. p3
Royalty Pharma p5
S
Sanderling Ventures p8
Santarus p10
SanuWave p5
Sapient Health Network p9
Satellite Asset p11
Scion Cardio-Vascular p4
Scottish Equity Partners p7
Scripps Clinic p2
SecureCARE Technol. p11
Sevin Rosen p8
SG Cowen p4, p10
SickofLawsuits.org p12
Sightline Technologies p8
Sigma p5
SkyTel p1
Smart Holograms p8
Sofinnova Partners p7
Sonic Healthcare p5
Sonus Pharmaceuticals p11
SpectraCare p1, p5
Speedel p6
Stentor p4
Sun Healthcare p5
SuNyx p5
Sutter Health p12
SV Life Sciences p7
Synova Healthcare p3
T
Team Health p3
Tengion p6
Texas Back Institute p7
TGR Biosciences p8
The Exxel Group p8
The Lancet p12
The Measles Initiative p12
The Sprout Group p6
ThinkEquity p3
Townsend Capital p7
Triage Wireless p8
TriPath Imaging p9
U
UBS Investment Bank p4
Union Dental Holdings p11
United Nations Foundation p12
University of Tennessee p2
UPMC Lee Regional p5
V
Vaso Active Pharmaceut. p11
Ventiv Health p5
Ventures West p8
Verus Pharmaceuticals p12
Viatris GmbH p5
VistaCare p5
Viventia Biotech p4
Vyteris Holdings p11
W
Wachovia Bank p4
Wachovia Securities p10
Wolters Kluwer p5
World Health Alternatives p12
World Heart p11
X
Xenogen p11
Z
Zimmer Holdings p8
Zix Corporation p11
ZymoGenetics p3
|
No Sticking Points Seen Here --
FDA-Approved Device Adds Precision and Speed to Common Procedure
Sometime in the first quarter of 2006 should mark the
beginning of the end of the post-procedural pain, bruising and soreness
associated with needle-sticks of all kinds. Blood donors, diabetics and
other patients who routinely have blood drawn and all the hospital
patients who get IVs should have access to a higher standard of care when
practitioners begin using a new product, the VeinViewer.
Luminetx, Inc. will soon begin raising its Series A venture
financing, having completed a $4 million seed round a few months ago, led
by Morgan Keegan and Company, a major investor in the Southeast.
The rest of the company’s backers are angel investors, including some
management. Luminetx expects to become profitable by the end of 2006, and
an IPO is possible, according to Jim Phillips, the President, CEO and
Chairman of the Board of Luminetx. He was formerly President and a
co-founder of SkyTel, and Chairman and CEO of iPIX, both of
which are wireless technology companies that he was instrumental in taking
public. Mr. Phillips has also been CEO in Residence and special advisor to
the Private Equity Groups at Morgan Keegan, and first became involved with
Luminetx as a member of the board of directors.
Luminetx expects to revolutionize the delivery of health
care with its first product, the VeinViewer. Currently in clinical
evaluations, the VeinViewer has proven to have a much higher rate of
success than most devices and drugs the FDA reviews. The VeinViewer is the
product of technology developed at the University of Tennessee in
the biomedical engineering department, based upon a 1999 invention that
reached prototype stage this year.
The VeinViewer is like several other contemporary medical
devices in that it harnesses the power of light. But unlike some others,
the device does not pose any threat to patients. According to Roxane
Bischofberger, Vice President and Director of Clinical Services &
Distribution at Luminetx, one key to the technology is that the spectrum
of light utilized is near-infrared, so no heat is emitted. When this type
of light is shined upon the skin surface, the hemoglobin in the
bloodstream absorbs it; the device processes that image through an
algorithm, then projects back onto the skin a precise image of the
underlying vein structure to a depth of approximately one-quarter inch.
The VeinViewer—more precise than ultrasound—accurately aligns that image
to within 6/100 of one millimeter. Clients will have the choice of a basic
model that allows for more maneuverability in tight spaces, or a
deluxe-type unit that offers storage space for nursing and lab/tech
supplies, with an expected MSRP of $17.5K and $22.5K, respectively.
Ms. Bischofberger, who has experience at the Scripps
Clinic and as a consultant to Fortune 500 medical device companies, is
spearheading recent efforts to get the VeinViewer onto the market,
including work to gain reimbursement codes for the device. At this point,
the product is in the clinical evaluation stage, the period of time it
takes for a medical device to gain widespread acceptance in the health
care community—typically three to five years. In the next ten years, Ms.
Bischofberger and others believe the VeinViewer will become commonplace in
most hospitals and physicians’ offices. Many routine medical procedures
and most hospital stays involve venipuncture, or the insertion of a needle
into a vein, she said, and the success of some other procedures relies
upon not puncturing a vein. Luminetx anticipates the device will
also indirectly improve health care in other ways, like promoting faster
treatments, possibly lowering infection rates and making the donation of
blood more appealing to the general public.
The FDA approved the VeinViewer as a Class I medical
device, actually calling it a work light, since it is non-invasive and is
essentially harmless and safe for patients and practitioners. Clinical
evaluations are going to be underway in the United States, Europe and
South America when the product is launched in various applications.
Luminetx also may pursue opportunities in the positron emission scanning
and magnetic resonance imaging areas of medicine. These types of tests
require the patient to be injected with an isotope such as cadmium, and it
is imperative that the isotope be injected only straight into the vein for
clean imaging. Luminetx has about eight bioimaging tools under
development, and may have to submit for other FDA approvals, depending
upon the applications for the devices.
Most recently, Luminetx signed an exclusive distribution
agreement with Diomed, Ltd. to distribute the VeinViewer in the
United States and the United Kingdom for the sclerotherapy, phlebectomy
and varicose vein markets, and is marketing the VeinViewer in a variety of
therapeutic specialties. Diomed will also be investing $1 million in
Luminetx’s upcoming A round. |
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