Syneron Medical Ltd. and Candela Corporation to Merge Creating a Leading Global Aesthetic Device Company
Wed Sep 9, 2009 5:00am EDT YOKNEAM, ISRAEL and WAYLAND, MA,
Syneron Medical Ltd. (NASDAQ: ELOS) and Candela Corporation (NASDAQ: CLZR) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine the companies in an all stock transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed by year-end 2009.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Exit: Aspect Medical Systems Sold To Covidien
Covidien Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Aspect Medical Systems
COV's purchase of ASPM, a developer and marketer of a brain monitoring product, adds new products to COV's underperforming Respiratory and Monitoring business (~14% of FY2008 sales). Aspect's main product, the Bispectral Index (BIS), measures the effects of anesthesia and sedatives on the brain. ASPM will also bring in an R&D organization as well as further expand COV's monitoring presence in the operating room.
Not Material Financially. COV will pay ~$210M in cash (~$12 per share), net of cash and investments acquired. In 2008, ASPM had ~$99M (+2% y/y) in sales or less than 1% of COV's total sales. Excluding a one-time restructuring charge, COV expects the transaction to be slightly dilutive to FY2010 EPS.
COV's purchase of ASPM, a developer and marketer of a brain monitoring product, adds new products to COV's underperforming Respiratory and Monitoring business (~14% of FY2008 sales). Aspect's main product, the Bispectral Index (BIS), measures the effects of anesthesia and sedatives on the brain. ASPM will also bring in an R&D organization as well as further expand COV's monitoring presence in the operating room.
Not Material Financially. COV will pay ~$210M in cash (~$12 per share), net of cash and investments acquired. In 2008, ASPM had ~$99M (+2% y/y) in sales or less than 1% of COV's total sales. Excluding a one-time restructuring charge, COV expects the transaction to be slightly dilutive to FY2010 EPS.
Friday, August 28, 2009
R.I.P. Biopure
Boston Globe
End of road for Biopure
Company finishes sale of its assets
By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff August 25, 2009
Biopure Corp., the Cambridge company that was working to develop a human blood substitute, has officially expired.
Last month, the struggling biotech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and yesterday it said an auction of the company’s assets had been completed. OPK Biotech LLC, a Delaware company, will pay $4 million to get what remains of Biopure. OPK also agreed to purchase for $850,000 some laboratory space and a 50 percent interest in a partnership that owns the Cambridge building housing Biopure’s headquarters. Both deals are expected to close within 30 days.
“This is the end of the road for Biopure,’’ said Zafiris G. Zafirelis, its chief executive.
The firm was once one of the state’s most promising biotechs. Hemopure, the blood substitute made from cow hemoglobin, long seemed on the verge of emerging as a life-saving breakthrough. It had the potential to be used in emergency situations - such as at accident scenes or on battlefields - when supplies of human blood might be limited. But Biopure could never clear regulatory hurdles that would have turned the substitute into a mainstream medical product.
Hemopure showed many benefits compared with real blood: a three-year shelf life, the ability to be used by patients of any blood type, and freedom from diseases and pathogens that could be transmitted by human blood.
The path to Food and Drug Administration approval, however, was rocky. Although the Navy was interested in using the experimental product to treat military personnel wounded in battle, the FDA consistently rejected efforts by Biopure and the Navy to test it in clinical trials, citing safety worries and other concerns.
In a regulatory filing, Biopure said Biopure stockholders won’t receive much money from proceeds of the sale to OPK.
Still, Zafirelis tried to find a hint of optimism in the company’s final chapter. “I’m hoping that OPK Biotech will continue to develop Biopure’s products,’’ he said.
D.C. Denison can be reached at denison@globe.com.
End of road for Biopure
Company finishes sale of its assets
By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff August 25, 2009
Biopure Corp., the Cambridge company that was working to develop a human blood substitute, has officially expired.
Last month, the struggling biotech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and yesterday it said an auction of the company’s assets had been completed. OPK Biotech LLC, a Delaware company, will pay $4 million to get what remains of Biopure. OPK also agreed to purchase for $850,000 some laboratory space and a 50 percent interest in a partnership that owns the Cambridge building housing Biopure’s headquarters. Both deals are expected to close within 30 days.
“This is the end of the road for Biopure,’’ said Zafiris G. Zafirelis, its chief executive.
The firm was once one of the state’s most promising biotechs. Hemopure, the blood substitute made from cow hemoglobin, long seemed on the verge of emerging as a life-saving breakthrough. It had the potential to be used in emergency situations - such as at accident scenes or on battlefields - when supplies of human blood might be limited. But Biopure could never clear regulatory hurdles that would have turned the substitute into a mainstream medical product.
Hemopure showed many benefits compared with real blood: a three-year shelf life, the ability to be used by patients of any blood type, and freedom from diseases and pathogens that could be transmitted by human blood.
The path to Food and Drug Administration approval, however, was rocky. Although the Navy was interested in using the experimental product to treat military personnel wounded in battle, the FDA consistently rejected efforts by Biopure and the Navy to test it in clinical trials, citing safety worries and other concerns.
In a regulatory filing, Biopure said Biopure stockholders won’t receive much money from proceeds of the sale to OPK.
Still, Zafirelis tried to find a hint of optimism in the company’s final chapter. “I’m hoping that OPK Biotech will continue to develop Biopure’s products,’’ he said.
D.C. Denison can be reached at denison@globe.com.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Layoffs: Analogic Reduces Workforce and Consolidates Operations
Press Release
Aug 5, 2009, 2:34 p.m. EST
Analogic Reduces Workforce and Consolidates Operations
PEABODY, Mass., Aug 5, 2009 (GlobeNewswire ) -- Analogic Corporation ... announced that it has reduced its workforce by 6% worldwide and has vacated a portion of its Canton, Massachusetts facility. As a result, the Company will record a $3.1 million charge in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009. The Company expects this action will result in annual expense savings of approximately $5 million, a portion of which will fund strategic growth initiatives.
The reduction in force, which affects 85 people across the business, will result in a $2.1 million charge for severance and related costs. In addition, the Company vacated approximately half of its Copley Controls facility in Canton, moving certain operations to its Peabody facility. Accordingly, the Company will record a charge of $1.0 million, which represents the ongoing lease payments for the vacated portion over the remainder of the lease term, which ends in 2011.
"We recognize that workforce reductions are difficult for everyone", commented Jim Green, president and CEO. "However, we have a commitment to improve our overall operational effectiveness and fund the ongoing investments needed to position Analogic for future growth. While market conditions over the past few quarters have been difficult, we remain optimistic as the market appears to be stabilizing."
Aug 5, 2009, 2:34 p.m. EST
Analogic Reduces Workforce and Consolidates Operations
PEABODY, Mass., Aug 5, 2009 (GlobeNewswire ) -- Analogic Corporation ... announced that it has reduced its workforce by 6% worldwide and has vacated a portion of its Canton, Massachusetts facility. As a result, the Company will record a $3.1 million charge in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009. The Company expects this action will result in annual expense savings of approximately $5 million, a portion of which will fund strategic growth initiatives.
The reduction in force, which affects 85 people across the business, will result in a $2.1 million charge for severance and related costs. In addition, the Company vacated approximately half of its Copley Controls facility in Canton, moving certain operations to its Peabody facility. Accordingly, the Company will record a charge of $1.0 million, which represents the ongoing lease payments for the vacated portion over the remainder of the lease term, which ends in 2011.
"We recognize that workforce reductions are difficult for everyone", commented Jim Green, president and CEO. "However, we have a commitment to improve our overall operational effectiveness and fund the ongoing investments needed to position Analogic for future growth. While market conditions over the past few quarters have been difficult, we remain optimistic as the market appears to be stabilizing."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lifeline: NxStage
Company press release:
NxStage Announces Closing of $40 Million Debt Financing with Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical
LAWRENCE, Mass., June 5
NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced it has completed the closing of its previously announced $40 million debt financing with its strategic alliance partner, Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical. The Company used approximately $30 million of the proceeds to pay off its entire debt obligation, including prepayment and other transaction fees, owed under its GE credit facility. As a result, NxStage anticipates taking a pre-tax charge of approximately $2 million for the second quarter of 2009 related to prepayment and other transaction fees. The remaining proceeds of approximately $10 million will be used for general operating purposes.
NxStage Announces Closing of $40 Million Debt Financing with Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical
LAWRENCE, Mass., June 5
NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced it has completed the closing of its previously announced $40 million debt financing with its strategic alliance partner, Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical. The Company used approximately $30 million of the proceeds to pay off its entire debt obligation, including prepayment and other transaction fees, owed under its GE credit facility. As a result, NxStage anticipates taking a pre-tax charge of approximately $2 million for the second quarter of 2009 related to prepayment and other transaction fees. The remaining proceeds of approximately $10 million will be used for general operating purposes.
R.I.P. Epix Pharmaceuticals
July 21, 2009 Boston Globe
Cash-strapped Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it is winding down operations and looking to proceed to "an orderly liquidation of its assets" after attempts to obtain additional financing were unsuccessful.
Epix, [was] based in Lexington and ... had been working with the British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline on a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease
In a press release, Epix said that "in light of the company’s lack of capital and inability to obtain additional financing or consummate a strategic transaction, it has entered into an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, effective immediately, in accordance with Massachusetts law (the “Assignment”). The purpose of the Assignment is to conclude the company’s operations and provide for an orderly liquidation of its assets."
To read some previous Globe coverage that referenced Epix, please click here.
Cash-strapped Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it is winding down operations and looking to proceed to "an orderly liquidation of its assets" after attempts to obtain additional financing were unsuccessful.
Epix, [was] based in Lexington and ... had been working with the British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline on a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease
In a press release, Epix said that "in light of the company’s lack of capital and inability to obtain additional financing or consummate a strategic transaction, it has entered into an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, effective immediately, in accordance with Massachusetts law (the “Assignment”). The purpose of the Assignment is to conclude the company’s operations and provide for an orderly liquidation of its assets."
To read some previous Globe coverage that referenced Epix, please click here.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
R.I.P. Biopure
xconomy.com:
Biopure Files for Bankruptcy
7/17/09
Biopure has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced late yesterday. The Cambridge, MA-based firm has agreed to sell its assets to OPK Biotech, but Biopure will also seek competitive bids for the assets in an auction supervised by the bankruptcy court in Massachusetts.
Biopure Files for Bankruptcy
7/17/09
Biopure has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced late yesterday. The Cambridge, MA-based firm has agreed to sell its assets to OPK Biotech, but Biopure will also seek competitive bids for the assets in an auction supervised by the bankruptcy court in Massachusetts.
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