VentureBeat

TODAY’S HEADLINES

• Sonoma Ortho names Glen Coleman as CEO, preps launch of bone implant (VentureWire)
• TechniScan draws $13M for ultrasound CT scanners (release)
• OrbiMed plans $150M Asian life-science fund (VentureWire)
• Accelerated Tech pulls in $47M, aims for $125M in second med-tech fund (VentureWire)
• Amedisys buys out TLC Health Care for $395M (release)
• Intertek acquires microbe measurer CML Biotech (release)
• Medical-device maker Cianna Medical names Jill Anderson as CEO (release)

Sonoma Ortho names Glen Coleman as CEO, preps launch of bone implant – Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Sonoma Orthopedic Products, until recently a stealthy developer of implants for treating bone fractures, named a new CEO as it prepares for the launch of its first product, VentureWire reports.

The company hired Glen Coleman, former U.S. head of sales and marketing for Wright Medical Technology, as CEO last October in preparation for the anticipated FDA approval of its first bone implant. That product, which Sonoma calls Ensplint, is a flexible implant intended for the hollow space of a broken bone, where it is supposed to speed the healing of fractures.

Ensplint is installed via a minimally invasive procedure, and is intended first for use in wrist fractures, an indication for which the company hopes to soon receive approval. Sonoma will request FDA clearance to use Ensplint in collarbone fractures later this year.

For more details, check out this May 2007 piece from the North Bay Business Journal, which makes clear — as VentureWire didn’t — that the market for bone-fracture treatment is primarily associated with osteoporosis. According to VentureWire, Sonoma has so far raised $13 million in two funding rounds.

TechniScan draws $13M for ultrasound CT scanners – Salt Lake City’s TechniScan Medical Systems, a developer of ultrasound breast-imaging systems for cancer detection in conjunction with mammography, raised $13 million in a fifth funding round. Investors included the Esaote Group and return backers from TechniScan’s board and angel investors.

OrbiMed plans $150M Asian life-science fund – OrbiMed Advisors aims to close a $150 million fund that will target Asian life sciences and healthcare services, VentureWire reports. The fund, Caduceus Asia Partners, will invest in 10 to 15 companies, primarily in China and India.

Accelerated Tech pulls in $47M, aims for $125M in second med-tech fund – Accelerated Technologies Partners, a VC firm and accelerator in Hackensack, N.J., raised $46.5 million toward an expected $125 million second medical-device fund, VentureWire reports. The firm has a primary focus on heart-related applications, and plays an active role in getting startups it funds off the ground.

Featured companies: Gilde Healthcare Partners, Konanda Pharma Partners, Healthvision, OrbiMed, Quovadx, Serentis, Surface, Visiopharm

Danish microscopy company Visiopharm gets funding — Copenhagen’s Visiopharm, a developer of image-analysis hardware and software for microscopy, raised an undisclosed sum from Northcap Partners. The company was founded in 2001.

Konanda Pharma Partners to raise $300M life-science fund — The new New York-based venture-capital fund tells VentureWire (subscription required) that it is looking to put together a $300 million fund to invest in approved but “underutilized” drugs. Konanda initially plans to launch companies that around approved drugs that they believe could benefit from greater attention.

Konanda has funded one company to date, Validus Pharmaceuticals, which purchased the antidepressant Marplan from Oxford Pharmaceutical Services and, last month, acquired a bipolar-disorder treatment from Shire.

Tanox co-founder Nancy Chang joins Orbimed as Asia adviser — Nancy Chang, co-founder and former CEO of the Houston biotech Tanox — since acquired by Genentech for $919 million — has joined Orbimed Advisors as a managing director to help expand the firm’s investments in Asian life-science companies. Chang is a native of Taiwan. Orbimed also named Jonathan Wang, most recently general manager of Burrill & Co.’s Greater China Group, as a managing director. The Orbimed release is here (PDF).

Specialty pharma Serentis acquires dermatology-drug maker Surface Therapeutics — Cambridge, U.K.-based Serentis, a specialty pharma focused on dermatology and wound-care products, acquired Surface Therapeutics, a U.K. biotech developing new treatments for atopic dermatitis. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed; the release is here.

Healthcare IT firm Quovadx acquires Healthvision — Dallas-based Quovadx, a developer of IT systems for hospitals and health insurers, agreed to acquire Healthvision, an Irving, Tex., builder of “intelligent information exchanges.” Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed; the release is here. Still not sure exactly what Healthvision does? Well, in the company’s own words, it provides “integrated marketing strategies and solutions that include targeted marketing, patient acquisition programs, Web site design and development, and the tools that drive these solutions.” Glad we could clear that up for you.

Gilde Healthcare Partners closes €150M venture fund — The Dutch venture-capital firm raised €150 million ($211.8 million) for its second life-sciences venture fund. Gilde has already exited its first investment from that fund — Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, which went public in June.