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: NeurAxon, TechniScan Medical Systems, ViewRay, Advion BioSystems, NanoTek, Cerionx, Ionscope, EncorePath

NeurAxon to raise $25M for pain treatment – Waltham, Mass.-based NeurAxon, which just named Lawrence Bloch as its new CEO last week, now plans to raise $25 million in a second funding round this quarter, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The round is slated to wrap up when — and if — the company’s lead drug, a migraine treatment that targets an enzyme called neuronal nitric oxide synthase, produces positive early-stage data.

Ultrasound scanner TechniScan wins $1.7M grant extension — Salt Lake City’s TechniScan Medical Systems, a maker of ultrasound breast-imaging systems for cancer diagnosis in conjunction with mammography, said the NIH had extended a small-business innovation grant for another year to the tune of $1.7 million. The total grant will now amount to $2.8 million. TechniScan has raised approximately $20 million from angels and venture investors.

Real-time imager ViewRay raises $3M — ViewRay, a Gainesville, Fla., developer of real-time imaging systems, raised $3 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports. Individual investors provided the funding. ViewRay’s technology combines an MRI scanner with a gamma-ray radiation treatment system to provide real-time imaging during cancer radiation treatment.

Lab-tools maker Advion BioSystems acquires NanoTek — Advion BioSystems, an Ithaca, N.Y., developer of “lab-on-a-chip” microfluidics systems, acquired Knoxville, Tenn.-based NanoTek. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Advion has raised a total of roughly $17 million in venture funding, according to VentureWire.

Pipette cleaner Cerionx raises $2.5M in debt — Exton, Pa.-based Cerionx, a manufacturer of pipette-cleaning systems, raised $2.5 million in debt financing from BlueCrest Capital Finance, VentureWire reports. The company’s devices clean pipettes without the use of solvents, employing instead an electric field that atomizes remaining organic debris on pipette tips.

Microscopy company Ionscope raises $1.4M — Ionscope, a London-based developer of new scanning ion conductance microscopy technology, raised $1.4 million (£680,000) from individual investors of the Cambridge Angels Group. The company’s technology can allegedly image live cell membranes at resolutions up to 50 times greater than possible with existing technology.

Encore Path raises $500K for stroke rehabilitation — Encore Path, a Baltimore developer of training devices to assist in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, raised $500,000 in seed funding, VentureWire reports. Investors included the Maryland Venture Fund of the state’s Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland Technology Development Corp., as well as angel investors and friends and family. The company was originally founded in 2006 as NewRegen with a focus on neural rehabilitation for stroke patients. Now Encore Path is developing a training device for restoring arm movement, and hopes to raise a larger first round next year when that device launches.