Merck buys cardio-drug maker NovaCardia for $350M
San Diego’s NovaCardia, a developer of drugs for cardiovascular disease, agreed to sell itself to Merck for $350 million.
The specialty pharmaceutical company has in-licensed two drugs from other drug makers, one to treat kidney problems in heart failure patients …
Healthcare software firm Picis raises $155M, acquires Lynx Medical Systems
Picis, a privately held Wakefield, Mass., maker of healthcare-software systems, raised a whopping $155 million in a private placement of convertible preferred stock and debt to Goldman Sachs & Co. and then used a portion of the funds to acquire …
McKesson acquires health-IT firm Awarix
Awarix, a Birmingham, Ala., developer of patient-care IT systems, agreed to sell itself to healthcare-system giant McKesson for an undisclosed amount. Awarix develops “patient-care visibility systems,” which track the location and status of hospital patients via ultrasound and RFID tags. …
Sweden's Meda acquires specialty pharma MedPointe for $820M
Meda, a Swedish specialty-pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire MedPointe, another specialty pharma in Somerset, N.J., for roughly $820 million in cash and stock. Meda’s release — and be careful, as it’s a little difficult to slog through even though it’s …
Inverness acquires 51% of diagnostics maker Diamics
Diamics, a Novato, Calif., maker of cancer diagnostics, raised $6 million by selling a 51 percent stake to Inverness Medical Innovations, a publicly traded diagnostic company.
Diamics is developing an improved system for taking Pap smears used in the early …
Codexis acquires BioCatalytics to bolster enzyme manufacture
Redwood City, Calif.-based Codexis, a developer of enzyme-based manufacturing processes, said it acquired BioCatalytics, a Pasadena, Calif., producer of enzymes that speed chemical reactions. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed; the release is here.
Both companies are focused on “biocatalysis,” …
Indian biotech buys Renaissance Herbs
Avestha Gengraine Technologies, a biotech in Bangalore, India, said it had acquired Renaissance Herbs, a Chatsworth, Calif., natural-products maker. The company’s release is here. Financial terms of the merger weren’t disclosed.
From the release:
The acquisition supports the fulfillment of …
Noven Pharma to acquire JDS Pharma for $125M
Noven Pharmaceuticals, a Miami developer of drug-patch technologies and products, agreed to acquire privately held JDS Pharmaceuticals of New York for $125 million. JDS specializes in neurological drugs, including its antidepressant Pexeva and a timed-release form of lithum for bipolar …
Boston Scientific acquires medical-wireless startup Remon Medical
Boston Scientific agreed to acquire Remon Medical Technologies, an Israeli maker of wireless technology for communicating with implanted medical devices. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms; their release is here.
Founded in 1997, Remon struck a co-development deal with Guidant …
