POM Wonderful was founded by Stewart and Lynda Rae Resnick, who purchased a 100-acre pomegranate orchard in 1987. The company launched its namesake juice in 2002. From 2003 to 2006, annual sales climbed from $12 million to $91 million. The company is now the largest grower and distributor of pomegranates and pomegranate juice in the U.S. This must be some seriously profitable juice. Since inception, POM has banked on its health benefits. The company has invested more than $23 million in scientific research to support marketing claims. Packaged in precious containers, the juice sells for +/- $4.50 per16-ounce bottle. We…
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1) Findings: Insights and developments globally on the subject.
2) Companies: Updates and progress reports on member companies.
3) Industry: Important developments from throughout the field.
HealthTronics has made an unsolicited bid to buy Endocare for $26.9 million in cash. The offer represents a 20% premium over Endocare’s closing stock price on August 6th. HealthTronics’ product portfolio includes lithotripters and surgical lasers for treatment of BPH and stones, and anatomical pathology services. We interviewed HealthTronics’ VP of Business Development, Jeff Howell, in May. His team has been working overtime as of late. In July, HealthTronics acquired UroPath, a U.S. provider of anatomical pathology laboratory services, for $7.5 million. That deal followed the March acquisition of Advanced Medical Partners, Inc. (AMPI), a transaction that has more in…
Not wanting to break a winning streak, Clarient delivered its 16th consecutive quarter of quarterly revenue growth. The company posted revenues of $16.9 million in its most recent quarter, a 71% increase over the same period last year. Based on performance in the first half of 2008, Clarient raised fiscal year 2008 revenue guidance to $62 – $66 million, from guidance of $56 – $60 million. According to the company, the increase in revenues was driven by higher testing volume, a favorable service mix and higher Medicare reimbursement rates. Clarient continues to acquire and retain customers. Testing volumes for the…
Citing synergies, Inovio Biomedical and VGX Pharmaceuticals have announced merger plans. Inovio’s electroporation technology uses brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase cellular uptake of gene expression in DNA-based treatments; this enhances the potency of DNA-based immunotherapies against cancers and infectious diseases. Merging with VGX immediately adds a pipeline of DNA vaccine candidates and a team of scientists with strong DNA vaccine expertise. The combined pipeline of therapeutic and preventive DNA vaccine candidates includes one wholly owned agent for HIV and one partly owned agent for hepatitis C (both in phase I clinical trials). Investigational new drug applications are open for…
Veridex, LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will acquire Immunicon for $31 million in cash. Immunicon filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday; the announcement sent shares tumbling to from $.27 to $.09. Since 2000, Veridex and Immunicon have collaborated in the development and commercialization of cancer diagnostics. Veridex was responsible for all marketing, sales and distribution; revenues were shared, except for reagents for which Immunicon received 30%. In May 2007, Immunicon sought to end this exclusive (20-year) arrangement with Veridex. Immunicon alleged, among other things, that Veridex failed to use its “best efforts” in the marketing of Immunicon products by…
This week, the OneMedPlace team is down in Orlando attending the American Urological Association’s annual meeting. We’ll be capturing some great video footage from the floor which we’ll be sharing later this month. While we’ve got Urology on the brain, I thought I’d weigh in on the recently announced upgrade to the Urologix enlarged prostate treatment catheter, CTC Advance. It’ll be years (with any luck) before I need worry about my prostate, but working in the device space, I’m cognizant of what lays ahead. By the time I’m 60, chances are good that I’ll experience symptoms of an enlarged prostate;…
Safeguard Scientifics is a holding company that invests in growth-stage life sciences and technology. In addition to capital, Safeguard provides strategic, operational and management resources to its portfolio companies. As a public company (NYSE: SFE), Safeguard is not subject to the limits of the three-to-seven-year fund raising cycles found in venture capital or buyout firms. This allows Safeguard to focus on growing its portfolio companies at an appropriate pace. Safeguard has investments in ten technology and ten life science-focused companies; the latter includes the following diagnostics, medical device and specialty pharmaceutical firms: Advanced BioHealing Alverix Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Cellumen Clarient NuPathe…
Myriad Genetic Laboratories develops and markets proprietary predictive and personalized medicine products. This includes the poorly branded BRACAnalysis, to assess a woman’s risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer based on detection of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The test is reimbursed by most insurance carriers and is recommended for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancers. The company’s first advertising campaign began in 2002 and lasted five months. Airing in Atlanta and Denver, Myriad intended to raise awareness of cancer prevention through television, radio and print media. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) campaign stirred up some…