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Beckman Coulter to Keep Siemens Buy Up North

Beckman Coulter Inc., a Brea-based maker of diagnostic testing instruments and supplies, is gearing up to digest its newest acquisition.

A spokesperson said the company wasn’t planning to move the clinical microbiology unit it’s buying from German conglomerate Siemens AG from its west Sacramento base to Brea. She added that integration plans were still being worked out.

Beckman Coulter said roughly three weeks ago that it would acquire the unit from Munich-based Siemens for an undisclosed price.

H. Lawrence Culp, chief executive of Danaher Corp., Beckman Coulter’s Washington, D.C.-based parent company, said during a July 17 conference call that the deal was “our largest in over two years.” Danaher bought Beckman Coulter for $6.8 billion in 2011.

Beckman Coulter said microbiology is “an attractive adjacency” for the company and would add another product line to its laboratory customer portfolio.

Siemens had been trying to sell its microbiology unit for some time—earlier reports suggested it could fetch $300 million to $600 million.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for Beckman Coulter Diagnostics,” said Arnd Kaldowski, president of the unit. Siemens’ clinical microbiology business “is known for high-quality product and customer relationships and has a strong reputation and market position,” according to Kaldowski.

He said the deal helps Beckman Coulter “enter a new market, one that is growing and where there is still opportunity to convert from manual to automated processes.”

Device Maker Gets Funding

San Clemente-based USGI Medical Inc. said late last month that it received a $9 million senior secured credit facility arranged by Bethesda, Md.-based GE Capital Healthcare’s financial services business.

USGI is developing endoscopic medical devices used in procedures for weight loss.

GE Capital said in a news release that USGI would use the money to support additional clinical studies of its devices. The company has a pivotal trial under way with the Food and Drug Administration and completed enrollment in June.

USGI is developing its device during a time when statistics show a majority of American adults are considered overweight or obese.

“Most people try diet and exercise, and I think most people fail at diet and exercise, especially over a long period of time,” Scott Moonly, USGI’s chief executive, told the Business Journal last year.

“Right now in the U.S., you’re effectively limited to full-blown bariatric surgery or getting a Lap-Band or the competitive product by Johnson & Johnson, the Realize band,” Moonly said.

Lap-Band was previously owned by Irvine-based Allergan Inc., which sold it in October after declining sales.

FDA Accepts Avanir Application

Aliso Viejo-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. said last month that the FDA accepted its investigational new-drug application for a second-phase clinical trial covering its AVP-786 compound.

The drug developer said in a news release that it will initiate the study this quarter to look at the safety and efficacy of AVP-786 for major depressive disorder.

“This is an important moment for the company, as this will be our first clinical study evaluating AVP-786 in patients,” said Dr. Joao Siffert, Avanir’s chief medical officer.

“There are millions of patients with [major depressive disorder] who do not respond adequately to existing therapies. With a mechanism of action addressing multiple neurotransmitter systems involved in depression, AVP-786, if approved, could offer a potential new treatment option for these patients,” he said.

Bits & Pieces

Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley said its MemorialCare Center for Obesity received a three-year reaccreditation as a “center of excellence” for weight-loss surgery. The Gainesville, Fla.-based American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery reaccredited the program. … Children’s Hospital of Orange County received an award for excellence in life support and critical care from the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Extracorporeal Life Support Organization.

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