May 26, 2011 -- Devicor Medical Products Inc., announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Neoprobe Corporation to acquire the Neoprobe GDS portfolio of products. Devicor currently provides distribution and marketing services to Neoprobe for the gamma detection systems covered by this agreement.
Financial terms of the agreement include $30 million cash at close, plus up to an additional $20 million in royalties based on revenue milestones. The sale is subject to approval by Neoprobe's shareholders and is expected to close shortly after the shareholders' meeting in August. Neoprobe Corp. markets its gamma detection systems, detector probes and accessories worldwide for surgical procedures called intraoperative lymphatic mapping (ILM) or sentinel lymph node biopsy, a minimally invasive technique for evaluating the potential spread of cancer to lymph node tissues and organs.
Several large-scale national and international studies have evaluated the survival advantage of ILM staging in patients with melanoma and breast cancer. Evaluation of outcomes is ongoing. Neoprobe is also exploring other potential applications for the use of its gamma detection devices in cancer surgery. Neoprobe is the only company developing both gamma detection systems and radiotracers. This combination of technologies represents a first in the health care field and offers a unique ability to optimize the radio tracers and gamma detection system.
The acquisition of the Neoprobe GDS line comes less than a year after Devicor's acquisition of Ethicon Endo-Surgery's (EES) breast care business, Mammotome, which sells products designed to help doctors detect and diagnose breast cancer. GTCR will be investing additional equity capital in Devicor to finance a portion of the purchase price of the Neoprobe GDS assets.
The Mammotome product portfolio is sold in 50 countries around the world and includes the Mammotome Breast Biopsy System as well as tissue markers for breast disease diagnostic sampling and management. Mammotome has distributed and marketed Neoprobe's line of gamma detection systems since 2000, as part of EES and then continuing as part of Devicor.
For more information: www.devicormedical.com, www.mammotome.com