Laura Sassano05.18.11
A new deal has Varian Medical Systems Inc. paying $15 million for a minority stake in Augmenix Inc. The investment gives Varian an exclusive option to buy Augmenix for an undisclosed final price if certain agreed-upon milestones are met.
“All the investors and employees would do very well,” Amar Sawhney, president and CEO of Augmenix, said of the option. “If all goes according to plan, everybody would make a healthy return on their investment.”
Augmenix employs 12 people after three years of operation.
“[The investment] allows you to try to focus on getting the job done without having to try to raise venture capitalist money,” Sawhney said. “That means less dilution for the employees and the investors.”
The potential selling of the company as a whole is not a deviation from Augmenix’s original plans. Sawhney noted that most of the companies he has founded in the past have been acquired as well.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian produces medical devices and software for the treatment of cancer and other conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy. Waltham, Mass.-based Augmenix is the manufacturer of the SpaceOAR System, a hydrogel-based product which helps shield nearby tissue when a patient is receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer. The system is approved for sale by Augmenix in select European countries and Australia, and is under clinical investigation in the United States, where it will require submission of a premarket approval application.
Sawhney has not predicted when Varian might exercise its option to buy all of Augmenix, or if U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the SpaceOAR System is one of the agreed-upon milestones. Sawhney did say that FDA approval is a regulatory milestone, and that Augmenix is at least two years away from approval.
“All the investors and employees would do very well,” Amar Sawhney, president and CEO of Augmenix, said of the option. “If all goes according to plan, everybody would make a healthy return on their investment.”
Augmenix employs 12 people after three years of operation.
“[The investment] allows you to try to focus on getting the job done without having to try to raise venture capitalist money,” Sawhney said. “That means less dilution for the employees and the investors.”
The potential selling of the company as a whole is not a deviation from Augmenix’s original plans. Sawhney noted that most of the companies he has founded in the past have been acquired as well.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian produces medical devices and software for the treatment of cancer and other conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy. Waltham, Mass.-based Augmenix is the manufacturer of the SpaceOAR System, a hydrogel-based product which helps shield nearby tissue when a patient is receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer. The system is approved for sale by Augmenix in select European countries and Australia, and is under clinical investigation in the United States, where it will require submission of a premarket approval application.
Sawhney has not predicted when Varian might exercise its option to buy all of Augmenix, or if U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the SpaceOAR System is one of the agreed-upon milestones. Sawhney did say that FDA approval is a regulatory milestone, and that Augmenix is at least two years away from approval.