News Briefs

Development

Devens Enterprise Commission awarded $40K grant

DEVENS – The Devens Enterprise Commission has won a $40,000 grant from the Boston-based Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, helping to support the creation of the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center. The Center will be operated under the DEC, and the Nashua River Watershed Association is the fiscal agent of this award. The Devens Eco-Efficiency Center is intended to create a stable business community with companies that are environmentally sensitive and economically viable for Devens and the surrounding communities. The Center plans to offer educational programs, support services, and technical assistance to the community’s 85 commercial and industrial companies, as well as those based in the towns of Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley.

Shrewsbury faces end to

40B moratorium

SHREWSBURY – Developers could start filing Chapter 40B affordable housing plans this coming October, when the moratorium for Chapter 40B developments ends. The town’s board of selectmen has been discussing preemptive measures it could take beforehand. At present, about 6.5 percent of Shrewsbury housing meets the state definition as affordable, below the 10 percent threshold required to be exempt from 40B. An affordable housing project, Avalon Shrewsbury, triggered the most recent two-year moratorium. Shrewsbury officials are concerned that 40B developers could target some of its few remaining industrial and commercial parcels for residential development. The town wants to attract more business because residential taxpayers make up about 90 percent of its property tax base.

Southbridge Savings closes branch

WARREN – Southbridge Savings Bank will close its branch office at Village Point Plaza on Route 67. The office is closing based on deposit and loan ratios not reaching certain goals after five years. The branch office opened in 2001.

KBS Realty buys Boxboro property

BOXBORO – KBS Realty Advisors has purchased a 149,528 square-foot, three-story office building for $17.7 million. The building is leased to multiple tenants. The seller, Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel LP purchased the property in 2000. KBS Realty owns five properties in Greater Boston. Located at 80 Central St., the building sits on 36.9 acres off of Route 2. Newport Beach, CA-based KBS Realty Advisors bought the property from Kennedy Associates Real Estate LP of Seattle. Kennedy originally purchased the property in 2000 from a KBS commingled real estate fund. KBS purchased one of two buildings comprising the Tech Center at Boxboro, according to the report. KBS owns several properties in the region, including One Research Drive in Westboro and Nagog Office Park in Acton.

ECM Plastics leases

Worcester space

WORCESTER – ECM Plastics in Worcester has signed a lease agreement at 333 Shrewsbury St., the site of a former Coca-Cola bottling plant. ECM will use 12,000 square-feet of space for additional storage space for their business. ECM is one of several office and industrial users currently at the site.

GMP Piping purchases new

office space

LITTLETON – GMP Piping, a Littleton supplier of mechanical piping and commercial plumbing, has purchased new space to base its business in Littleton. The two-story, 9.900 square-foot building will be used as a permanent location for the company, which has clients in the biotech and pharmaceutical markets. The building, located at 80 Taylor Street, sold for $775,000. The building was purchased from Tom Griggs, and contains both office and manufacturing space.

Biomedical

Boston Scientific issues

catheter recall

NATICK – Boston Scientific Corp. is voluntarily recalling certain lots of its Mach 1 Guide Catheter in the U.S., due to excess resin near the hub of the guide catheter. Though only present in some product units, strands of the resin could potentially obstruct a blood vessel, resulting in complications such as stroke, heart attack, or kidney problems. The company said last month that it had not received any product complaints related to this issue. The affected products were only released to U.S. hospitals. Boston Scientific is alerting those institutions through recall notification letters requesting that use of the affected products cease immediately. The total number of effected devices is estimated at 51.

Verax Biomedical inks

manufacturing agreement

WORCESTER – Verax Biomedical Inc. has signed a 10-year agreement with British Biocell International to manufacture the Verax Platelet PGD(R) test, with the potential to produce as many as 50 million tests. The deal effectively creates a second manufacturing facility to handle Verax production. Abbott Diagnostics will distribute and market the test, a disposable device allowing users to detect bacteria contaminants in platelets prior to transfusion. The American Association of Blood Banks requires that all of its members detect and limit contamination in platelets. Current methods are not always reliable, and take up to three days before results are available. The Verax device provides results within 30 minutes. Clinical trials of the test are currently underway at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

CytRx furthers study on

therapeutic drug

WORCESTER – CytRx, a Los Angeles-based biopharmaceutical company with operations in Worcester, will initiate additional animal stroke functional recovery studies using a drug designed to improve the recovery of motor skills in an experimental rat model of stroke. The drug, called arimoclomol, is currently being evaluated as a therapeutic treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). The lead oral drug candidate was tested in rats where stroke was induced by blocking blood flow to parts of the brain causing cerebral oxygen deprivation. The rats were then dosed orally with arimoclomol daily for 28 days. While motor skills diminished in all cases, those rats treated with the CytRx drug showed faster recovery than those left untreated. The next round of animal studies is expected to begin in Q1 of 2007. The results are anticipated to be released in Q2 of next year.

Genzyme’s Synvisc keeps separate reimbursement code

CAMBRIDGE – Genzyme Corp.’s Synvisc drug, a treatment for pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee, will maintain a separate reimbursement code and rate for 2007, effectively reversing a decision made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this year. The decision, made in the fall, would have placed all viscosupplement products into the same reimbursement code for billing in 2007. By maintaining a separate reimbursement code, the Medicare payment rate for Synvisc will continue to be 106 percent of the drug’s average selling price.

Finance

Adesa sells for $3b

FRAMINGHAM – Auto auctioneer Adesa Inc. will be acquired for $3 billion by Kelso & Co., a private equity group. Adesa’s auction facility in Framingham is the second largest of its kind in North America. Under the deal, which includes assumption of about $700 million in debt, Kelso & Co., GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, ValueAct Capital and Parthenon Capital will convert each outstanding share of the Carmel-based holding company to $27.85 cash per share. Adesa has 54 used vehicle auction sites in North America, 42 impact salvage vehicle auction sites, and 85 AFC loan production offices.

Fidelity will pay $42m

BOSTON – Fidelity Investments will pay $42 million to compensate investors for potential damage from a scandal involving lavish gifts to traders from brokers. In December 2004 the SEC and NASD investigated whether traders took improper gifts, entertainment and travel in exchange for directing business to brokers at outside firms. An internal probe resuted in the firing of some employees and transfer of others for policy violations from 2002 to 2004. NASD sets a gift limit of $100 from brokers to mutual-fund employees. Fidelity rules ban its workers from taking more than that amount in a calendar year. Fidelity will divide the $42 million among institutional funds and other accounts based on a formula determining which were potentially effected.

Commerce Insurance to enter

NY, NJ markets

WEBSTER – The Commerce Group Inc. will enter the New York personal lines insurance market next year, buying the holding company for a Hempstead, NY-based property and casualty insurer that wrote $41 million in direct written premiums in 2005. The deal is valued at $52 million. Commerce subsidiary ACIC Holding Co. will acquire SWICO Enterprises LTD, the holding company for State-Wide Insurance Co., licensed in both New York and New Jersey. That company primarily writes private passenger automobile insurance in the state of New York. Commerce said it intends to expand its geographic offerings by entering the New Jersey market as soon as possible.

TD Banknorth completes

acquisition of NJ firm

PORTLAND, ME – TD Banknorth Inc., which has operations in Worcester, has completed its acquisition of Interchange Financial Services Corp., a transaction that enhances TD Banknorth’s firm’s branch network in the Mid-Atlantic region. The purchase will allow TD Banknorth to expand in the Bergen and Essex County regions of New Jersey, the bank said. In addition, Anthony Labozzetta, formerly senior executive vice president and COO for Interchange will join TD Banknorth as executive vice president of Retail and Small Business banking. In that role, Labozzetta is responsible for the overall management and results of TD Banknorth’s 180-brance network in the Mid-Atlantic region. Pursuant to the merger agreement, shareholders of Interchange common stock are entitled to receive $23 in cash for each share outstanding.

Health care

UMass reports $26m

operating surplus

WORCESTER – UMass Memorial Health Care Inc. reported an operating surplus of $26 million, a 70 percent decline from fiscal 2005. The hospital cites the six-week shutdown of its cardiac care unit, an overall drop in patient volume and a $10 million increase in costs for free care and bad debt as factors that led to the decline. For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, UMass Memorial reported a $48.9 million surplus, including an operating surplus of $26 million and $22 million in investment and contribution income. For the previous year, it reported a $94.3 million surplus, including an operating surplus of $88.1 million and $6 million in net investment income.

Milford doctor to be supervised

MILFORD – A surgeon who removed a patient’s kidney instead of her gallbladder will remain in practice under the supervision of another surgeon. Dr. Patrick McEnaney, who practices at Milford Regional Medical Center, will be under probation for five years, according to the state Board of Registration. In June 2005, McEnaney set out to remove an 84-year-old woman’s gallbladder with a narrow-incision laparoscope. He unexpectedly found a significant amount of organ inflammation and bleeding during the procedure, so he switched to open surgery to address the problem, but misinterpreted results of a medical test during the procedure. Milford Regional has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the state Department of Public Health and an internal investigation.

Great Brook Valley Health Center gets $50k grant

WORCESTER – The Great Brook Valley Health Center has received $50,000 from the Boston Scientific Foundation to support patient services and research. GBVHC provides medical, dental and other services to primarily low-income clients, 62 percent of whom are uninsured. The Center provides approximately 130,000 visits annually to more than 20,000 people from 100 central Massachusetts and Metrowest communities. Of the $50,000, $20,000 will be used to support four chronic disease nurses, who are trained to provide patient self-management assistance. The funds will also support hypertension patient wellness programs, including a stress reduction counselor, personal trainer, YWCA memberships and exercise classes. The remaining $30,000 will be used to hire an epidemiologist to more fully examine the impact of interventions on different patient subgroups. The Boston Scientific Foundation’s last gift of $75,000 to GBVHC was made last year and was directed toward support of the hypertension wellness program.

Nashoba Valley Medical Center offers softer mammograms and digital imaging

AYER – Nashoba Valley Medical Center now offers the MammoPad breast cushion to all mammogram patients at its Women’s Imaging Center. MammoPad is a radiolucent FDA-cleared foam cushion that covers the cold, hard surfaces of mammography equipment. Clinical studies prove that MammoPad significantly reduces the discomfort of mammography. Nashoba has also expanded its health and wellness services for women with the addition of digital mammography, which represents the most advanced technology for breast cancer detection, the hospital says.

High tech

RemoteReality raises funding

WESTBORO – RemoteReality Corp., a designer and manufacturer of surveillance systems and software for military, homeland security and commercial markets, has raised $7.3 million in venture financing. The company will use funding to lower the cost of products being developed. The funding round was co-led by Battelle Ventures of Princeton, N.J., and Chart Venture Partners of New York City. RemoteReality employs 14 people.

WPI creates robotics

engineering program

WORCESTER – Worcester Polytechnic Institute will offer the nation’s first bachelor’s degree program in robotics engineering starting in the fall of ‘07. Students in the program, which will be offered jointly by the Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering Depts., will study the fundamental elements of those fields. They will design and build robots and robotic systems for a variety of applications. The program will also incorporate an entrepreneurship course to help students take robotic ideas and incorporate them into business models. An advisory board of over 150 companies, institutions, and research labs in the Commonwealth developed the program, which will be taught by more than 20 associated faculty and staff members. A final review of the program is slated for February of next year, and is the third interdisciplinary undergraduate major developed by WPI in the past two years.

Massachusetts software supplier acquired for $243m

FRANKLIN – Dynisco LLC has been acquired by Duluth, GA-based Roper Industries Inc. for $243 million. Dynisco is a global supplier of software and sensors with emerging applications in the life sciences industry. Roper Industries Inc. provides engineered products and solutions for markets such as water, energy, radio frequency, and research/medical applications. Dynisco has facilities in the US, Germany, as well as a new site in Malaysia. Its brands are Alpha Technologies and Viatran, and it specializes in software and highly engineered test, measurement, and control technologies. Dynisco will become a part of Roper’s Energy Systems & Controls segment, and will work closely with other segments on sensor technology development and applications. Dynisco president Larry Klumpp and his management team will continue to lead the business.

Manufacturing

Lampin Corp. finalizes

employee-ownership transition

UXBRIDGE – Lampin Corp.’s employee-owners have completed the purchase of all outstanding shares of the corp. from Scott and Lois Rossiter, who will transition from their ownership roles to take on advisory roles within the company. Scott Rossiter will take the positon of chairman with a newly-formed independent board of directors, and Rick Mongeau will fill the role of president. Mongeau has been with the company for 2 1/2 years, and is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The new independent board will be comprised of five members, with three of those individuals having no connection to the company. Lampin Corp.is a manufacturer of precision-machined components.

DRS Technologies wins

$145m contract

FITCHBURG – DRS Technologies, which has operations in Fitchburg and Hudson, won a $145 million contract to build Driver Vision Enhancer (DVE) A-Kits for frontline U.S. Army vehicles.

Specifically geared towards tactical wheeled and combat vehicles, the DVE helps to increase the driver’s capacity, survivability, and mobility in poor conditions during day or night operations. The DVE systems are supporting soldiers engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. DRS received $10 million in initial funding for the project, which includes options for the first and second years of the program for product deliveries through fiscal 2008. Production will be carried out at DRS’ Training and Control Systems unit in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Legal

Michigan company sues

IPG Photonics

OXFORD – A Michigan company has filed a suit against Oxford-based IPG Photonics, calling for IPG to cease the misuse of intellectual property following the termination of license negotiations between the two companies. Ann Arbor-based IMRA America claims that the intellectual property is important technology for obtaining high power and high pulse energy from state of the art fiber lasers. An IMRA press release stated that IMRA has licensed this technology to other fiber laser and component manufacturers. The company has over 40 patents in ultrafast and high peak power fiber laser industrial research and development.

Media

Clear Channel OKs sale

WORCESTER – Clear Channel Communications Inc., the owner of WTAG-AM and WSRS-FM, will be purchased for $26.7 billion by Boston-based equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC. Clear Channel, which operates 1,150 stations, has filed with the FCC to transfer its radio and television licenses from the publicly traded entity to a newly established, privately held company, BT Triple Crown Merger Co. The purchase includes the assumption or repayment of $8 billion in debt and Clear Channel will keep its name and senior management. No immediate changes are foreseen for the two local stations.

Utilities

Concentric Energy Advisors

negotiates nuclear plant sale

MARLBORO – Marlboro-based Concentric Energy Advisors announced that is has successfully managed the sale of a nuclear plant owned by We Energies to Florida-based FPL Energy. We Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., sold the two-unit Point Beach Nuclear Plant for approximately $1 billion. Concentric managed the competitive auction for the property. The sale also included a PPA through the end of the current operating license at specified prices, retention by We Energies of all non-qualified decommissioning funds, and the potential for the retention of funds in the qualified decommissioning trust. According to Concentric, both the price per kilowatt for the asset and the PPA terms are unprecedented in the industry.

Some of the material in the News Briefs and Small Business sections was originally reported by Banker & Tradesman, The Boston Business Journal, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, The Clinton Courier and Lancaster Times, The Griffin Report of Food Marketing, IndUS Business Journal, Mass High Tech, The MetroWest Daily News, New England Real Estate Journal, Sentinel & Enterprise, Southbridge Evening News, Telegram & Gazette, and/or Worcester Magazine. If you have a news tip, please call 508-755-8004 ext. 256, fax it to 508-755-4734, or e-mail it to coneill@wbjournal.com.