Bruker Biospin plans to collaborate with a pair of manufacturers to develop two new medical imaging devices, including a first-of-its-kind magnetic particle imaging scanner.
Under a memorandum of understanding with Royal Philips Electronics, the Bruker Corp. subsidiary will build magnetic particle scanners for Philips at its facility in Ettlingen, Germany.
Bruker Biospin also plans to work with an Israeli company, Aspect Magnet Technologies, combining the firms’ respective expertise in high-resolution imaging and permanent magnet systems to develop high-performance, desktop MRI devices.
Both developments were announced Wednesday morning at the 2009 World Molecular Imaging Congress, now underway in Montreal. Separately, Bruker officials late Spet. 22 said underwriters set a $9.85-a-share price tag on a secondary offering of 13 million shares of Bruker stock being sold by the mother and brother of company CEO Frank Laukien.
Billerica-based Bruker will not receive any of the $128 million in proceeds generated by the stock sale, slated to close Sept. 28.
Magnetic particle imaging relies on very small iron-oxide particles injected into the bloodstream and very fast (up to 1/50th of a second) imaging technology to measure possible defects and other anomalies in the heart and circulatory system. Netherlands-based Philips said in March it produced one of the world’s first MPI scanners and would likely target the cardiology and oncology markets as the first likely end-users of the device.
Aspect’s permanent magnets generate fields about 30,000 times more powerful than the earth’s magnetic field, allowing researchers to measure subtle changes in the electrical charge of cell membranes and the overall structure of cells. Officials at Aspect and Bruker Biospin said the firms expect to produce lower-cost and easy-to-use devices that will bring MRI technology to a wider range of biological research.
Terms of the new agreements call for Bruker to jointly market any commercially viable products resulting from the upcoming projects with Philips Electronics and Aspect Magnet.
