Elekta to acquire IMPAC

To accelerate its expansion into information systems for radiation therapy, medical oncology and related clinical practices, radiation therapy vendor Elekta AB this week announced it is acquiring IMPAC Medical Systems Inc.
   
Under the terms of the agreement, Elekta said it will pay $24 (U.S.) in cash for each share of IMPAC common stock outstanding, which represents a premium of 22 percent over the IMPAC closing price on Jan. 14 and equates to a diluted equity value of approximately $250 million and an enterprise value of approximately $190 million. IMPAC intends to hold a special stockholders meeting to approve the merger in mid- April and to close the transaction shortly thereafter.
   
IMPAC's software platform for cancer treatment includes open-ended systems for electronic medical records, laboratory, decision support and practice management. Swedish-based Elekta provides a suite of radiation treatment imaging, planning, and delivery systems for the clinic. Joining forces, the entities said they will be able to offer a fully-integrated system that addresses the entire spectrum of the cancer care process from diagnosis through treatment planning, treatment delivery and follow-up, including cancer registry and decision support.
   
Elekta and IMPAC have a string of successful collaborations, including a sales consulting agreement inked in October 2004. This, together with ongoing joint development interface standards, has led to the companies reaching a point where a merger of the operations was a natural step, Elekta said.    
   
The merged companies anticipate relationships with more than 3,000 hospitals and cancer centers around the world, including more than 1,300 oncology centers, more than 1,100 cancer registry operations and 400+ pathology laboratories in North America.
    
Concurrent with the agreement, IMPAC will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary under the direction of the current IMPAC President and CEO Joseph Jachinowski, who will continue as president of IMPAC while becoming a member of Elekta's management team. Following the completion of the acquisition, the two companies will work as separate entities, but in close cooperation. Integration will take place gradually where it benefits the customers and makes operations more efficient, Elekta said.
   
Both Elekta and IMPAC said they will remain committed to an open architecture, multi-vendor software format.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup