Ex-Boston Scientific unit gets new name, home

August 5, 2008

Boston Scientific Corp.'s former fluid management business has a new name and headquarters. Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm that bought Boston Scientific's fluid management and venous access business for $425 million in February, said the unit will now be called Navilyst Medical, with its corporate headquarters in Marlborough. The company has about 800 employees, largely at a manufacturing plant in Glens Falls, N.Y. It had roughly $170 million in revenue last year. (Todd Wallack)

Spherics Inc., a Mansfield biotech company that received a state-funded loan to move to Massachusetts three years ago, has shut down. The company's remaining assets, primarily intellectual property, are slated to be auctioned off to benefit creditors on Oct. 10, according to Joseph Finn, the Wellesley accountant who has been tapped to oversee the liquidation. In 2005, Spherics received a $2.5 million loan from MassDevelopment to help finance its new headquarters in Mansfield. At the time, the company had 25 employees and planned to double its employment over the next three years. A MassDevelopment spokeswoman said the loan has not yet been paid off, but could not say how much is still owed. (Todd Wallack)

Upromise Investments Inc., the Newton college savings plan administrator, has teamed up with Barclays Global Investors to provide a low-cost 529 college savings plan with exchange traded funds. The iShares 529 Plan will be available exclusively to fee-based advisers, who will be able to handle the investment work on behalf of their clients, said Derek DeLorenzo, a vice president at Upromise. The cost of the iShares plan averages around 63 basis points, said Liz Robinson, a vice president at Upromise. "People are very overwhelmed with how much college today costs, and the help and guidance of their financial adviser is their security," Robinson said. "It's hard to make those big decisions all by yourself." (Elizabeth Campbell)

Genzyme Corp.'s failed AIDS drug, Mozobil, helped fight West Nile virus in mice, suggesting it might also work in humans against the brain-infecting malady for which there's no vaccine or cure, a study showed. Mice infected with West Nile had a 50 percent chance of survival when treated with the drug, while most untreated rodents got sicker and died, scientists led by Robyn Klein at Washington University in St. Louis found. Their research was published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The drug helped the mice recover by allowing infection-fighting cells into the brain to clear the West Nile virus, according to Klein and colleagues. (Bloomberg)

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a profit for the fiscal second quarter, beating Wall Street's expectations for a loss. The developer of experimental biotechnology treatments for infectious and autoimmune diseases posted quarterly net income of $1.3 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose to $7.9 million from $1.9 million, an increase the Cambridge company attributed to higher license fees and reimbursed expenses under an agreement with Merck KGaA. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 9 cents per share on revenue of $5.2 million. Idera shares rose 2 cents on the Nasdaq to $15. (AP)

The president and chief executive of Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. says its dailies in Portland, Augusta, and Waterville may have to be shut down if its parent company winds up in default and its Maine assets cannot be sold. In an affidavit filed in US District Court, Charles Cochrane said Blethen Maine and The Seattle Times Co. face severe financial problems that threaten their ability to pay lenders and meet financial covenants, such as having sufficient revenue and cash flows. Blethen Maine's assets, which include the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, were put up for sale in March. (AP)

Raytheon Co., the world's largest missile maker, won an Air Force contract for the latest version of air-to-air missiles valued at $412 million. Delivery of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles is scheduled to begin in 2010 and continue through 2011, Waltham-based Raytheon said. Raytheon shares rose $1.32 to $57.68 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Bloomberg)