M&A in brief: iMedX, Penwest Pharmaceuticals

Shelton-based iMedX Inc. acquired MedTech Transcriptions Inc., a medical transcription company serving medical clinics in Louisiana, a new market for iMedX.

“With the growth of federal government requirements for technology in healthcare, many small transcription companies are realizing they lack the resources to keep pace,” said Venkat Sharma, CEO of iMedX, in a prepared statement. “As the Obama administration’s ”˜meaningful use”™ guidelines continue to evolve, it is imperative to use the online delivery and portability of medical documentation that iMedX provides … iMedX intends to grow into a major force in the clinical documentation software and services industry.”

Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.
Former Danbury company Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. is being acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., with the two companies already collaborators on Penwest”™s mainstay Opana ER drug.

In an office consolidation last year, Penwest moved its headquarters from Danbury to its product development lab in Putnam County, N.Y. Endo is based in Chadd”™s Ford, Pa.

At Endo”™s offering price of $5 a share, a 47 percent premium over the average price of Penwest shares the previous month, the transaction is valued at $168 million.

Opana is administered to patients a day after surgery to relieve ongoing pain. In the second quarter, Penwest had an $8.3 million profit on $13.6 million.

During the quarter, Penwest settled patent litigation with Impax Laboratories Inc. and two other companies, granting Hayward, Calif.-based Impax a license to begin selling a generic version of Opana ER in 2013.