Sample BiancaMed Sleep Report

San Diego-based ResMed has acquired Dublin, Ireland-based BiancaMed in an all-cash deal. Financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed. ResMed makes medical equipment for treating and diagnosing sleep-related breathing disorders. BiancaMed has created SleepMinder, a non-contact device that monitors sleep and breathing at home or in the hospital by using a motion sensor that can detect respiration and movement without touching the human body. A similar product, BiancaBaby, a non-contact respiratory sensor for infants, is also available from the startup.

The move by ResMed is not especially surprising since the company contributed to BiancaMed's initial and second rounds of venture capital funding: In 2009 BiancaMed announced that it had raised $9.8 million. Seventure Partners led the latest investment round with return investors ePlanet, Enterprise Ireland and ResMed chipping in as well. ePlanet disclosed today that it was the largest investor in BiancaMed and that it would see a "significant return" on its investment in the company.

This year has proven to be an eventful one for ResMed: In February then CEO Kieran Gallahue, left abruptly to become chairman and CEO of another San Diego-based connected health company, CareFusion. ResMed founder Dr. Peter Farrell stepped back in to take over as CEO of ResMed once again.

"We have worked closely with BiancaMed for many years and have been investors since their inception in 2003," Farrell stated in a release. "BiancaMed has exciting technology and a world-class team. We believe there are many opportunities for BiancaMed's applications that will provide future growth, and we look forward to maintaining and building the BiancaMed team."

“We have developed software packages to analyse that and see if you’re sleeping well and if you have the breathing issues. Because it so convenient, you just leave it there in the background and it remotely transmits data to clinicians or websites. ResMed and ourselves believe it will have global appeal,” BiancaMed CEO and co-founder Dr. Conor Hanley told the Silicon Republic.

BiancaMed will become a part of ResMed's recently formed Ventures and Initiatives group.

BiancaBaby is not a novel concept. Two years ago MobiHealthNews reported that GE's research arm had tweaked a common and widely available GE sensor, which was being used for home security at the time, into an “intelligent wireless medical sensing platform”. The new sensor was powered by processing algorithms that classify different types of movement and can also help caregivers closely monitor a patient’s breathing and heart rate even though it’s not in physical contact with the skin. GE suggested the technology would be especially appropriate for premature baby care, since premies' skin is especially sensitive.

Analyst firm Piper Jaffray believes that ResMed is just getting started: "Given the recent formation of the ResMed Ventures and Initiatives group and the company's significant cash balance -- $671 million as of [the end of March] we anticipate additional tuck-in, sleep-focused acquisitions going forward."

For more read the company's press release after the jump:

PRNewswire/ -- ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD and ASX: RMD), a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of medical equipment for treating, diagnosing and managing sleep-disordered breathing and other respiratory disorders, announced today that it has acquired BiancaMed Ltd., a leading Irish medical technology company. ResMed purchased all of BiancaMed's outstanding shares with cash.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100203/RESMEDLOGO)

BiancaMed has developed and is marketing an innovative, convenient, non-contact device to monitor sleep and breathing in the home and hospital. BiancaMed's SleepMinder™ is an accurate, touch-free device that measures sleep and breathing with sophisticated biometric software. The core of BiancaMed's proprietary technology is a motion sensor that can detect respiration and movement without physical contact with the human body. The company is developing a number of other applications for the technology, across a range of medical and consumer settings. BiancaMed will become a part of ResMed's newly-created Ventures and Initiatives unit. ResMed estimates the acquisition will dilute ResMed's earnings per share by approximately $0.04 in fiscal year 2012, excluding amortization of intangibles and one-time acquisition related costs.

"We are committed to innovation in sleep and respiratory medicine and the related co-morbidities by commercializing products incorporating novel technologies," commented Dr. Peter Farrell, ResMed's chairman and chief executive officer. "We have worked closely with BiancaMed for many years and have been investors since their inception in 2003. BiancaMed has exciting technology and a world-class team. We believe there are many opportunities for BiancaMed's applications that will provide future growth, and we look forward to maintaining and building the BiancaMed team."

Welcoming this announcement, Dr. Conor Hanley, BiancaMed's chief executive officer, said, "This acquisition will broaden the use of BiancaMed's unique technology and build on BiancaMed's momentum. As part of ResMed, we will continue to support our existing customers. The successful completion of this transaction was attributable to the dedication and talent of the BiancaMed team and the invaluable support received from all our investors and shareholders."

JC Kyrillos, president of ResMed Ventures and Initiatives, stated, "In May of this year, we created ResMed Ventures and Initiatives to focus on opportunities in chronic disease states related to sleep-disordered breathing and other market opportunities. BiancaMed represents the type of investment we are pursuing because it has current applications in our core sleep market, and several potential future applications in chronic diseases such as heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

BiancaMed, a University College Dublin spin-out company, was co-founded in 2003 by Dr. Philip de Chazal, Dr. Conor Hanley and Professor Conor Heneghan to commercialize research undertaken in University College Dublin's School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. BiancaMed is headquartered in NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, and currently employs 29 people. ResMed plans to retain BiancaMed's employees, and the office in Dublin will remain active.

Further information can be obtained by visiting the company's multilingual website at www.resmed.com. For more information on BiancaMed, visit: www.biancamed.com.

ResMed is a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of medical products for the diagnosis, treatment and management of respiratory disorders, with a focus on sleep-disordered breathing. The company is dedicated to developing innovative products to improve the lives of those who suffer from these conditions and to increasing awareness among patients and healthcare professionals of the potentially serious health consequences of untreated sleep-disordered breathing. For more information on ResMed, visit www.resmed.com.

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements as contemplated by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's future revenue, earnings or expenses, new product development and new markets for the Company's products, are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to materially differ from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for its most recent fiscal year and in other reports the Company files with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Those reports are available on the Company's Web site.

SOURCE ResMed Inc.