Cardiovascular Systems completes $37M merger with Replidyne
Cardiovascular Systems has completed its merger with Replidyne, a Louisville, Colo.-based biotech firm. The new company, which will keep the name Cardiovascular Systems, has been approved for trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol CSII.

The merger, which received final approval from shareholders this week, gives Cardiovascular Systems shareholders an 83 percent in the combined business, and access to $37 million in net assets, mostly cash.

First announced in early November 2008, the merger has allowed the St. Paul, Minn.-based Cardiovascular Systems to become a publicly-traded company without having to complete an initial public offering.

Cardiovascular Systems markets a device to treat patients with peripheral arterial disease with its Diamondback 360, which uses a diamond-coated crown to clear plaque out of arteries.

The FDA rejected Replidyne's antibiotic drug faropenem medoxomil for sale in the U.S. without further clinical trials. The rejection caused Forest Laboratories, a New York City-based pharmaceutical giant, to end a partnership with Replidyne, which cost the company access to long-term financial help that could have totaled $190 million. However, Forest had to pay Replidyne $55.6 million to break the partnership.

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