Avinger secures up to $40M in loan from PDL

Cardiovascular device company Avinger Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.) raised $20 million from PDL BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLI) in a mezzanine debt financing. Avinger is eligible for an additional $10-$20 million in a loan, which is dependent on achieving undisclosed revenue milestones by 1H14. PDL will receive 12% interest annually on the first $20 million and is eligible for 14% interest on the second tranche. The company also will receive a low, single-digit royalty on Avinger's net revenues through April 2018, when the loans mature.

Avinger is developing catheter-based technologies for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. The company markets its Ocelot family of catheters in the U.S. for crossing chronic total occlusions in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). The system, which also has CE Mark approval, uses optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to provide real-time intravascular imaging to the physician. The company also is developing atherectomy devices under the name Pantheris to remove plaque from arteries affected by PAD. ...