Health Care
Spiration Sells Out
By Seattle Business Magazine June 25, 2010
Following in the footsteps of locally grown biomedical companies like Immunex, Icos and Physio-Control, Spiration Inc., who we profiled in our June 2010 issue, has sold itself off to a larger out-of-state corporation, in this case, Olympus America Inc., according to TechFlash.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spiration, which makes a medical device to help emphysema patients breathe more easily, has about 50 employees.
Why is it that we can’t keep these companies local once they hit a certain size? Are skittish investors forcing a sale (in light of a mostly moribund IPO market)? Is it because we don’t have good big-biz management DNA in the Northwest? Is it another case of bubble fever, with companies seeking to bail before the next pop?
Those are serious questions. I’d be interested in hearing if anyone has any ideas.