Birtcher Medical on the Road to Fiscal Recovery

IRVINE — Birtcher Medical Systems, which in May hired a turnaround specialist as its chief executive officer, said Monday that it has raised $1.6 million from investors and from the sale of one of its money-losing product lines.

That means Birtcher, which makes surgical products, is about 20% of the way through its restructuring, said Kenneth C. Cleveland, CEO and president.

The company, based in Irvine, said it sold 961,667 shares of common stock for about $900,000. The money will be used as working capital.

Birtcher has also sold its Solos Endoscopy Division for $700,000 in cash, notes and royalties to Woodbine Optical Corp. of Sharon, Mass. Solos had been the leading reason for Birtcher’s financial losses, analysts said.

The company lost $18.9 million for the first nine months of the current fiscal year. That followed a $1.9-million loss for fiscal 1993 and a $1.2-million loss for the previous year.

The company also said Monday that an ongoing patent dispute has been settled. Birtcher said that Aspen Laboratories Inc., a subsidiary of Birtcher competitor Conmed, has withdrawn its request for an injunction against Birtcher.