Irvine’s Cytocare to Spin Off Unit Making Devices for Heart Disease

Cytocare Inc., an Irvine medical equipment company, plans to spin off its newly formed Cardiac Science Inc. subsidiary, which develops devices to treat heart disease, according to a Security and Exchange Commission filing.

Cardiac Science will develop defibrillator devices, which are worn by people with unnaturally fast heartbeats or used in cases of sudden cardiac seizure.

The new company has 6.92 million shares outstanding. Of this, 4.7 million are being distributed to Cytocare shareholders. The rest are owned by Cytocare and Cardiac Science’s founders and officers.

Howard Cooper, former Trimedyne Inc. chief executive who joined Cytocare in April, was named chairman, president and chief executive of the new Irvine company.

Cooper and Cytocare each own 9.1% of the new company, making them the largest single shareholders. Technology Funding Inc., a San Mateo venture-capital company, owns 6.2%.

Cooper said he is considering a public stock offering or a private placement to raise up to $7 million more.

Cardiac Science employs a handful of part-time scientists and administrators on loan from Cytocare, which lost more than $7.2 million in the past two years.