In Brief: St. Jude/Cyberonics

St. Jude/Cyberonics: St. Jude Medical's proposed $84 mil. acquisition of Cyberonics is void after St. Jude allows its option to purchase all outstanding Cyberonics shares to expire Oct. 18. St. Jude, which made an initial $12 mil. investment in Cyberonics under terms negotiated in April ("The Gray Sheet" April 15, I&W-3), cites "strategic reasons" for its decision. Cyberonics President and CEO Robert Cummins says in an Oct. 17 release that St. Jude's "sizable investment" in April allowed the company "to continue as an independent company without immediate financing concerns." Cyberonics plans to submit an amendment to a pending premarket approval application for the firm's NCP (NeuroCybernetic Prosthesis) neurological stimulation device in the first quarter of 1997. The company also anticipates an expansion in international sales and marketing activities for the NCP system...