Careside IPO Could Raise $31 Million

Careside Inc., a Culver City-based company developing a blood-testing system that would provide results within 15 minutes, said Monday that it will seek to raise as much as $31.6 million through an initial public offering.

Careside was founded in 1996 by Chief Executive Vickery Stoughton, Executive Vice President Thomas Grove and director Philip Smith to acquire technology developed by SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories Inc. Careside’s founders control about 20% of the company. SmithKline Beecham Corp. holds a 4.5% stake.

In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Careside said it has received Food and Drug Administration approval for 19 blood tests that will be included on its Careside System, and it hopes to win clearance for 50 more before launching the system next year.

The system is designed to combine chemistry, electrochemistry, immunochemistry and coagulation testing into a single device. The device could face trouble gaining acceptance if it failed to offer a wide range of all these types of tests, the company said.

Careside has lined up Apria Healthcare Group Inc., a Costa Mesa-based home-care provider, a doctors group and three hospitals to test the system in pilot projects.

Careside reported a loss of $6.6 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $4.8 million a year ago. The company will release details of the number of shares to be sold and price range in a future SEC filing.