Urologix, Inc., recently announced the surrender of almost all of the company’s operating assets — including the Urologix name — to a secured creditor. The assets were, in turn, acquired by a private company that will continue business operations under the name Urologix, LCC.

Urologix, Inc., has been at the forefront of in-office therapies for benign prostatic hyperplasia. These BPH therapies are non-surgical procedures performed in a urologist’s office, often in less than one hour. The procedures are done without general anesthesia and are associated with a beneficial side effect profile. The company was a provider of Cooled Thermo Therapy and Prostiva RF.

The Cooled Thermo Therapy — manufactured by Urologix, Inc. – employs targeted heat to reduce excess prostate tissue. An advanced cooling system is used during the procedure to provide protection for the urethra as well as increased comfort for the patient. The second therapy, Prostiva, employs a precisely targeted low-level radio frequency (RF) energy that produces heat to reduce the excess tissue.

The move of the Minneapolis-based company was a necessary step to partially settle a debt with the secured creditor. The debt was related to the purchase of the exclusive license of Prostiva from its manufacturer, Medtronic, in 2011, making Urologix Inc. the leading provider of in-office solutions for BPH. The company had, however, struggled to settle the debt, and according to a regulatory filing, Urologix defaulted on its debt in April 2015. Subsequently, the company surrendered all of its assets, including intellectual property to Medtronic.

The remains of the company were renamed 21st North Inc. and immediately following the transaction of assets on Jan. 29, 2016, 21st North Inc. had no operations. The company intends to submit a proposal to its shareholders in the coming weeks seeking approval for a plan of dissolution.

Patients relying on the treatments provided by Urologix, Inc., will not be left stranded, and the company announced in a press release that Urologix LCC will continue its clinical operations: “The transaction will enable Urologix, LLC to provide urology customers and their patients with both Cooled ThermoTherapy and Prostiva RF Therapy products and services to treat BPH in the comfortable setting of a urologist’s office.”