Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said it agreed to buy BridgePoint Medical for an undisclosed amount, adding the Minneapolis-based medical device company’s technology for treating blocked blood vessels in the heart to its stable of interventional cardiology tools.
BridgePoint’s technology is designed to allow cardiologists to treat coronary chronic total occlusions by threading a catheter guidewire across the blockage. Its CrossBoss CTO-crossing catheter and Stingray CTO re-entry system is cleared for sale in the U.S. and Europe, according to a press release.
BridgePoint has also developed similar technology for treating blocked blood vessels in the legs, the TruePath and OffRoad devices, which is not yet cleared for use in the U.S.
Boston Scientific said the deal, expected to close during the 4th quarter, isn’t likely to affect earnings this year or in 2013 and be "modestly accretive" after that.
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"We look forward to welcoming the outstanding team at BridgePoint Medical to Boston Scientific," interim BSX CEO Hank Kucheman said in prepared remarks. "The acquisition of BridgePoint Medical is expected to build upon our rich product portfolio in cardiology and represents an important part of our growth strategy in this critical market. We believe the BridgePoint coronary devices will provide the Boston Scientific interventional cardiology business a dedicated CTO solution while the Boston Scientific peripheral intervention business offers the TruePath CTO device and OffRoad CTO device. This will position the company as the leader in CTO technologies across the cardiovascular system."
The link between BridgePoint and Boston Scientific runs deep. BridgePoint CEO Denis Harrington spent 18 years at BSX, rising to head of sales for its cardiovascular and CRM business before taking the corner office at BridgePoint, and co-founder & COO Chad Kugler got his start as an engineer at BSX, according to BridgePoint’s website. Board member Mike Berman is also a Boston Scientific veteran, according to the site.
