Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) completed its buyout of Plymouth, Minn.-based Atritech Inc.
Atritech’s CE Mark-approved Watchman device is designed to close the left atrial appendage in patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk for ischemic stroke.
The $100 million cash deal, which was announced in January, could reach a value of $375 million with the addition of future milestone payments.
In November 2010, Atritech began enrolling patients in its Prevail clinical study, aiming to win a nod from the Food & Drug Administration for the device. It would be the first LAA closure device to reach what could be a $1 billion U.S. market in the next few years, Leerink Swan analyst Rick Wise wrote in a January note to investors.
“Although Atritech is a small deal for BSX, we believe this is an interesting take on a potentially compelling new market. That market’s potential now is essentially being validated by two large cardiology players (BSX and [St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ)]). STJ’s recent AGA purchase — whose new product pipeline also includes LAA closure technology — along with BSX’s announcement today could suggest that the the LAA closure opportunity is indeed real,” according to Wise.
The deal is part of Boston Scientific’s efforts to broaden its portfolio of less-invasive cardiovascular devices.
“The Atritech acquisition significantly strengthens our product offerings in the fast-growing areas of structural heart therapy and atrial fibrillation, which represent two of our Priority Growth Initiatives,” CEO Ray Elliott said prepared remarks. “Left atrial appendage closure represents a significant growth opportunity for Boston Scientific, and Atritech’s WATCHMAN device is the first such product for atrial fibrillation patients at high risk for stroke.”
In February, Boston Scientific added two products for treating peripheral chronic total occlusions to its portfolio of cardiovascular devices.
Here’s a roundup of companies announcing mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
- McKesson to purchase British software company System C
U.K. information technology company System C Healthcare plc (LON:SYS) agreed to a £87 million ($140 million) cash takeover offer from U.S. health-care giant McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK). The price represents a 51 percent premium over System C’s closing price last week before news of the takeover discussions surfaced. System C’s suite of products includes electronic medical records and patient management applications that are used in 40 U.K. hospitals. McKesson last month announced a deal with General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE:GD) to collaborate in offering an EMR solution known as the “Way Ahead” to the Dept. of Defense.
Read more - Agilent acquires drug-screening technology developer Biocius
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) acquired Biocius Life Sciences Inc., developer of the unique RapidFire high-throughput mass spectrometry drug-screening platform for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical markets. Wakefield, Mass. Biocius’ RapidFire drug-screening technology has successfully screened millions of compounds, providing results 10 to 100 times faster than traditional screening methods, according to Agilent. Using high-throughput mass spectrometry and innovative microfluidics, the RapidFire system enables researchers to gain a fuller understanding of a drug’s biochemical properties, including potential liabilities in drug interactions. The financial details of the details were not disclosed.
Read more - America Service Group and Valitás Health Services to merge
America Service Group Inc. (NSDQ:ASGR) and Valitás Health Services, Inc. signed of an agreement and plan of merger under which the two companies would be combined, bringing together two leading companies in the correctional healthcare field — America Service Group’s PHS Correctional Healthcare and Valitás’ Correctional Medical Services. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will have approximately 11,000 employees and independent contractors and will serve more than 400 correctional facilities. The combined company’s annual revenues are expected to total approximately $1.4 billion for 2011.
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