The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice
ev3 Inc. (NSDQ:EVVV) agreed to settle a group of lawsuits filed by shareholders looking to block its $2.6 billion buyout by Covidien plc (NYSE:COV).
The lawsuits, filed in the Hennepin County District Court for Minnesota and Delaware’s Court of Chancery, accused the Plymouth, Minn.-based company’s board of breaching its fiduciary duties in giving a green light to the merger and of failing to disclose how it evaluated the offer from Covidien, according to regulatory filings.
Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) agreed to acquire ev3 Inc. (NSDQ:EVVV) for about $2.6 billion in cash in a move that substantially expands its footprint in the peripheral vascular market.
A pair of Connecticut medical device firms won regulatory nods in the U.S. and Europe.
SurgiQuest Inc. won 510(k) clearance from the Food & Drug Administration for its new line of 5mm AnchorPort laparoscopy trocars and Vascular Insights LLP landed CE Mark approval in Europe for its ClariVein Occlusion Catheter.
SurgiQuest touts its device’s ability to adjust for differences in each patient, calling it "the world’s first elastomeric single incision laparoscopy kit."
Mansfield, Mass.-based medical products conglomerate Covidien plc inked a sole-source agreement with the Upper Midwest Consolidated Service Center and Mayo Clinic for its anti-deep vein thrombosis products.
Covidien’s Kendall SCD Sequential Compression System and A-V Impulse System Foot Pump will be distributed in 122 hospitals across 10 states.
Vascular Insights is touting the results of an independent clinical trial examining the use of its ClariVein catheter to treat varicose veins.
The trial, conducted by Dr. Steve Elias of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, indicated that the ClariVein procedure was as successful initially as radiofrequency or laser treatment, according to a press release.
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) won pre-market approval from the Food & Drug Administration for its Complete SE vascular stent to be used to treat peripheral artery disease in the pelvis.
It’s a key win for the Fridley, Minn.-based medical device monolith, which in February was accused in a whistleblower lawsuit of illegally marketing biliary stents to treat conditions they’re not approved for by the FDA.
Hemosphere Inc, which makes a vascular access device that’s used by dialysis patients, raised more than $9.3 million in an equity sale, according to a regulatory filing.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) won pre-market approval from the Food & Drug Administration to use its Express LD Premounted stent in iliac arteries.
The expanded indication, which the company had expected during the first quarter, should help the Natick, Mass.-based device maker’s sagging peripheral interventions business, which makes stents, balloon catheters, sheaths, wires and vena cava filters used to treat peripheral vascular disease.
The segment posted a 3 percent sales decrease last year, at $661 million compared to $684 million in 2008.
“We definitely see [the new indication clearance] as a boost,” Boston Scientific spokesman Paul Donovan told MassDevice.
Orthofix International NV (NSDQ:OFIX) sold its vascular compression products business to Covidien (NYSE:COV) in a deal it said should yield about $19 million Orthofix will use to pay down its debt.
The Dutch firm, which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Boston, said the deal includes its AV-Impulse mechanical compression technology and is aimed at focusing on "strategic market segments that represent long term growth potential," CEO Alan Milinazzo said in prepared remarks.
LeMaitre Vascular Inc. (NSDQ:LMAT) ended 2009 swinging from red to black, riding strong sales in its vascular division to positive top- and bottom-line growth for the year.
The Burlington, Mass.-based peripheral vascular device maker posted sales of $13.6 million during the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009, up 13 percent compared with the $12 million in sales the company reported during the same period in 2008.
The increased sales helped the company boost its bottom line to $1.3 million, compared to a $312,000 profit for Q4 2008.
Covidien saw its third-quarter profits rise 4 percent, largely due to a strong contribution from its U.S.-based medical device business units, which helped soften the blow dealt by weaker-performing segments.
Total net sales reached $2.5 billion for the three-months ended June 30, a 3 percent decline from the $2.6 billion the Mansfield-based device leviathan posted during the same period last year. Covidien attributed most of the slide to poor currency exchange rates.
But the company still managed to produce impressive margins, north of 54 percent, incrementally higher than last year’s third-quarter margins.
