Ethicon entertains offer for breast care business

March 30, 2010 By MassDevice staff

Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. is entertaining an offer from a private equity-backed holding company for its breast care business, including the MammoTome biopsy system.

The Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary has until June 15 to decide whether to accept the offer from Devicor Medical Products, a portfolio company of GTCR Golder Rauner LLC. Specific terms of the offer were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the proposal, Devicor would acquire Ethicon’s entire breast care product portfolio, including the MammoTome breast biopsy system; the MammoMark, MicroMark and CoreMark tissue markers used for breast disease diagnosis; and the marketing and distribution rights to the Neoprobe gamma detection system. Should Ethicon accept the bid, the deal would likely close by the third quarter, according to a press release.

"As we continually prioritize strategic investments that are aligned with our future growth platforms, we determined that the Breast Care products are outside of this scope, and decided to explore the potential sale of the business. We believe this offer demonstrates commitment from Devicor and GTCR to develop the Breast Care business to its full potential," Karen Licitra, chairwoman of the Ethicon Endo-Surgery group, said in prepared remarks.

GTCR formed Devicor to focus on minimally invasive surgical procedures. The PE firm’s investment strategy involves hiring experienced managers with expertise in specific arenas and building companies around them through acquisition and organic growth, according to its website.

In February, Ethicon won a victory in a patent spat with Hologic Inc. (NSDQ:HOLX) over the MammoTome technology. Ethicon had accused the Bedford, Mass.-based women’s health products maker of violating a quartet of patents with its ATEC system, and of violating false advertising laws. Hologic agreed to settle the case for $12.5 million and inked a cross-licensing deal that calls for it to pay Ethicon royalties on sales of its ATEC and EVIVA products; Ethicon will pay royalties to Hologic on sales of its Mammotome MR device.

Packaging Compliance Labs expanding in Michigan
Packaging Compliance Labs, LLC (PCL) will be expanding its current operations in Kentwood, Mich. In addition to a capital investment of $2.57 million, the company will bring 27 new jobs to the area. The medical device and pharmaceutical packaging engineering and validation firm, along with its sister company, SmartStart Medical (SSM), will take on the… […]
Survey: Half of heart attack patients avoid the hospital during pandemic
The number of heart attack patients seeking urgent hospital care has dropped by more than 50% worldwide during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a survey by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The survey of 3,101 healthcare professionals in 141 countries was conducted in mid-April.The findings are published in European Heart Journal — Quality of… […]
Resolution Medical hires industry veteran as CEO
Resolution Medical recently announced that it has brought on industry veteran David Blaeser as its new CEO. The Fridley, Minn.–based medical device contract manufacturing and development company noted that Blaeser has 35 years of experience leading teams at Boston Scientific, Velocimed, Nidus, Endometabolic Solutions, Libra Medical, and Zift Medical. Most recently, he was founder and CEO… […]
The George Floyd case has rocked a major U.S. medtech hub: Here’s what industry leaders think
Major medtech companies with a presence in the Minnesota have been calling for peace, unity and racial justice following the death of George Floyd in police custody and the resulting demonstrations and violence. Executives from Boston Scientific, Medtronic and the Medical Alley Association have penned open letters expressing their concerns and pledging to do better.… […]
Summit Medical produces 1 million face shields in 8 weeks
Summit Medical recently announced that it has delivered more than 1 million FDA-compliant face shields for to protect healthcare workers and returning business employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. St. Paul-based Summit Medical said it designed, engineered and manufactured the face shields in just 8 weeks, cross-training staff to assemble them and saving 65 employees’ jobs.… […]
PAVmed inks deal with Canon Virginia on ear tube manufacturing
Pavmed (NSDQ:PAVM) today announced it plans to develop and use Canon Virginia’s commercial-grade and scalable aqueous silk fibroin molding process to manufacture its DisappEAR molded pediatric ear tubes. Under terms outlined in a letter of intent, PAVmed and Canon Virginia propose to enter into two sequential agreements covering a 5-phase project culminating in the commercialization of… […]
Study finds delays in seeking stroke treatment amid COVID-19
Ischemic stroke patients are showing up to the hospital an average of 160 minutes later during the COVID-19 pandemic than during a similar timeframe in 2019, according to a new study. The delay is affecting both stroke survival and recovery, add stroke surgeons from the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS). The first study to confirm… […]
Performance Motion Devices touts new Juno outer loop control ICs
Performance Motion Devices announced the launch of its Juno outer loop control ICs for use in medical, industrial and military applications. The Westford, Mass.-based company’s new Juno product joins a portfolio of velocity and toque control ICs (integrated circuits) used for spindle control, centrifuge control, precision torque control and other liquid handling and laboratory automation… […]
Lille Group releases Cardiac Signals cloud-based patient monitoring software
Lille Group announced today that it launched its Cardiac Signals cloud-based software platform for healthcare professionals to monitor cardiac patients remotely. The secure platform enables cardiology practices and hospitals to manage cardiac patients remotely with ease and efficiency, which is aimed to help during a potential telehealth boom as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and onsite… […]
The secret to building a successful medtech career
In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly podcast, Edwards Lifesciences executive Dr. Todd Brinton shares the one trait he looks for in job candidates that can trump talent and ability. Brinton, who is VP of advanced technology and chief scientific officer at Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW), also offered tips on when candidates need to shift from conforming to differentiating.… […]
Medtronic is making its ‘artificial lung’ therapy available for COVID-19 treatment
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is temporarily modifying product indications so that health providers can use its extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology to treat people with severe cases of COVID-19. ECMO could be described as a type of “artificial lung” technology that pumps blood from a person’s body to an oxygenator that provides long-term oxygen and carbon-dioxide transfer. Medtronic… […]