Hologic Inc. (NSDQ:HOLX) acquired Interlace Medical Inc. and its minimally invasive fibroid treatment for $125 million, saying it hopes to have Interlace’s MyoSure system on the market early this year.
The Bedford, Mass.-based women’s health player said it plans to integrate its neighbor from nearby Framingham into its gynecological surgery division. Hologic said it will pay $125 million in cash, "subject to adjustment," and two annual contingent payments, payable as cash based on a multiple of incremental revenue growth.
The MyoSure device is a hysteroscopic system designed to remove fibroids — benign tumors of the uterus — in an out-patient procedure, using a high-speed cutting blade capable of removing a three-centimeter fibroid in 10 minutes, according to a product brochure (PDF).
Interlace, which won 510(k) clearance for the system in October 2009, raised $21 million in June of last year in a Series C round aimed at commercializing the MyoSure system. The company also won a $75,000 tax break from the Mass. Life Sciences Center to foster the creation of 10 permanent life science jobs in the Bay State. In 2009, Interlace landed a $300,000 tax break from the Commonwealth.
In March 2010, the company launched a clinical trial of the MyoSure device, aiming to prove that women experience little pain or discomfort during the procedure.
Steve Williamson, general manager of Hologic’s gynecological surgery products arm, said the acquisition is a natural complement to the company’s suite of minimally invasive products. Hologic also makes the NovaSure endometrial ablation and Adiana female sterilization lines.
Hologic said it’s planning a campaign to train physicians on using the MyoSure system, with an eye toward having it fully integrated and under promotion "in early 2011."
A fibroid treatment isn’t the only thing Hologic gets in the deal. The company also inherits a lawsuit filed by Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) against Interlace in June 2010. The suit alleges that the MyoSure system infringes one of the British conglomerate’s patents for an arthroscopic surgical instrument.
