Johnson & Johnson MedTech (NYSE:JNJ) is offloading a left-atrial appendage closure system it paid $400 million upfront for nearly three years ago, abandoning plans to compete in the space dominated by Boston Scientific and Abbott.
Acquired through its late-2023 buy of the developer Laminar, J&J’s Biosense Webster then backed a pivotal study that sought to enroll about 1,500 people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, to test the minimally invasive system’s ability to reduce the risk of stroke compared to Boston Scientific’s Watchman and Abbott’s Amplatzer Amulet occluders.
The trial’s recruitment was suspended in mid-2025, according to its listing on ClinicalTrials.gov, due to a “potential unwrapping of the LAA post implant with clinically significant leaks.”
While Watchman and Amulet are designed to expand, fill and seal off the small pocket in the heart wall — where stroke-causing blood clots are more likely to form in people with AFib — Laminar’s approach called for gathering and twisting the pouch’s tissue around from the inside, holding it shut and eliminating the appendage altogether.
The device and its assets, as well as members of its development team, have now been picked up by Santé Ventures, which has helped form a new independent company dubbed Jaguar LAA that will shepherd its development.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jaguar’s president and CEO, Randy Lashinski, previously led Laminar as CEO and worked at J&J following the acquisition.
“We believe the Laminar technology offers a differentiated approach to LAA closure, particularly through its ability to leave minimal device exposure within the left atrium,” Jaguar Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Rogers said in a statement. “We are excited to continue the work behind the program and explore its potential to provide an important new treatment option for patients with atrial fibrillation.”
The same week that J&J purchased Laminar in 2023, Medtronic announced it had acquired its own left atrial appendage exclusion system. The Penditure clip is designed for patients with AFib who are already undergoing open-heart surgery for another condition. Previously FDA-cleared, the device later obtained a CE Mark in Europe in 2025, and Medtronic put forward positive post-market data in January of this year.
