Medical device giant Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is handing its Pioneer Plus re-entry catheter product line over to Volcano (NSDQ:VOLC) for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced this week.
The deal, which Volcano hopes will help it expand its reach in peripheral indications, is expected to close this month and is structured as an "asset purchase."
Volcano and Medtronic last year announced a sales alliance to mingle their product portfolios in hospital-budget-friendly packages, including Medtronic’s guidewires and Volcano’s intravascular ultrasound imaging systems. Their partnership reaches back even farther.
"We have been providing our IVUS technology in combination with the Pioneer Plus for many years," Volcano president & CEO Scott Huennekens said in prepared remarks. "Being able to now offer this device within Volcano’s already broad portfolio of products will serve our strategy of increasing our presence in the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral arterial disease."
Volcano hopes the purchase will help deepen its footprint in peripheral therapeutics, an arena that the company has gradually been taking greater interest in. Late last year the San Diego device maker signed a $36 million agreement to acquire Crux Biomedical, maker of inferior vena cava filters for treatment of pulmonary embolisms.
"A key element of our growth strategy is to diversify beyond coronary applications and increase our penetration of the peripheral market," Huennekens said. "The incidence of PAD is increasing globally and a significant number of treatment procedures require crossing stenotic lesions and CTOs. The Pioneer Plus catheter represents market leading technology that epitomizes the value of combining therapeutics with our IVUS technology."
