Nipro (TYO: 8086) said today that it plans to acquire Infraredx and its cardiovascular imaging device for an undisclosed amount.
Burlington, Mass.-based Infraredx makes an imaging system that combines intravascular ultrasound and near-infrared spectroscopy to provide images of the interior of coronary blood vessels. The company says the device is designed to detect lipid-core-containing plaque, which it says is implicated in higher risk for heart attack or stroke.
In 2013 Nipro put down a $25 million equity investment in Infraredx, which earlier this year withdrew an initial public offering it had hoped would raise $56 million.
“Company founder Dr. James Muller and the Infraredx management team have empowered interventional cardiologists with the NIRS-IVUS imaging system, which is approved to detect the lipid-core plaques that cause most heart attacks,” Nipro president Yoshihiko Sano said in prepared remarks. “Nipro and Infraredx share a strong patient centered focus and the combination of the companies’ global portfolio and cardiovascular expertise will help us deliver the most comprehensive imaging solution available to change how cardiovascular disease is managed. We look forward to bringing together the two companies to deliver the best of medicine and innovation.”
“By teaming up with one of the leading global medical equipment manufacturing companies in the world, Infraredx is able to leverage Nipro’s global network and vast resources to enhance its presence and impact a larger audience locally as well globally,” added Infraredx president & CEO Jason Bottiglieri. “We are pleased to combine our strengths to meet the demands of the marketplace and continue to deliver to the medical community cardiovascular imaging systems that hold the potential to revolutionize the management of cardiovascular disease.”
The deal is expected to close in October 2015, the companies said.
