Zoll Medical Corp. closed its $12 million acquisition of Alsius Corp., saying it intends to maintain the Alsius brand on its new line of intravascular temperature management systems.
The devices are essentially sophisticated heat exchangers, designed to induce hypothermia to treat cardiac arrest, brain ischemia or traumatic brain injury. A balloon catheter is inserted through an artery into the central venous system. Saline circulating through the balloons warms or cools the bloodstream, based on temperature readings from a sensor in the catheter.
The Chelmsford-based resuscitation equipment maker said it will continue to make, sell and service the Thermogard XP advanced temperature management system and the Cool Gard 3000 system and the catheter lines associated with them, all under the Alsius banner.
Chairman and CEO Richard Packer said the company also plans to integrate the Alsius technology with that of a prior acquisition, Radiant Medical Inc., and existing Zoll technology to increase its therapeutic temperature management offerings. The Alsius operation will be folded into a new, 53,000-sq.-foot catheter manufacturing plant Zoll built in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Zoll bought Radiant, which was also developing endovascular temperature therapy products, for $5.8 million Sept. 18, 2007.
The Alsius deal puts an end to a brief patent spat; Zoll filed suit against Alsius in January, alleging that it infringed a pair of Zoll patents with one of its devices. Alsius put up a brief but vigorous fight before capitulating Feb. 20.
April turned out to be a cruel month for Zoll and two patients who may have been killed by defective batteries and faulty software in one of its defibrillators.
And second-quarter sales and earnings took a dive on soft demand from the North American hospital market.