Among the many M&A deals conducted in medtech in recent years, Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) has been involved in quite a few.
The company has made several M&A plays over the past several years, making it one of the more active medtech players on that front. Those include the acquisition of Relievant Medsystems, which it completed in November 2023, then the $1.18 billion acquisition of Silk Road Medical in September 2024, followed by the $3.7 billion buy of Axonics finalized in November 2024.
At the end of 2022, the company announced its plan to acquire a majority stake in Acotec, worth around $523 million. In April, the company completed a $615 million acquisition of Apollo Endosurgery.
It marks a clear strategy for Boston Scientific, which has made a number of moves over the past several years, including buys of Farapulse, Baylis Medical and Lumenis.
Boston Scientific’s Cat Jennings and Kristin LaRocca will share Boston Scientific’s formula for integrating acquired MedTech companies on a panel at DeviceTalks West, Oct. 15–16, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. Register at West.DeviceTalks.com. Here’s a 25% off discount code: MD25OFF
M&A deals have once again been at the heart of the company’s strategy in 2025. A couple of those deals, plus even more innovations, make up the top stories for Boston Scientific so far in 2025.
Here are the top stories for the company so far this year:
5. Boston Scientific closes Bolt Medical acquisition
In January, Boston Scientific made its formal entry into the intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) space when it agreed to acquire Bolt Medical and its IVL technology. Boston Scientific initially developed the concept for the Bolt IVL system, helping establish Bolt Medical in 2019. As a strategic investor, the Marlborough, Massachusetts–based company already had an equity stake of approximately 26%.
The company closed the deal in April. News of the acquisition’s closing arrived just days after the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for the Bolt IVL system on March 25.
Bolt Medical designed its IVL advanced laser-based platform for the treatment of coronary and peripheral artery disease. Its novel application of lithotripsy fractures calcium by creating acoustic pressure waves inside a balloon catheter. The system also includes visible, directional emitters for consistent energy delivery in the treatment of calcified lesions.
4. Boston Scientific reports first cases with next-gen Faraflex catheter
In February, the company announced the completion of the first-ever cases with its Faraflex mapping and pulsed field ablation (PFA) catheter.
This marked another milestone for the Farapulse PFA portfolio. Boston Scientific initially won FDA approval for Farapulse in January 2024, less than three years after acquiring Farapulse in 2021.
Faraflex, an investigational catheter system, is designed to optimize mapping and ablation in a single catheter with a wide-area tip and high-fidelity sensing electrodes. Boston Scientific plans to integrate the 8 Fr NAV-enabled catheter into its Opal HDx mapping system. This could enable precise diagnostic mapping to understand arrhythmia mechanism and target ablations accordingly.
3. Boston Scientific completes SoniVie acquisition
In March, Boston Scientific announced that it agreed to acquire intravascular ultrasound system developer SoniVie. The acquisition brought the company into the now-competitive renal denervation (RDN) space.
Much like the Bolt Medical deal, Boston Scientific already had an interest in SoniVie, holding about a 10% equity stake. The equity stake notwithstanding, Boston Scientific valued the deal at $400 million upfront with $200 million in milestones, bringing the total to $600 million.
SoniVie develops the investigational Tivus system, designed to denervate nerves surrounding blood vessels. The technology could treat a variety of hypertensive disorders, including renal artery denervation for hypertension.
The technology generates precise ultrasound energy that passes through the blood. It enters the renal arteries supplying blood to the kidneys without anchoring to the artery wall. This allows for continual blood flow to cool the treatment area.
2. Boston Scientific gets analyst upgrade on Farapulse PFA strength
While Boston Scientific continues advancing its Farapulse platform with technologies like the Faraflex catheter above, the current generation of the PFA platform remains in a battle with platforms made by the likes of Medtronic (Affera) and Johnson & Johnson MedTech (Varipulse).
However, when evaluating how the technologies stack up in the market, Needham analysts earlier this year observed a strong opportunity for the company as the competition may not stack up as they once thought.
Analysts originally thought the Medtronic and J&J platform rollouts would increase competition. But, they said that Affera supply remains limited while electrophysiologists raised concerns about stroke risk with Varipulse.
As a result, the analysts upgraded their rating for the company’s shares to “Buy,” and predicted that Boston Scientific’s share of the ablation catheter market will increase from 35.0% to 38.3% over the next 12 months.
1. Boston Scientific Watchman wins FDA expansion for post-ablation patients
In July, the company received expanded FDA approval for the use of its Watchman FLX and Watchman FLX Pro devices.
The FDA’s premarket approval (PMA) database said the left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) devices now have expanded indications to include patients following catheter ablation for non-valvular AFib and to add a new post-implant drug regimen to the device labeling.
Both devices already had indications to reduce the risk of thromboembolism from the LAA in patients with non-valvular AFib. They reduce stroke risk in such patients who need an alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy. The next-generation FLX devices feature a polymer coating, visualization markers and a broader size matrix. The company says this design helps to treat a wider range of patients.
Boston Scientific’s Cat Jennings and Kristin LaRocca will share Boston Scientific’s formula for integrating acquired MedTech companies on a panel at DeviceTalks West, Oct. 15–16, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. Register at West.DeviceTalks.com.
