Dive Brief:

• AngioDynamics has bought a biopsy sealant technology from Surgical Specialties, according to a press release. 

• The technology delivers a hydrogel plug designed to mitigate the risk of a patient suffering a collapsed lung after undergoing a biopsy.

• AngioDynamics is acquiring both the technology and a 12-person commercial team in return for an undisclosed financial package.

Dive Insight:

CT-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsies enable physicians to take lung tissue samples and thereby diagnose the nature of indeterminate pulmonary lesions. The procedure is effective but a significant minority of patients suffer pneumothorax, a complication better known as a collapsed lung. Pneumothorax occurs when air collects in the space between the lung and the chest wall.

The BioSentry Tract Sealant System, the technology acquired by AngioDynamics, is designed to stop this from happening. The technology consists of a delivery device that exudes a desiccated polyethylene glycol hydrogel. When the exuded hydrogel cylinder touches moist tissue, it absorbs fluids and expands to fill the surrounding space. In a biopsy situation, this causes the hydrogel to fill up the void created by a needle puncture.

In a 339-patient clinical trial from 2010, 25% of the BioSentry cohort suffered pneumothoraces, compared to 43% of the group that received the standard of care. The trial also linked use of the sealant to a lower rate of hospital admission and improved outcomes against other secondary endpoints.

BioSentry came to market in the U.S. in 2013 on the strength of the data and other evidence. Surgical Specialties put together a 12-person commercial team to promote the sealant, resulting in the device generating sales of more than $5 million over the past 12 months. The company has now decided to cash out. 

The deal will see BioSentry become part of AngioDynamics’ oncology unit, which provides products for use in ablation and resection. By adding BioSentry to the portfolio, AngioDynamics CEO Jim Clemmer thinks the company can create “an opportunity to serve patients who may also benefit from our core products earlier in their disease state.”

AngioDynamics disclosed the deal in an update that also covered the company’s lawsuit against C.R. Bard. The suit accuses Bard of illegally tying sales of a tip location system to its line of peripherally inserted central catheters. Bard sought a dismissal of the case but the court rejected its motion last week, allowing the antitrust suit to proceed.